Belgian GP: Mercedes qualifying report
A weather-affected qualifying hour at Spa-Francorchamps today saw MERCEDES GP PETRONAS drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg qualify in 11th and 12th places respectively for tomorrow's Belgian Grand Prix. A ten place grid penalty for Michael ...
A weather-affected qualifying hour at Spa-Francorchamps today saw MERCEDES GP PETRONAS drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg qualify in 11th and 12th places respectively for tomorrow's Belgian Grand Prix. A ten place grid penalty for Michael and a five place penalty for Nico following a gearbox change will be applied to their qualifying positions.
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER
"What a pity as I would have liked to be in the top ten today obviously. I believe that we could have made it but unfortunately I had traffic on my last run so I could not push more at that point. Knowing I have to go back ten positions on the grid anyway makes me hope for mixed weather conditions tomorrow. This would at least bring some movement into the race which could work out in favour or against us. Let's see what tomorrow afternoon will bring and what we can make out of it."
NICO ROSBERG
"It's not been an ideal weekend so far and knowing that we have the five place gearbox penalty, we decided to go for more of a rain set-up as it would be our only chance in the race tomorrow. The car was generally lacking grip today but the main problem was that I had traffic on my fastest lap in Q2 with a driver staying in front of me on his in-lap for the last half of the lap. We'll have to see what tomorrow brings but if it rains, then we are on the right set-up."
ROSS BRAWN
"It is obviously a difficult weekend for us with the problems that we have had with Michael being put back ten places and now the gearbox issue with Nico which has lost us five places. We didn't look too bad in various parts of qualifying today and when we went out at the end of Q2, we had plenty of time for decent runs, however we had a problem with a driver who was on his in-lap and holding our drivers up. Michael and Nico ended up missing out on Q3 by fractions of a second due to another driver which is frustrating."
NORBERT HAUG
"Both Michael and Nico missed the top ten by about seven-hundredths today. In addition, we have been handicapped here from the outset with Michael's 10 place and Nico's five place grid penalty. Let's hope the typical Spa weather lottery will help us to improve and go forward."
-source: mercedes
Share Or Save This Story
James Vowles faces "tough moment" as Nico Rosberg calls Williams woes "a shocker"
Kimi Antonelli could get "more and more panicked" in F1 title fight, says Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg proposes major F1 VSC rule change after Lando Norris Spanish GP setback
Why Max Verstappen says 0.196s Baku finish-line gap to George Russell is slightly misleading
Baku late-race chaos almost costs George Russell victory over Max Verstappen
Kimi Antonelli: I was "driving like my grandmother" in Baku F1 race
Corey Heim jumped by crew members and punched in Martinsville altercation
Conor Daly earns career-best NASCAR Truck finish in chaotic Kansas race
After five-hour rain delay, Kaden Honeycutt wins dramatic NASCAR Truck race at Kansas
Frankie Muniz earns another GT4 America win with co-driver Tyler Stone at Barber
Baku late-race chaos almost costs George Russell victory over Max Verstappen
How George Russell claimed his career-best pole margin in F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying
How the chase to catch Mercedes is unfolding
What we learned from Thursday practice at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments