Mercedes driver
Lewis Hamilton has equalled Michael Schumacher’s run of six consecutive pole
positions, after going fastest in qualifying at Spa on the Pirelli P Zero
Yellow soft tyre. This was also the ninth Mercedes one-two of the season,
with Hamilton’s pole time of 1m47.197s.
Hamilton and his team mate Nico Rosberg were the only drivers to get through
Q1 on the medium tyre. Not only that, but they were first and second fastest
respectively, during their second run on the medium compound.
From Q2 onwards, the drivers all used the soft compound, which is currently
around 1.4/1.5 seconds per lap faster than the medium tyre. Once again, the
two Mercedes were fastest: a pattern that was repeated in Q3.
The final top 10 shootout was clinched by Hamilton after the second of two
runs on the soft tyre, with Rosberg just under half a second behind.
However, historically Spa is not a circuit where starting on pole is crucial
for race victory, meaning that an unpredictable battle is still likely
tomorrow.
Unusually for Spa, the weather remained warm and dry all day, with track
temperatures exceeding 40 degrees centigrade. Dry conditions are expected to
continue tomorrow, but the microclimate around the Ardennes region means
that nothing can be taken for granted.
Hamilton’s stunning form was also reflected in the final free practice
session this morning, during which he again topped the times, using the
medium tyre.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director: “The battle for pole
between the two Mercedes drivers was stunning, with very little to chose
between them right up to the end of qualifying on this amazing track. With a
significant performance gap between the medium and soft compounds, and quite
high degradation expected, there is plenty of scope for strategy here at
Spa, with at least two pit stops anticipated for the majority of
competitors. We’ve got a few drivers starting out of position due to
penalties or other problems, so it’s going to be interesting to see how they
tailor their strategies and use the tyres they have saved to move up through
the field.”
The Pirelli strategy predictor:
The fastest strategy on paper for the 44-lap race is theoretically a
two-stopper (start on soft, soft again on lap 15, medium on lap 30).
However, some drivers might try a three-stop S/S/S/M sprint strategy to
limit tyre degradation and gain track position – but this depends on
individual patterns of tyre usage and traffic.
Pirelli facts of the day: Former World Champions Sebastian Vettel and
Fernando Alonso head into the Belgian Grand Prix with exactly the same
number of points: 1778. They are also the drivers to have scored the most
points of anyone in Formula One history (Lewis Hamilton is third on the
all-time list, 90 points behind them). Alonso has started 243 Grands Prix
and Vettel 149 – but the German scored most of his points after the scoring
system was changed to award 25 points for a win (as opposed to 10). |