2024 conjured yet another memorable race yesterday, closing the first half of the season fittingly. It was a concoction of skill, drama and terrible luck, as George Russell so unfortunately found out. Only after his winner’s Press Conference was he notified of a disqualification to his name in what seemed a cruel ploy from the F1 Gods. The reason? His F1 W15 E was underweight by 1.6 kilograms. A bitter pill to swallow, his winner’s medal fell into the palms of Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion winning his second race in three attempts, just weeks after ending a three-year drought.
Red Bull (C)
All eyes were on Red Bull this week as the rumours mounted about a potential sacking of Sergio Perez. With Max Verstappen picking up a ten-place grid penalty, it was over to Perez to score the big points, something all too unfamiliar as of late.
When qualifying rocked around, Perez showed some positive signs, earning a place on the front row. He was bullish afterward, saying:
“I mean, it’s not like I forgot how to drive, you know, from five, six races ago.”
However, the timing sheets paint a different picture. Despite a positive placing, Verstappen still led by six-tenths. Yet, the Red Bull pace was formidable. So he still found himself near the front of the field. If the pack were more bunched up, it would have been a different story.
On race day, this would show. With the Red Bull race pace lacking dominance, Perez fell back and suffered a horrible time, finishing P7. Helmut Marko was typically blunt saying: “Sergio had the opportunity to take a good result from second place. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Especially in the last stint, he completely collapsed, where he set 1m48s lap times.”
Perhaps Marko was over-sharing (very unlike him) however the point stands. On a week when Daniel Ricciardo delivered another solid performance for the sister team, the Mexican needed a better showing.
As for Max Verstappen, it was a perfect salvage job. Six tenths above the field in qualifying, on race day he came from P10 to P4 to extend his lead at the summit of the Championship.
McLaren (B)
It was another week of progress from the papaya as they closed the gap to Red Bull in the constructor standings.
Oscar Piastri enjoyed a professional race that finished with a P2 thanks to George Russell’s disqualification. While Lewis Hamilton and George Russell battled for the victory, the Aussie loomed in the background, ready to pounce on any potential mistake. It wasn’t to be, but a positive week nonetheless.
As for Lando Norris, he found himself stuck behind Max Verstappen on a slower compound of the tyre. As the race end approached, the Brit was on the hard tyres while his rival used the mediums. Norris, on the more durable compound, closed up in the final few laps. Catching and passing are two different games. Ultimately he lost ground on his championship rival.
With the friction in the team after Hungary, Belgium was a good exercise for McLaren and they will head into the break at ease after closing the gap on Red Bull.
Mercedes : B
Only an amateur mistake prevents an A+. What was shaping into the perfect weekend sadly concluded with eighteen points thrown down the drain.
Just a day previous, a Grand Prix victory seemed a long shot. After all, their pace in qualifying was underwhelming. A shake-up of the conditions plus some Friday-night tinkering allowed a remarkable transformation.
For George Russell though, these efforts were in vain. The Englishman thought he had mastered a one-stop strategy to the top step on the podium. Only for it to be revealed that Mercedes made a rookie error, as his car weighed 1.6 kg too light.
Moreover, it’s disappointing for Hamilton who couldn’t celebrate a Grand Prix victory in the moment and only earns it by default.
Ferrari (B-)
Again, it was another week when Ferrari was slightly adrift from the top three teams. They will need to bring some upgrades over the Summer break should they wish to create a big four.
Nonetheless, it was an excellent race from Charles Leclerc. The Monagasque driver started on pole after a terrific qualifying and drained every inch out of his machinery the next day to secure a podium in a rather understated fashion.
Sainz outshined his teammate throughout most of qualifying but come the all-important final run, was an eye-watering seven-tenths behind. The Spaniard drove an unclean race, going wide on occasion as sector two met sector three, but still brought home a respectable p6.
Aston Martin (B-)
Fernando Alonso’s race was handily the most understated performance of the weekend. After a run of poor weekends for the forty-three-year-old, he pulled off a one-stop around the track that notoriously eats away at your rear tyres. It allowed him to pick up p8 and put daylight between the Aston’s and Haas.
As for Lance Stroll, it was a weekend to forget. The Canadian was frustrated on the team radio throughout, although it seemed to be a case of deflecting his poor performance. Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo breezed past him without much difficulty to rub salt into his wounds.
Visa Cash App RB (B)
The consistency conundrum persists at Visa Cash App RB. They just can’t get both drivers signing off the same hymnsheet. In earlier weeks when Yuki Tusonda was pulling the weight. Daniel Ricciardo faltered. Since the latter has picked up his form, the former has seen his results fall off a cliff.
It truly was a horrendous weekend for Yuki Tsunoda. After being handed a sixty-place grid penalty, the writing should have been on the wall. In qualifying he had little to play for although still found himself a colossal 1.6 seconds off his teammate. Sunday was hardly any better for him. Stuck at the back in 16th his pace was better than Logan Sergeant but lost time to others nearby such as Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen.
Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo continued his upturn in form as he finished in the points position. With so much speculation present about the second Red Bull seat, the eight-time Grand Prix winner was quicker than the likes of Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Lance Stroll.
It feels as though he may have driven his last race in the RB Visa Cash App.
Haas (C+)
It was another week where both drivers did a respectable job but were left to rue the lack of pace of their machinery.
Hulkenberg showed promise of points at times. None more so than the early laps of his second stint. However, a change of strategy meant that he ultimately found himself near the bottom come the end.
Likewise, Magnussen drove a sound race but didn’t have the pace to fight with the likes of Ocon or Albon and was a sitting duck on the straights.
Alpine (C-)
Typically, off-track news was at the centre of the agenda coming into this week’s race. Team principal Bruno Famin announced his resignation, the third change in less than a year at Alpine. A lack of stability structurally transcends onto the track.
Throughout the weekend they showed some solid pace at times. Pierre Gasly set the second-fastest time in the opening qualifying but couldn’t repeat the trick in the second session. Gasly’s race was engine temperature issues that ate away eight-tenths a lap.
As for Ocon, it was another stellar weekend for the man who will leave to go to Haas next season. He picked up a P9 and showed blistering pace in the final few laps to topple Daniel Ricciardo. He theorised after that a one-stop like Alonso’s would’ve given him eighth. All in all, a positive day for one of the in-form pilots.
Williams (C-)
Another disappointing week for a team that find themselves at the wrong end of the pecking order. Logan Sargeant’s future looks over as he delivered another lackluster qualifying session.
Alex Albon delivered the FW 46 to P12 with points once looking likely. However, he was undercut by Daniel Ricciardo and fell away afterward.
Improvements need to be made over the Summer break if any joy is to come for the Wiliam’s fans this season.
Kick Sauber (C-)
Belgium was as grim as it gets for Zhou, another man who will be counting his days. It’s a bizarre situation as he showed genuine promise upon arriving in 2022 but has withered ever since.
On Saturday, he qualified last of the pack and found himself five-tenths off Logan Sargeant. His issues were compounded on Sunday as an engine issue at the start saw him fall back to an unrepairable gap.
As per usual, it was another brilliantly executed race for Valtteri Bottas, but such a poor car meant that no matter how well he did, points were always going to be a big ask.
So, there we have it. Another weekend complete and now we are over to the Winter Break to recharge our batteries before we return to the Netherlands on the 23rd August. Silly season is about to begin.
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