2023 Belgian Grand Prix - [RACE] discussion thread
FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 2023
| Circuit stats | |
|---|---|
| First Grand Prix | 1950 |
| Number of laps | 44 |
| Lap record | 1:46.286 Valtteri Bottas (2018) |
| 2022 winner | Max Verstappen |
FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 2023
| Circuit stats | |
|---|---|
| First Grand Prix | 1950 |
| Number of laps | 44 |
| Lap record | 1:46.286 Valtteri Bottas (2018) |
| 2022 winner | Max Verstappen |
The hell is going on between Max and his engineer lol
They’re bored.
A disagreement during qualifying where Max was mad at GP for only just making it into Q3. See https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2023-belgian-gp-qualifying-verstappen-apologises-to-his-engineer-after-q2-radio-rant.1772684943518809937.html for the radio of the incident.
Did the commentators already mention that the williams is a rocket in a straight line? I might have missed it
Shall I push on and we do some pit stop training?
Is Max bored
GP and Max need to do couples therapy after this weekend
Ah yes the national anthem cape
“No capes!” — Edna Mode
"Oh GP, it's so windy! I have to hold the steering wheel sooo tight! I'm struggling so much!"
EDIT: Leclerc also mentioned the wind was very very strong in the cooldown room. I guess Max was not being facetious about the wind then.
(next lap)
NYOOOOOOOOMMM
Piastri nooo
I need to see the replay but it didn't look like his fault either.
Sainz locked up and then just didn't have awareness and turned in on Piastri.
Just saw the replay and that's definitely what happened. More of a racing incident, but you can't put much blame on Piastri.
It was 100% on Sainz, but still probably a racing incident. Chaotic lap 1 stuff rarely gets punished (and shouldn't).
So GP told max that it wasnt smart to take so much out of the tire in the out lap and max decided to show him by just going 7 tenth per lap quicker than perez? lol
He was bored lol
It was great to see the sprint race post being quite lively yesterday compared to what I've seen previously around here.
Hope the pace keeps up and we get some good content here today.
Also, go Oscar! Been waiting sooo long to see my team back at the front.
Sprint races are pretty good for people that are not so much into F1, it was lively enough for my gf to be able to watch the entire 11 laps without being bored! It’s a different pleasure, less long term strategy and more track action! :)
Let's go Oscar! Not sure how the McLaren is gonna hold up on race pace tbh, but hoping for a good result nonetheless.
Well...
I was not amused
What is happening to Max and his engineer? They seem pretty annoyed at each other this weekend
I agree. I don't know if it's being broadcasted more because it's in vogue right now, but there seem to be a lot of snappy comments. I don't remember hearing nearly this much in past seasons.
Max is just so good. I wonder if anyone could beat him right now even in equal machinery. I mean, Perez isn't a generational talent, but he isn't bad either. Max just casually pulling a 20s gap on him in the same car and tires is insane. And before that Max did the same with Albon and Gasly, who are also very respectable drivers.
Maybe Lando? Max seems to respect him as a driver more-so than most on the grid, though that may be attributed slightly to their close friendship. Hamilton would definitely still give him a run for his money considering his quali pace in the current mercedes imo. But even then I would bet it all on Max. He’s absolutely insane.
That's a great move by Ocon, caught Tsunoda completely off guard.
Pass of the race for me. That was ballsy and slick as hell.
Shocking race pace by McLaren.
That double overtake on him, yikes.
Yeah, Lando got Zonta'ed.
And now he got overtaken by an Alpha Tauri, woof.
It is absolutely annoying that they show me Verstappen exiting a car and show the grandstands when there is still racing going on.
I'm surprised Max hasn't replied and called GP a cunt yet.
Starting grid accounting for Max and Magnussen penalties
Haha accounts for the hulkenberg engine penalty too just by chance. Poor hulk
Bernard was waving his green flag with such enthusiasm! Great that Crofty remembered him, that was quite wholesome.
Brilliant race for Yuki so far.
The cooldown room audio is so much better now, and has been for the past 3 or 4 races. I'm glad they fixed that.
Tsunoda up to 6th. Wow.
Do you guys think they'll retire Sainz once he falls out of points?
I'd be surprised if he continues much longer tbh
Colour me surprised...
Ferrari: "Hold my carbon fiber."
I’m late to this comment thread but I was shocked they didn’t retire him at the first pit stop. He fell nearly all the way back, surely they would have known he wasn’t going to recover and get into the points. Why put more time/wear on components at that point?
Yuki heard people praising Daniel yesterday I guess. He's had a blistering start.
He's looks good so far. Definitely a good chance for points if he keeps the car on track.
Okay, see you guys after the summer break.
Those glasses though...
I’ve never felt so uneasy about a common apparel. Then again, there really wasn’t anything “common” about those glasses. 😂
I am waiting for VER to ask to stop for the fastest lap.
Max having another FP4 Sunday.
What did McLaren do to get cursed with this luck.
Gasly extending those Softs is impressive, if the rain comes soon it could be phenomenal for him.
He's still on the tyres from lap 1? Wow.
Gasly is having a great weekend.
Nice one, Albon!
Gasly has to be the unluckiest driver of the season. What the hell Alpine? Can he get one clean weekend?
Aston Martin is making the exact same gamble that didn’t work in Monaco
Don't remind me. That really is going to end up being Nando's last genuine shot at a win, isn't it?
And now Mercedes did it with Russell too!
Lol , 2 seconds Ted, from Ted.
Good question. Spa is special in that, after the end, the cars immediately come into the pits through the pit exit, they don't go around the circuit (because it's so long). I wonder if that yellow flag is because of that. Could the the smoke too though.
The yellow flag after the finish was because the cars turned around and drove backwards into the pit after the race.
Big ASMR vibes from Vowles.
I'm less optimistic than Sam is about the chances of rain. There is a small shower cell about 40km to the west right now, but the sun is heating up the air and I don't think it'll make it to the track because of it. Maybe a few drops around 15:45 local time, but low probability. The even smaller cell he sees to arrive at around 15:05 near the track is already fizzling out. So if there aren't any humid air masses or intense vertical movement I have missed, this is most probably a dry race. There is some significant gusty wind though.
i love how formula 1 fans turn into meteorologists :D
If I only had better data :). The three weather stations around the track and Lüttich is what I'm working with. It seems that it was more cloudy than I expected and it hasn't heated up enough. So now the humid air is rising up the mountain and the rain gaining intensity. With any luck we will see some raindrops arriving at 1540-1545.
Perez cutting over and then going for the inside caused utter chaos behind him 🤣
Max already 2 seconds ahead.
They should give RBR Renault engines again after the summer break.
Norris driving like a beast!
It's great watching him mug everyone. Shame it won't last
Were we watching the same race? Maybe I missed it, but every time I saw Norris he was being gobbled up. His car looked like a tractor out there today.
Did you stop watching after the first half of the race? He came back and managed to go from last back to 7th.
Dude maybe? Lol. Did they show him passing a bunch of people on the broadcast? I honestly cannot remember them showing 1 overtake by Norris (not saying they didn’t, I honestly don’t remember). We’re most of those overtakes due to pit stops?
I’m so fucking confused right now.
Wicked driving from Max. Who could compete with him in the RB? Because it ain't Sergio..
VER > PER gap now same as PER > LEC gap.
Perez really not getting everything out of that car.
Nice to see HAM nick fast lap
Max gonna be so pissed if Lewis takes his fastest lap
We will see in a Minute
Very impressive by Ocon!
Stroll, 4.3 seconds for soft's...
Just bet his entire stack on red
That national anthem reminded me of a high school spirit week production. Not a bad thing! Just not what I was expecting.
It was amusing seeing Alonso trying not to laugh.
Here we go! I missed having a Belgian GP that started on time (and started at all).
This weekend just keeps getting worse for Haas doesn't it.
Why the hell did McLaren pit, surely another 2-3 laps on slower tires before the rain would have been faster
Any bets on when Max ends up in P1?
Lap 5 or he crashes out in the start turmoil
Looking forward to Albons race. Great until now.
I say this every GP… Max is too fucking good
Now this is a Fernando Alonso I can recognise.
I wasn't really following Norris, but that stop didn't make any sense. Surely he could have gone a few more laps.
I thought the same, but apparently it was an epic gamer moment.
That pass is just too easy...
Great move by Gasly! Maybe points are on the table?
Hopefully for both of them.
Shame the gamble to extend the first stint didn't pay off for Gasly since the rain never came (and that Alpine screwed up his stop). He had a great drive but will get forgotten again I think. Very unlucky season for him.
Is this normally an undercut or an overcut circuit?
Great start by Nando so far, good that he could shake off his mistake from yesterday.
Don't tell me AT are screwing Yuki on strategy here.
Just tuned in, what the hell happened
That's a big question.
This must be the record of changing conditions in a competitive session in one weekend
What happened to Sainz?
Lap 1 turn 1 incident with Piastri. He had a big hole on the side and had no pace. Still drove maybe 25 laps, but then retired.
They kept him going, hoping for a rain red flag so they could fix the damage
I can't wait to see just how Ferrari manage to balls up this 6-7 laps of rain for Leclerc
So perez will start his 2nd row of Q3 failures when max overatkes him in a few laps
LeClerc looks so happy and not at all like a PTSD survivor.
max is insaaaane when he's angry
The crowd knows something.
So.. um.. Daniel Ricciardo
Does Tsunoda have car improvements he doesn't or something?
Riccardo had his Quali time deleted so he started 19th
Ricciardo had a trash starting position due to track limits during quali and Tsunoda also has a lot more experience with this car than Ricciardo. Tsunoda just had an incredible race.
Perez is such a joke
Checo won't be allowed to win anything for the rest of the year, IMO. If there's a chance for Max to win, I think Red Bull will prioritise that.
Why, in this case, after he finally had a good race with an appropriate result, is he a joke?
Because he can’t keep up with one of the GOATs, that seems to be their logic
Edit: and just in case, I don’t support that logic. And I don’t think Checo is a joke
Because he’s being compared to a generational talent. It’s getting so repetitive at this point. No one will look good next to Max.
“Oh no but trust me Riccardo this time for sure wont be embarrassed!!1!1” even though he was getting left behind years ago when Max was still an aggressive little shit.
Sure Perez is pretty average as far as F1 drivers go, but that’s still a world class talent any way you measure it. The constant hate and vitriol towards drivers is annoying as hell. Like by what measure is a podium a “joke” result holy shit.
Yeah. For some reason people keep pointing out how much better of a driver Max is, and at the same time act disappointed when Check finishes behind.
Even doing that is fine to a point, but there was no discussion, no respect, nothing of value. Just insulting a driver for not matching someone who will probably be (and to some already is) considered one of the all time greats of the sport. People forget basic human decency for some reason when it comes to athletes and it makes no damn sense.
It's pretty clear that even though they say the cars are identical, they really aren't.
This is actually gonna be the day where Sargeant gets points 🦅💥🇺🇲🦅💥🇺🇲🦅💥🇺🇲
Only a half second off a Ferrari! Incredible pace!
Verstappen overtaking Checo without DRS as if making a point. Ridiculous.
EDIT: my bad, he definitely had time to open it.
He definitely had DRS. Have another look at the replay.
Did he have time to open it? Looked like he was past just out of the corner. Let me check.
He 100% had DRS
Yes but he was already side by side by the activation line. So he wouldnt have needed it