Formula One returns to one of the world’s most iconic race tracks this weekend as the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit hosts the Belgian Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri claimed the first win of his F1 career last time out in Hungary as he took the chequered flag ahead of team-mate Lando Norris after the Brit eventually succumbed to McLaren’s team orders.
Lewis Hamilton finished on the podium in third while Max Verstappen endured a Sunday to forget as he argued with his race engineer and crashed into Hamilton late on, ultimately finishing fifth. Despite this, Verstappen still has a 76-point lead in the world championship to Norris in second with 11 races remaining.
The Red Bull driver looks set to take a 10-place grid penalty this Sunday due to taking a new engine, though he has won from down the grid in the last two years at Spa. It is also a big weekend for his team-mate Sergio Perez, with uncertainty surrounding his future at the team following a run of poor results.
Follow live updates from the Belgian Grand Prix with The Independent
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: George Russell in trouble!
Two minutes to go and George Russell is down in P17, 0.174 secs off the pace!
Current bottom-five (16-20): Sargeant, Russell, Bottas, Zhou, Hulkenberg
Can Russell escape?! He’ll have one more pop at it…
Kieran Jackson27 July 2024 15:17
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: No sign of the rain!
A lot of cars now pitting for new intermediate tyres, with dry sections of the track opening up and no rain arriving yet!
Current bottom-five (16-20): Magnussen, Albon, Hulkenberg, Sargeant, Stroll
Fernando Alonso in trouble in P15, while Lando Norris is P12!
Kieran Jackson27 July 2024 15:14
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri’s engineer….
“There could be heavier rain in two minutes.”
9:00 to go and the leaderboard ever-changing at the moment!
Current bottom-five (16-20): Ricciardo, Tsunoda, Sargeant, Zhou, Stroll
Kieran Jackson27 July 2024 15:10
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen fastest early on
Statement early time from Verstappen, who goes quickest by 1.4 seconds. Piastri 2nd, Leclerc 3rd.
More importantly, the bottom-five after the first flying laps (16-20): Zhou, Albon, Bottas, Stroll, Sargeant
Lando Norris needs an improvement, he’s P15!
11:00 to go. No sign of any rain yet, so the track continues to dry…
Kieran Jackson27 July 2024 15:08
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Lando Norris’ engineer
“It’s possible in these conditions we should go for it on the first timed lap, heavier rain in 8 minutes.”
Big early laps then for the drivers…
Kieran Jackson27 July 2024 15:02
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Q1 underway
A big queue at the end of the pit-lane as we get Q1 underway – maybe a lot of them think they need to get a time on the board asap, with rain on the way!
A reminder: 18-minute session where we will lose the slowest five drivers from the rest of qualifying…
No DRS due to the rain and, incidentally, Aston Martin have fixed Stroll’s car after his accident in third practice.
Kieran Jackson27 July 2024 15:01
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Qualifying at Spa!
It’s overcast and misty in the Ardennes forest – but it’s not raining currently! Rain chance during the session: 80%.
There is a lot of standing water though, so the 20 drivers are near-certain to start with intermediate tyres…
Kieran Jackson27 July 2024 14:58
Driver Standings ahead of this weekend:
1. Max Verstappen – 265 points
2. Lando Norris – 189 points
3. Charles Leclerc – 162 points
4. Carlos Sainz – 154 points
5. Oscar Piastri – 149 points
6. Lewis Hamilton – 125 points
7. Sergio Perez – 124 points
8. George Russell – 116 points
9. Fernando Alonso – 45 points
10. Lance Stroll – 24 points
11. Nico Hulkenberg – 22 points
12. Yuki Tsunoda – 22 points
13. Daniel Ricciardo – 11 points
14. Oliver Bearman – 6 points
15. Pierre Gasly – 6 points
16. Kevin Magnussen – 5 points
17. Alex Albon – 4 points
18. Esteban Ocon – 3 points
19. Zhou Guanyu – 0 points
20. Logan Sargeant – 0 points
21. Valtteri Bottas – 0 points
Kieran Jackson27 July 2024 14:50
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Wet on track but not raining currently
This should be dramatic this afternoon!
It’s very wet on track but at the moment it’s not raining. Should be intermediate tyres, but will the track perhaps dry out enough over the hour-long session for slick tyres?
Kieran Jackson27 July 2024 14:48
Lando Norris suggests McLaren should consider making him undisputed number one
Lando Norris finished fastest in practice for the Belgian Grand Prix and said McLaren must consider making him their undisputed number one in order to deliver the British team’s first world title in 16 years.
Norris will be handed a golden opportunity to slash the 76-point championship deficit to Max Verstappen at Formula One’s concluding round before a four-week summer shutdown, with his rival to serve a 10-place grid sanction.
Verstappen’s Red Bull has been fitted with a fifth internal combustion engine, one more than the world champion is permitted, meaning the highest he can start will be 11th.
Kieran Jackson27 July 2024 14:44
