Author: Miles Fast

The gap was 5.641 seconds. In Formula 1, that is not a normal qualifying deficit. Fernando Alonso completed Q1 in 1:50.002, while Kimi Antonelli later took pole in 1:44.361. Lance Stroll was slower again at 1:50.177. All three drivers used soft-compound slick tyres, so rain did not create the gulf. Alonso qualified 21st and Stroll 22nd because Cadillac’s arrival expanded the 2026 field to 11 teams and 22 cars. Power-unit penalties later moved Stroll to 20th on the provisional grid, while Alonso remained 22nd. Aston Martin is not starting at the back of the familiar 20-car field. It is occupying…

If Oscar Piastri fears Max Verstappen is coming for his McLaren seat, he hid it well at Spa. During Thursday media day before the Belgian Grand Prix, Piastri said he fully expects to remain with the team in 2027. Senior management has already made its position clear to him during private talks. The timing matters. Verstappen has been linked with McLaren as Red Bull struggles to produce a consistent front-running car under the 2026 regulations. McLaren has problems of its own. After winning both championships in 2025, the team entered Spa with what Piastri described as the 3rd or 4th…

George Russell is bleeding time on the straights at the exact circuit where straight-line speed matters most. His final qualifying lap at Spa-Francorchamps felt strong through the corners, but the stopwatch delivered a harsher verdict. Russell’s 1:44.869 left him 0.508 seconds behind Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli, who secured pole with a 1:44.361. Lando Norris qualified 3rd but carries a 10-place grid penalty. That promotes Russell to the second row, directly behind Antonelli and Max Verstappen. The improved position keeps him close to the leaders. It does not remove the mystery inside his W17. Russell has struggled with unexplained top…

Pouhon used to separate the committed from the cautious. Now, Max Verstappen says Spa’s famous double left-hander is flat partly because the electrical power disappears before the car has finished turning. The Red Bull driver qualified 2nd for the Belgian Grand Prix, 0.317 seconds behind Kimi Antonelli. His concern after the session was not simply the gap to Mercedes. Verstappen argued that the 2026 power units had changed how drivers experience one of Formula 1’s greatest circuits. Drivers tackled much of Sector 2, relying only on the combustion engine after the battery stopped deploying. Verstappen estimated that the engine was…

Power unit penalties tore apart the Belgian Grand Prix starting order, but Kimi Antonelli needed no assistance to claim pole at Spa-Francorchamps. The Mercedes driver delivered a 1:44.361 in Q3 and beat Max Verstappen by 0.317 seconds. His final lap secured a 6th pole of the season after he had already led FP2 and FP3. Lando Norris recorded the 3rd fastest qualifying time, then lost 10 places when McLaren introduced a 4th power electronics unit. He will start on the 13th. George Russell rises to 3rd, ahead of Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri. Larger power unit sanctions send…

Before halo devices, survival cells and wide asphalt run-off areas, Formula 1 drivers raced through the Belgian countryside with almost nothing between their cars and disaster. Engines screamed across the Ardennes. Petrol fumes and hot oil hung in the damp air as cars charged past forests, farmhouses and crowded roadside banks. The original Spa measured 14.1 kilometres, or 8.7 miles. It linked Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot using narrow public roads. Trees, stone walls, ditches and telegraph poles stood beside the racing line. A sudden shower could drench the far side of the circuit while the pits remained dry. Near the…

Saturday at Spa is usually a test of raw speed. For Lando Norris, qualifying will also be an exercise in damage limitation. McLaren has fitted a fourth power electronics unit to his car, triggering a 10-place grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix. Norris can still fight for pole position, but every place he earns will be pushed back before Sunday’s race begins. A potential front-row start could therefore become a place deep in traffic. That changes the entire shape of his weekend. McLaren has accepted the punishment because repeated electronics failures have already stripped away much of its component…

Max Verstappen did not just lose rear downforce when Red Bull’s experimental wing failed at Silverstone. He lost trust in the car beneath him. That matters at every circuit. At Spa-Francorchamps, where drivers attack some of the fastest corners in Formula 1, it becomes a direct safety concern. Red Bull has removed its radical Macarena rear wing from the RB22 for the Belgian Grand Prix. The team has reverted to the conventional version used earlier this season after wing-related crashes struck Verstappen in Austria and Britain. During Austrian Grand Prix qualifying, the wing failed to settle into its normal position…

Ferrari avoided a costly sporting setback at Spa after FIA stewards fined the team €10,000 for failing to return practice tyres before FP2. The breach involved both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, but neither driver received a grid penalty, reprimand, or change to his session result. Ferrari had electronically registered 2 dry tyre sets from each car as returned following FP1. The garage did not physically deliver those sets to Pirelli before the next session began. Jo Bauer, the FIA Formula 1 technical delegate, reported the failure and referred both cars to the stewards. Officials treated the cases separately, fining…

After two high-speed crashes in as many weekends, Max Verstappen needed more than a quick Red Bull at Spa. He needed a car he could trust. Red Bull responded by shelving its rotating rear wing and returning to the standard arrangement used earlier in the season. The decision produced an immediate result. Verstappen topped Belgian Grand Prix FP1 with a lap of 1:47.070, beating Lewis Hamilton by 0.145 seconds and Charles Leclerc by 0.207. Hamilton and Leclerc placed both Ferraris directly behind the Red Bull. Isack Hadjar completed the top four in the other Red Bull, finishing only 0.252 seconds…