#F1 MSC Cruises #BelgianGP 2023 Preview. #Formula1 #BelgianGrandPrix
Formula 1 Rolex Belgian Grand Prix 2022 Race Start, Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. Image credit to Mark Thompson/Getty Images. 2023 Belgian GP Preview, F1 Belgian GP Preview, Formula 1 Belgian Preview. Belgian Grand Prix Preview.
2023 Belgian GP Preview – After Max Verstappen stormed to a dominant victory at the Hungaroring to increase his World Driver’s Championship lead to 110 points, round 13 of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship returns to the historic and classic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps this weekend before the sport’s traditional summer break for the Formula 1 MSC Cruises Belgian Grand Prix 2023. This will be the 79th Belgian Grand Prix and the 66th time that the race will be held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. This weekend also features the third Sprint Race of the season.
2023 Belgian GP Preview – A look at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Built in 1921 and located in the Ardennes countryside in Stavelot Belgium, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is a favourite amongst the drivers, teams and fans. The longest lap on the calendar will test the 1.6L turbocharged V6 hybrid power-trains to their limits through the high-speed sectors one and three but also aerodynamics through the twisty sector two.
Spa is one of the season’s fastest tracks and it features every kind of challenge with average speeds of 230kph. The throttle is wide open for approximately 23 seconds from the stretch of the exit of La Source to Les Combes. From the run down through Eau Rouge, up the steep incline towards the blind Radillon corner, to the flat-out Kemmel Straight, through Les Combes and the technically difficult stretch down through Rivage, Pouhon and Fagnes and on to the ultimately fast Blanchimont left-hander and despite many alterations over the years due to safety reasons, Spa remains an ultimate test for both man and machine.
Getting the car setup is crucial, with success being the right balance between low downforce for the high-speed first and third sectors and good grip for the twisty second sector.
The weather can also play a defining role. Ardennes defines the phrase ‘four seasons in one day’ and while one end of the circuit can be full of sunshine, the other can be drenched with rain. The unpredictable conditions can be a real headache for teams especially regarding tyre choice.
The current Grand Prix circuit layout is 7.004km (4.352 miles) in length and runs in a clockwise direction.
Race distance is 305.052km (191.415 miles) in length with 44 laps in total and 19 corners.
Valtteri Bottas holds the fastest lap record with a 1:46.286 set at the 2018 event in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport F1 W09 EQ Power+ racer.
Michael Schumacher holds the record for most Belgian Grand Prix victories with six.
Scuderia Ferrari is the most successful constructor at the Belgian Grand Prix with 18 victories.
2023 Belgian GP Preview – Onboard Pole Position Lap of the Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps
Here is the onboard pole position lap of the Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps from last year’s event, set by Carlos Sainz in his Scuderia Ferrari F1-75 racer. The Spaniard posted a 1:44.297. You can watch the footage right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PodqYwJYBlA
2023 Belgian GP Preview – The Last Five Winners
2022: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2021: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2020: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2019: Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari. 2018: Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari.
2023 Belgian GP Preview – Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing with them to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the white-branded C2 Hard compounds, the yellow-marked C3 Mediums and the red side-walled C4 Soft rubber along with the green-marked Intermediates and blue-banded Full Wet compounds in-case of rain.
All drivers will have eight sets of the C4 red side-walled Softs, three sets of the yellow C3 Mediums and two sets of the white C3 Hard rubber.
2023 Belgian GP Preview – DRS Zones
The detection point for the first zone is 240 metres before turn two with the activation point 310 metres after turn four. The second detection point is 160 metres before turn 18 with the activation point 30 metres after turn 19.
2023 Belgian GP Preview – Pitlane Speed Limits
Pitlane speed limits will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.
ICYMI: 2023 Hungarian GP Race Report – Verstappen scores dominant victory
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen stormed to a dominant 44th-career victory at the Hungarian GP and ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris who was second and team-mate Sergio Perez who rounds out the top three.
This was the seventh-straight win for the Dutchman to increase his Driver’s Championship lead to 110 points over team-mate Perez and it was Red Bull’s 12th victory in a row as the Milton Keynes based-outfit made history for most consecutive wins by a constructor.
When the 70-lap Hungarian GP began, pole-sitter Hamilton gets a great start, but Verstappen moves onto the inside of the Mercedes and takes the lead into turn one.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris also made their way past Hamilton to slot into second and third place.
Behind them, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon came together following a collision by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda.
After the opening tour, Verstappen’s lead was up to 0.898 seconds ahead of Piastri with Norris third, Hamilton fourth and the Ferrari pairing of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who were fifth and sixth respectively.
Gasly pitted and was forced to retire early along with his team-mate Ocon.
On lap five, Verstappen’s gap increased to 1.450 seconds over Piastri, with Norris third, Hamilton fourth and Leclerc rounding out the top five.
Lap six, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was all over the back of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in the battle for seventh place with the latter defending hard from the Mexican.
On lap eight with DRS on the main straight Perez made his way past Alonso down the inside into turn one to make the move stick to grab seventh place.
Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon was the first to pit on lap nine for a fresh set of mediums, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas following suit a lap later to react to the Thai-Briton.
Lap 10, Verstappen posted the fastest lap of a 1:24.637 and increased his lead to 3.437 seconds over Piastri with Norris third, Hamilton fourth and Leclerc completing the top five runners.
On the 15th tour, Verstappen’s gap was up to 6.678 seconds over Piastri with Norris third, Hamilton fourth and Leclerc rounding out the top five.
Lap 16 saw sixth-placed Sainz pit for a fresh set of C3 white side-walled harder compounds and emerged in 11th place behind AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo who was running the mediums.
A tour later, Hamilton came in from fourth, also for a set of the harder rubber and in-front of Ricciardo in eighth.
McLaren reacted to Mercedes on lap 19 as Norris pitted for a set of hards, coming out in fifth place behind Alonso. Leclerc also stopped for a fresh set of hards and suffered a left-rear tyre pit-error and emerged behind Stroll.
Piastri also came in for a set of the harder tyre and came out behind McLaren team-mate Norris in fifth place.
On lap 20, the yet-to-pit racer leader Verstappen was 21.470 seconds clear over team-mate Perez with Alonso third and the McLaren duo Norris and Piastri who rounded out the top five.
Behind them Leclerc overtook Stroll for ninth place on the inside of the Canadian into turn two.
On the 21st tour, Alonso pitted from third and emerged in 11th place behind Alfa Romeo’s tenth-placed Bottas.
Lap 24 saw race leader Verstappen stop for a fresh set of harder tyres and came out 3.137 seconds ahead of team-mate Perez who was yet-to-pit after starting on the harder compounds.
Perez followed suit on lap 25 for a fresh set of the C4 yellow-marked mediums and came out in seventh place behind Sainz.
Hamilton also made his way past team-mate Russell into turn two for fourth place.
On lap 27, Perez with DRS assistance dived in on the inside of Sainz to take sixth place from the Spaniard who was tucked behind the yet-to-pit fifth-placed Mercedes of Russell.
A lap later, Perez jumped on the inside of Russell to moved into fifth place and managed to keep the Briton behind.
Russell stopped for a set of the fresh set of mediums and came out in 14th behind Haas F1 Team’s Nico Hulkenberg.
On lap 30, Verstappen held a comfortable 6.826 second lead over Norris with Piastri third, Hamilton fourth and Perez who rounded out the top five with the latter holding the fastest lap bonus point.
Lap 35 saw Russell make his way past Bottas into ninth place from a inside overtake of the Finn into the opening corner.
On the 36th tour, Hamilton was told by his team to “lift and coast” meanwhile Perez was given the message “podium is on” with the Red Bull driver closing in on the fourth-placed Briton.
With 30 laps remaining, Verstappen was 15.889 seconds ahead of Norris with Piastri third, Hamilton fourth and Perez right behind the Mercedes in fifth.
On the 42nd lap, Perez got even closer to Hamilton in the fight for fifth place and tried to make his past the Mercedes around the outside into turns one and two, but Hamilton held his ground.
Lap 43 saw Piastri pit from third to take on a set of mediums and emerged in sixth place behind Leclerc meanwhile Perez also stopped for a set of mediums behind Piastri in seventh.
On the 44th tour, Leclerc was called in to stop for a set hards and came out behind seventh-placed Russell and Alonso also pitted and emerged in ninth behind the Ferrari.
Norris stopped a lap later and returned on track in third place ahead of McLaren team-mate Piastri.
Perez made his way by Piastri with DRS assistance on the main-straight around the outside for fourth place into turn one and kept the Australian at bay on the inside into turn two.
With 19 tours remaining, race leader Verstappen built a solid 35.343 second gap over Norris with Perez third, Piastri fourth and Hamilton who emerged in fifth place after stopping for a set of mediums.
On lap 52, Verstappen came in for his final stop for a set of mediums and came out 12.783 seconds clear of Norris.
With 15 laps left, Verstappen’s gap was up to 13.081 seconds ahead of Norris with Perez third, Piastri fourth and Hamilton holding fifth and closing in on the McLaren.
On lap 57, Hamilton got into the slipstream of Piastri and with DRS assistance dived on the inside of the Australian into turn one and made the move stick for fourth place.
With eight tours remaining, Verstappen was 22.362 seconds in-front of Norris with Perez 3.441 seconds behind the McLaren in third, Hamilton fourth and Piastri completing the top five.
With five laps remaining, Russell was tucked right behind Sainz out of the last corner and breezed past the Ferrari into seventh place.
Verstappen crossed the line to take a crushing victory by 33.371 seconds over Norris to give Red Bull their 250th podium in the sport as Perez came home third in the other RB19 entry.
Hamilton finished the Grand Prix in fourth place and in-front of McLaren’s Piastri who was fifth and Mercedes team-mate Russell who claimed sixth after Leclerc was hit with a five second timed-penalty for speeding in the pit-lane and thus demoted to seventh.
Ferrari’s Sainz ended the race in eighth as Aston Martin pairing Alonso and Stroll completed the top ten.
Williams Racing’s Albon placed outside the top 10 in 11th place and ahead of Alfa’s Bottas who took 12th and AlphaTauri’s Ricciardo who finished his return to the sport in 13th.
Haas F1 Team’s Hulkenberg came home 14th and in-front of AlphaTauri’s Tsunoda who was 15th.
Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen brought up the rear.
Williams Racing’s Logan Sargeant retired late on and joined Alpine pairing Gasly and Ocon whose race ended in the early proceedings.
2023 Belgian GP Preview – The Situation
Formula 1 heads to the historic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps this weekend for the Belgian Grand Prix and the final race before the four-week traditional summer break.
It also features the third Sprint weekend of the 2023 campaign – so Qualifying for the Grand Prix will be on Friday afternoon, before the Sprint Shootout and Qualifying Sprint on Saturday and the Belgian GP on Sunday.
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen could become the second driver in the sport’s history after Sebastian Vettel to win eight consecutive races.
The Dutchman overtook Sir Lewis Hamilton to clinch his seventh victory in succession last time out in Hungary to extend his championship lead to 110 points over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
Red Bull will also be looking to round off a 100% unbeaten first half of the season and extend their winning streak to 13 Grands Prix. A win will mean the Milton Keynes based-outfit sets another record for most consecutive victories within a campaign (12).
McLaren will be pushing to remain the closest challengers to Red Bull at the high-speed Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, whilst Hamilton is within striking distance of overtaking Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso for third place in the driver’s standings.
Verstappen returns to Belgium sitting on top of the World Driver’s Championship with 281 points and a 110-point advantage over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez who is second on 171 points while Alonso is a further 132 points behind the Dutchman in third on 139 points.
Oracle Red Bull Racing comes to the Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps on top of the World Constructors Championship with 452 points and a 229-point lead over nearest rivals Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team who are second on 223 points whilst Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team are a further 268 points behind the Milton Keynes based-outfit in third place on 184 points.
Click here for the 2023 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings.
The Formula 1 MSC Cruises Belgian Grand Prix 2023 weekend begins Friday July 28 with Free Practice 1 and Qualifying, followed by The Sprint Shootout and the 100km Sprint Race Saturday July 29 and the 44 lap Race Sunday July 30.
