Friday running at Spa has been somewhat eventful, with FP1 being a mixed bag thanks to damp track conditions, and FP2 somewhat showing the true pace of the cars, with a few alarming results. About an hour before FP2 started, it was announced that Perez would continue at Red Bull for next year, a power move by Red Bull in my opinion. We can expect some other teams to possibly reveal their lineups as well this weekend, with my suspicion saying that Latifi might be confirmed this weekend as well. Now, onto the events of FP2.
The session was dry, but the track was still tricky in the initial stages. Lando went out on the inters, but immediately came back after his out lap, as the track was quite dry. Gasly was one of a few to go off-track, though initially struggles were expected from everyone, as the limits of the cars were being tested.
The drivers tested the track limits as well, with quite a few times being deleted. Relatively though, the session was quiet, with the odd lockup being the only thing of notice, as teams were practicing both their qualifying as well as race runs.
Yellow flags flutter briefly as @OconEsteban goes sideways out of Turn 14 😮
The Alpine driver gets going again and heads back to the pits#BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/ok4ZJtiMvz
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 27, 2021
Ocon then suddenly had a dramatic moment, spinning at the same place Giovinazzi had his massive accident last year. There was an extended duration yellow flag, but he got away unscathed. After a few more minutes passed, there was a red flag, as Leclerc had crashed on the exit of Turn 5.
The red flag lasted a while, and then we had another red flag, this time for Verstappen, who also had a crash at the same corner that Charles did. The rear of the car took a bit of a hit, though fortunately for Max the gearbox used in this session was not the one which is to be used in the race, so he can breathe a sigh of relief.
The session was ended on the spot, as there were only 3 minutes left in the session anyways. Max topped the timing sheets, followed by both Mercedes within a tenth of his time. The alarming stat is that both Merc’s best times were on the medium compound, while Max’s was on the soft compound.
Both Alonso and Gasly did amazing, while Sergio’s deficit to Max can be somewhat put down to setting his best time on a harder compound. Both McLaren and Ferrari seemed to struggle a bit, and will be looking to make some setup changes to have a better chance incase any of the sessions are dry.
This could be the last dry run the drivers possibly get this weekend, with rain forecast for Saturday and Sunday. FP2 was decent in my opinion, with the best moment of the session being the lap-long helmet cam of the legend that is Fernando Alonso, where we got to see one of the best at work, around one of the most beautiful circuits in the world. Up through Eau Rouge and Radillon, sweeping through Pouhon and navigating the technical Bus Stop chicane, it was beautiful to see, my cheeks hurting due to grinning end to end for around 2 minutes. Helmet cams are something I want to become more common in F1, and for me it was the highlight of the session!
