Carlos Sainz arrives at the Ferrari box at the Spa-Francorchamps track. /
Belgian GP | Classification
Verstappen set the fastest time, but Carlos Sainz will start from pole at Spa, ahead of Sergio Pérez and Fernando Alonso
Although its presence on the 2023 calendar is more up in the air than ever, Spa-Francorchamps never disappoints and allows abnormal or, at least, unusual results. Nobody can be surprised that Max Verstappen achieved the best time this Saturday and, therefore, one more pole for his statistics… except that he will not be the one who starts at the front of the grid this Sunday.
The man on pole this Saturday was Carlos Sainz. The man from Madrid is one of the beneficiaries that seven drivers, including the aforementioned Verstappen and the other Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc, add penalties for replacing parts of their engine or the entire power unit. Thus, although the Spaniard’s time initially placed him second, he will start from the first position, with Verstappen 15th and Leclerc 16th. The foreseeable comeback of these is one of the incentives that will leave a Sunday race in which, at least during the first meters, there will be a marked Hispanic accent.
And it is that behind Sainz, who thus adds the second pole of his sports career, Sergio Pérez will start. A golden opportunity to vindicate the Mexican, who has before him not only the task of achieving a great result for himself (finishing second would already be a realistic goal), but also accumulating more points for a Red Bull that is unstoppable to the championship double. For this he will have to, at least, resist the attacks of a driver who has been on the lips of many for weeks: Fernando Alonso.
Go up three places at once
The Spaniard is relatively good at the Ardennes circuit, and he showed it again. The Alpine had a very good performance, as Esteban Ocon’s fifth time and Alonso’s own sixth time showed, but the Frenchman is one of those penalized who give up places. Thus, Alonso gains three positions at once to start from third position on the grid, with only Pérez and Sainz ahead. The feeling that Alonso can give the bell this weekend, in which Alpine is at the center of many looks, is common.
«We started third, so we are in a momentary podium position, at least in the first meters. So very happy with how it went, we’ll see if we can have a quiet race », Alonso wished, who needs to vindicate his figure, especially after his departure (and the forms) from Alpine.
In the case of Sainz, in addition to fighting for his second victory in F1, it will be an opportunity to mark ground with Red Bull. “We have to keep working to see why Red Bull is so fast on this circuit, but first position is a good place to start from,” he said, before a clear statement of intent: “We will go out to win from there tomorrow. ».
