The numerous penalties for changes to power unit components on various drivers at the 2022 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix caused a bewilderment in the way qualifying is managed. Some teams were willing to take slipstreams with their two cars to benefit those who had not received any penalties, such as Alpine with Fernando Alonso, who will start third on the grid on Sunday, or Ferrari, who with Carlos Sainz managed to inherit pole position from Max Verstappen.
The Spanish driver was one of the clear candidates for that first place, since the Dutchman and Charles Leclerc would have to accept a penalty that sent them to the bottom of the peloton, and only Sergio Pérez was running as a serious rival.
In the last round of qualifying, the Prancing Horse team decided that it would be a few seconds from the end when the Monegasque would give the Spaniard that advantage, although it did not matter, because his first lap was enough to overtake the Mexican from Red Bull.
The world leader was intractable, and the difference with respect to Sainz was almost seven tenths. However, the Ferrari will defend the pole position to try to get his second victory in Formula 1.
When asked about the lap that allowed him to be fastest without penalties, he replied: “It was good, I’m happy to start on pole obviously, but I’m not so happy to see the difference with Max [Verstappen] and Red Bull regarding us this weekend.”
“We have to investigate further to see why they are so fast,” he said. “But starting from pole is a good starting point, and we will try to win from there tomorrow. Objective accomplished, which was to beat Checo [Pérez] in qualifying, but doing it to a Red Bull was not easy because they are going faster than us “.
“What leaves me most surprised is the difference compared to Verstappen, who put us more than half a second per lap and we don’t know why,” said Carlos Sainz. “That leaves us with a bittersweet taste and makes us look at tomorrow with a bit of respect because they are faster than us this weekend and we have to find out why.”
The Spanish driver is facing a golden opportunity to reap what would be his second victory in Formula 1, but he is hesitant due to Max Verstappen’s great pace: “I think that if he continues doing laps like today’s and continues to put seven or eight tenths per lap, the simulation says that it arrives, as if there is a safety car, that compacts the grid, but I think that in the race we will go a little faster”.
“The difficult thing is going to be keeping Checo behind in the first lap because of the top speed they have, that’s where I’m going to be most vulnerable, because at race pace we’re going to go well,” he explained to the DAZN F1 microphones.
The slipstream that Charles Leclerc gave him did not help him in the end because he set his best time on the first attempt, and this is how the Spaniard saw it: “My Q3 was cleaner, in the first lap there was a bit of a mess with the slipstreams, see who wanted to lead, in the end it had to be me and I had no help.
“I was forced to take the lead, but the first lap was good enough for that second position, which I knew was going to give me pole,” said the Ferrari driver, who will seek to climb places in the drivers’ standings. , where it is fifth.
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