F1 Update: Week 29, Belgian Grand Prix Summary

“I’m happy to have made it back into the top ten today. The conditions were quite challenging – a wet start and then the track drying up always make things unpredictable – but we stayed focused, made the right calls, and managed to bring the car home in P9. Overall, I’m happy with how the race went: I feel we extracted everything we could from our package. Our pace has been solid all weekend, and that’s a credit to the whole team for giving me a car that felt good in every session. Of course, as a driver, you always want to be fighting higher up the grid, but this was a solid result and another decent step forward. We scored two more points, and that gives me an extra confidence boost heading into the next round in Budapest in just a few days. I feel we are moving in the right direction, and I’m excited to keep pushing and wrap up the first half of my rookie season on a high.”

“It turned out to be quite an unusual race right from the beginning – waiting over an hour after the first formation lap for the weather conditions to improve. Missing out on points at the end by just a second is obviously disappointing. We had to make a second stop with around 11 laps to go – my front tyres were dropping off significantly, and I was struggling with front locking and understeer. Staying out wasn’t really an option, especially with our higher downforce setup compared to Pierre Gasly behind, who was running lower downforce. We therefore opted for the stop and tried to fight back, but unfortunately it didn’t quite work out. That said, our pace was decent and we made progress. Gabi picked up some valuable points, which is important for the Constructors’ standings. Once again, we showed were competitive in the midfield, and that’s a positive takeaway as we head to Budapest next weekend.”

The race was significantly delayed following heavy rain before the start, which created a lot of debate around tyre choice. In the end, once we got going, the conditions made things relatively straightforward. Both drivers got away cleanly and managed their opening laps well.

“Gabi once again delivered a flawless performance. He was rock solid throughout the weekend – in every practice session, the sprint, and during today’s race. Finishing P9 means points for the fifth consecutive race, which is a great achievement and a credit to the hard work from everyone at the factory and trackside.

“Nico’s race turned out to be more challenging. As his pace began to drop off in the second half of the race, it became clear that the original one-stop strategy would leave him exposed, so we made the call to box him a second time. Unfortunately, he rejoined behind Ocon which meant time was lost in traffic, and we weren’t able to maximise the strategy as planned.

These are the kinds of calls that are always easier to assess in hindsight, and we’ll review it carefully back at the factory.

Overall, it’s been another encouraging weekend for the team, and we’ll look to carry this momentum into Hungary.”