Lewis Hamilton shows off his impressive surfing skillsGeorge Russell has expressed his growing safety concerns ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, where heavy rain is forecast over the course of this weekend. Conditions are expected to be wet on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit just weeks after Dutch racing driver Dilano van ‘t Hoff was killed in a crash at the notorious Raidillon curve.
Van ‘t Hoff’s death has understandably heightened safety fears over F1’s use of the circuit, with drivers keen to avoid putting themselves in a similar situation if the wet conditions wreak havoc this weekend. George Russell, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), has already insisted that the FIA should cancel the Belgian Grand Prix if it becomes unsafe to race at Spa-Francorchamps given the lack of visibility in heavy rain.
“We don’t want to see another huge incident like the one we have just had,” said Russell. “We want to race, everybody wants to race, but when you go down that straight at over 200 miles per hour and you can’t see 50 metres in front of you, there will be incidents, so the FIA have got a big responsibility this weekend.”
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Express Sport is on hand to keep you updated with all of today’s F1 news (Image: GETTY)
13 mins ago18: 29 Charlie Gordon
Hamilton pinpoints Mercedes issueLewis Hamilton has highlighted the middle sector as a problem area for Mercedes at Spa.
The Brit took fourth in qualifying, although he will start Sunday’s Grand Prix in third due to Max Verstappen’s grid penalty.
“It didn’t feel bad today,” Hamilton told Sky Sports. “The car genuinely felt pretty decent, but in the middle sector we are losing a second.
“So I’ve got to go and study it to try and figure out where that is and if there’s any way, with the package I have, that we can close that.
“But I’ll give it absolutely everything I can tomorrow and hopefully the next qualifying will still be as good.”
1 hour ago17: 38 Charlie Gordon
Verstappen dominates, Leclerc on poleMax Verstappen set the fastest lap time in Q3 by almost a full second, but he will drop down to sixth on the grid for Sunday’s race after accepting a five-place grid penalty for taking a new gearbox.
Charles Leclerc therefore takes pole with Sergio Perez also on the front row, while there were also respectable showings for Lewis Hamilton and both McLarens.
Read our full Belgian Grand Prix qualifying report HERE
Max Verstappen blew away the field in Belgian GP qualifying (Image: GETTY)
2 hours ago16: 37 Charlie Gordon
Horner takes action in pitsRed Bull boss Christian Horner took immediate action after a guest appeared in his team’s garage wearing a Ferrari cap.
In a comical moment, Horner approached the woman with some black sellotape and stuck it over the Prancing Horse logo. The lady clearly saw the funny side and grinned before taking the tape and applying it herself.
Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft said: “Someone is wearing a Ferrari cap in the Red Bull garage. Christian Horner has got the gaffer tape out and is ensuring corporate compliance at all times.”
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3 hours ago16: 08 Charlie Gordon
Qualifying delayedThe start of qualifying for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix has been delayed by 10 minutes.
Sunshine is now bearing down on the track, with organisers keen to give it a chance to dry out as much as possible.
There could be more unpredictability in the pipeline, however, with multiple teams monitoring a patch of rain threatening to impact the sessions in the next few minutes.
The start of Friday’s qualifying was delayed by 10 minutes to let the track dry out (Image: GETTY)
4 hours ago15: 04 Archie Griggs
Verstappen: I like solo racesMax Verstappen has insisted that he never gets bored when leading the rest of the field after spending much of this year out on his own at the very front.
“I like solo races,” said the Dutchman. “Maybe that’s not as interesting for the sport, but we try to make the gap to the rest bigger, that’s the goal.
“I don’t mind having to fight for it, I’ve done that all my life, so I don’t mind if I don’t have to all the time.”
5 hours ago14: 11 Archie Griggs
Alpine confirm Szafnauer exitAlpine have revealed that Otmar Szafnauer will leave his role as team prinicipal after the Belgian Grand Prix as part of a major summer shake-up.
Sporting director Alan Permane is also set to depart after spending more than 30 years working for the Enstone squad.
BWT Alpine F1 Team Announcement
u2014 BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) July 28, 2023 5 hours ago13: 38 Archie Griggs
Sainz leads the way in practiceCarlos Sainz has just finished practice as the quickest driver on track, setting a lap time of 2: 03.207 on intermediate tyres.
He is closely followed by the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in second and third respectively.
The circuit is looking awfully wet as things stand, with the rain showing no sign of letting off.
Qualifying is still expected to go ahead as planned but it would not be a massive surprise if that changes over the next couple of hours.
6 hours ago12: 57 Archie Griggs
Rain causing problemsPractice is underway in Belgium but only a handful of drivers have set meaningful lap times in the increasingly wet conditions.
There have been questions over whether the FIA could decide to scrap this afternoon’s planned qualifying session as a result of the inclement weather.
The governing body is not planning to make any changes to this weekend’s schedule as things stand, but a worst-case scenario would see the championship order used to set the grid for Sunday’s race.
FIA has told teams FP1 won’t be used to set the grid to prevent them using it as a competitive session. Priority is to run a qualifying session for the GP – including moving or cancelling other sessions if needed – and worst case would use championship order for a grid #F1
u2014 Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) July 28, 2023 6 hours ago12: 16 Archie Griggs
Leclerc responds to Mercedes rumoursCharles Leclerc has refused to rule out the possibility of replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in future as he continues to wait over a potential new deal at Ferrari.
“It certainly means that I do my job well,” he said when quizzed on the speculation linking him with a move to the Silver Arrrows.
“But these rumours leave me indifferent, because I know what I want, but I still don’t know what Ferrari wants from me.
“The contract discussions haven’t started yet, but for me everything is clear.”
7 hours ago11: 55 Archie Griggs
Rosberg banned from McLaren garageMcLaren are seemingly not prepared to welcome Nico Rosberg into their garage at the Belgian Grand Prix in order to avoid jinxing their drivers.
The former Mercedes ace has recently been at the centre of a theory which suggests that whenever he posts a picture on social media, it results in defeat for the unlucky driver he has pictured.
It seems clear that McLaren are taking no chances at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend…
8 hours ago10: 56 Archie Griggs
Leclerc admits Spa safety concernsCharles Leclerc has insisted that improvements should be made at Spa-Francorchamps after a spate of serious accidents at the track’s Eau Rouge-Raidillon complex in recent years.
“First of all, the walls in the straights after Eau Rouge should have a bit more space on the left and right,” said Leclerc.
“If you lose control of the car at the moment, you are bouncing on the walls, and you have very high chances of finding yourself in the way again. I think this is probably a change that we should consider in the future, [rather] than to change the layout of Eau Rouge, by example.
“You can always change the layout, but I don’t think it’s fair to say that this is what should be done.The biggest problem after that is visibility.”
Charles Leclerc has called for changes to be made to the Spa circuit (Image: GETTY)
9 hours ago10: 03 Archie Griggs
Ocon issues fitness update after Hungary crashEsteban Ocon has revealed that he is fit and firing on all cylinders after being sent to the medical centre following his early crash at last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Frenchman’s seat snapped in half as a result of the force involved when he collided with Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly on the opening lap in Budapest.
He said: “It’s been quite a short period between the incident and getting back on track, but I will be okay to race this weekend.”
9 hours ago09: 13 Archie Griggs
Mercedes reveal new batch of upgradesMercedes have revised their sidepod design by introducing a more pronounced bump as well as revised cooling inlets.
The Silver Arrows have been tweaking their car in search of greater performance levels in recent months and will be hoping to make progress in terms of their on-track performances over the course of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
10 hours ago08: 27 Archie Griggs
Hamilton in awkward Sky Sports exchangeLewis Hamilton refused to fully answer a question from Sky Sports reporter Craig Slater in an awkward conversation ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
The exchange appeared to take place in a Mercedes briefing after yesterday’s press conference, with Slater asking: “Getting the pole again [in Hungary] obviously meant a lot. You said afterwards that maybe you’d questioned whether your own form had fallen off a little bit, in the last year or so.
“I just wonder if at any point in this period have you ever felt you had maybe lost something that you wouldn’t get back or where you always confident you could get back to your best?”
Hamilton looked puzzled as he paused before answering: “I don’t know. I think that’s a bit of a personal question and I probably don’t really want to go too much into that.”
10 hours ago08: 16 Archie Griggs
Verstappen takes five-place grid penaltyMax Verstappen will be hit with a five-place grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix after exceeding his gearbox allowance, according to De Telegraaf.
It is said that Verstappen will take on his fifth gearbox of the year at Spa-Francorchamps, which will ensure that the Dutchman will start no higher than sixth on Sunday.
Max Verstappen will take a five-place grid drop after changing his gearbox (Image: GETTY)
11 hours ago07: 40 Archie Griggs
Russell urges FIA to make right decisionGeorge Russell believes that the FIA should cancel this year’s Belgian Grand Prix if the conditions are unsafe at Spa-Francorchamps, where heavy rain is expected to fall this weekend.
“The two questions are, is Spa safe enough and then it’s the question of the conditions,” said Russell.
“The fact is motorsport will always be dangerous when you’re travelling at these speeds. It’s the visibility [in the wet], we just have no visibility whatsoever.
“The way I describe it, to try and give some perspective, is driving down the motorway in pouring rain and turning your windscreen wipers off. That’s genuinely how it feels in the cockpit.
“There’s not really any short-term solutions. I personally think Spa is safe enough. We just need to find a solution for visibility.”
George Russell believes that safety should be the FIA’s top priority at Spa-Francorchamps (Image: GETTY)
11 hours ago07: 36 Archie Griggs
Good morningHello and welcome to Express Sport’s coverage of the latest F1 news on the first day of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
First practice is scheduled to get underway at 12.30pm before qualifying begins at 4pm, with the sprint format in place at Spa-Francorchamps.
We’ll be on hand to keep you updated with the biggest stories throughout the day, so grab a coffee and stay tuned…
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