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Verstappen gives wings to hope for an exciting career

Few circuits are more open to surprise than Spa-Francorchamps. The Belgian circuit usually leaves memorable races, especially when the weather gets in the way to try to add a little more spice. And it doesn’t even need to rain: as soon as the asphalt cools, a small slit can be glimpsed to get hold of Mercedes’ reign.

Max Verstappen, who else was the one who could end the dominance of black cars in practice on Fridays. The Dutch driver, who until last year considered this his home race (not for nothing, he was born there although his nationality is from the Netherlands) was the fastest of the day on a day that ended with the cold asphalt, with only 25ºC, which forced everyone to be more careful than usual.

The Spa circuit is one of the few on the calendar that forces us to combine two clearly contrary elements: high speed and a lot of downforce. Finding the balance between these two antagonistic factors forces teams to make an effort to compensate for the lack of one with the other, or directly to bet on one of the two opposing forces. In this sense, Red Bull usually gives the ‘do’ of the chest, although always with an eye on what the Mercedes do. Although this Friday they have covered a bit, both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas (who was turning 31) remain the favorites.

However, despite the fact that the classic Bottas-Hamilton-Verstappen order was seen in the first free practice sessions (which would only vary more than expected with the British ahead of the Finn), seeing a Renault like Daniel Ricciardo’s in second position from the times table shows that this weekend the surprise can jump at any moment. The work of the French team to improve as the season progresses is being seen race by race, despite the fact that in these free practice they ended up with a certain bitter aftertaste as a hydraulic leak forced Ricciardo to stop his car on the Kemmel straight.

The good performance of the Renault engines was also seen in the result of the McLaren. Both Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz finished the two sessions in the top ten, something that on the other hand is the minimum required for the British team after the small bump they went through at the beginning of summer. Sainz was relatively satisfied, with a final 9th ​​place that gives him hope not only to enter Q3 this Saturday, but to be able to fight for the ‘top 10’ on Sunday, when rain is forecast.

“We took advantage of the two practice sessions to test alternative set-ups and some ideas we had after the last race, which was interesting. Our pace has been competitive and it seems that we are in the fight for the ‘top 10’, but it is only Friday. The Racing Points and the Renault cars seem to be particularly fast, so if we want to fight them this weekend, we have to continue to find a rhythm for tomorrow. We will look for it tonight, and with an eye on the meteorological radar, “the Spaniard summed up after the day, relatively satisfied.

Ferrari, underground

How the tables have turned in a year. Charles Leclerc achieved his first Formula 1 victory a year ago at this same circuit, although it was a bitter memory for the death of his friend Antoine Hubert the day before in the F2 race. On this visit to Belgium, it will be more than difficult to repeat that success.

The Ferraris are sunk. The SF1000 is a real truck compared to the other cars, no longer leading, but in the middle of the table. The result of both red drivers speaks for itself: Leclerc finished 15th and Vettel 17th. No speed, no good cornering, no pace in long runs, or anything that minimally resembles optimal performance with which to hope for the rest of the weekend. The situation at the Scuderia is critical, which on the eve of a double visit to Monza and Mugello makes it even worse.

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