Qualifying report
Formula 1 Belgian GP
Pirelli: Rosberg claims pole position for MercedeS with intermediate
Cinturato wet and intermediate tyres seen in mixed conditions of qualifying at Spa
Edited: Aug 23, 2014, 9:38 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Spa-Francorchamps – Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has claimed pole position at Spa using the Cinturato Green intermediate tyre, becoming the sixth different driver to sit on pole in Belgium in the last six years. He beat his team mate Lewis Hamilton in tricky conditions, with Mercedes enjoying a pace advantage of around two seconds over rival teams.
A heavy rain shower before qualifying meant that the session started with just 19 degrees of track temperature and 10 degrees ambient, on a fully wet track. There was a mixture of intermediates and full wets in Q1, with all the drivers eventually moving onto the intermediate by the end of the session.
Intermediates were once more used by all the teams in Q2. The track dried out slightly right at the end of the session enabling a number of drivers to improve their times.
The key to setting a quick time in the final Q3 shoot-out was to cross the finish line as late as possible in the session, but it was never sufficiently dry to move onto the slicks. Pole position was decided in a tense duel between the two Mercedes drivers in the very closing moments of the session.
As a result of the rain today, all the teams will have practically a full allocation of new slick tyres for the race tomorrow. Despite the dominance of Mercedes in qualifying, neither car was in the top two of FP3 this morning.
Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “The teams have a tough task ahead of them because we expect a dry race following a wet qualifying, meaning that the data from today might not necessarily be relevant to tomorrow’s grand prix. As usual the challenge in qualifying was not so much dealing with the rain, but coping with the fact that the rain was inconsistent, with some parts of the circuit very wet and others parts more dry. As is always the case under those circumstances, this led to a very exciting qualifying session where the timing of the fast laps was crucial. We’re expecting two pit stops tomorrow, but it’s possible that some teams might try three if they feel there is a pace advantage, given that no slick tyres were used during qualifying and they will all have new sets of dry slicks for the race tomorrow. As a result, they all have enough new slick tyres to keep every option open.”
The Pirelli strategy predictor
The 44-lap race is likely to feature two pit stops in the normal course of events, if conditions stay dry. This also means that the teams are likely to have a complete stock of slick tyres. There is one clear fastest way to go: start on the soft tyres, change again to the soft on lap 15 and then the medium on lap 29. A one-stop or a three-stop is theoretically possible, but it’s not the quickest approach.
Pirelli Motorsport
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Sauber's Sutil clinch 14th position on qualifying for tomorrow's Belgian GP
Next article McLaren will end driver uncertainty within season
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lewis Hamilton
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Why Ferrari caved in to Lewis Hamilton’s failed Singapore F1 gamble
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Why Ferrari caved in to Lewis Hamilton’s failed Singapore F1 gamble
More from
Mercedes
Max Verstappen stars with 15-place charge in 45 minutes: 'I learned a lot and had fun'
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
Portimão
2 h
Max Verstappen stars with 15-place charge in 45 minutes: 'I learned a lot and had fun'
Latest news
How Geri Halliwell helped Christian Horner deal with fan hate
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 1 h
How Geri Halliwell helped Christian Horner deal with fan hate
Max Verstappen stars with 15-place charge in 45 minutes: 'I learned a lot and had fun'
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
Portimão
2 h
Max Verstappen stars with 15-place charge in 45 minutes: 'I learned a lot and had fun'
Feature
Discover prime content
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.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe