Analysis | Max Verstappen league above the rest
F1 News
It was Max Verstappen's day in the end as he once again proved why he is defending world champion. As he came to Spa under the question of new regulations being enforced that were deemed to affect his Red Bull, he has blown the competition out of the water being almost seven-tenths faster than his competitors on the sum of best sectors. He would have been the man to beat granted he didn't have a penalty for Saturday, which should lead to a muddled up grid as Charles Leclerc will have one too.
Qualifying pace
As always in Formula 1, the circuit is split into three sectors. In Spa-Franchorchamps’ case, sectors one and three are similar in terms of being high-speed, whereas sector two is much more technical.
The first half of the 2022 season has demonstrated that the two lead cars have completely different ways of achieving a fast lap time. Red Bull Racing are extremely strong on the straights, whilst Ferrari have a clear advantage in the corners. With the corners being slower, more time is usually spent in these sections and therefore on single-lap pace Ferrari have often ruled supreme. When it comes to race day, Red Bull have the advantage of making use of the powerful DRS zones, slipstreams and a car that manages its tyre better.
This is backed up and supported by the statistics. Ferrari have scored twice as many pole positions as their rivals Red Bull Racing, whereas that advantage is flipped on Sundays. Red Bull have won nine races, to Ferrari’s four.
Whether or not Ferrari can keep that advantage in Spa remains unclear. This is a power circuit, and the length of the straights falls into the hands of Verstappen and Perez. The data below will confirm whether or not Ferrari should be worried.
It will also provide some indication of set-ups for other teams. Having a high downforce makes you susceptible to an overtake in sectors one and three, but will really help in sector two.
| Driver | Best sector 1 | Best sector 2 | Best sector 3 | Ultimate lap time |
| Verstappen | 31.053 | 45.358 | 29.096 | 1.45.507 |
| Leclerc | 31.071 | 45.942 | 29.235 | 1.46.235 |
| Norris | 31.128 | 46.372 | 29.089 | 1.46.589 |
| Stroll | 31.200 | 46.115 | 29.320 | 1.46.635 |
| Sainz | 31.056 | 46.075 | 29.355 | 1.46.491 |
| Hamilton | 31.109 | 46.385 | 29.399 | 1.46.893 |
| Russell | 31.327 | 46.461 | 29.454 | 1.47.242 |
| Perez | 30.987 | 46.684 | 29.377 | 1.47.048 |
The data shows that Red Bull is the fastest in sector 1 holding the fastest two times, while Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are fastest in the final two sectors respectively. The second sector of Max Verstappen is particularly of note, as he is six tenths quicker than Charles Leclerc in that section, who is the only other driver in the 45-second range
Mercedes are weak throughout the lap which is surprising given the improvements they've made as of late towards the front two teams as they were six tenths off Charles Leclerc on ultimate lap time.
Long run analysis
There isn't any significant data on long runs in FP2 due to the rain that fell during the session which meant any long runs were aborted
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22 September 2024
