Oscar Piastri believes his love of Spa-Francorchamps played a role in him being comfortably fastest in Sprint qualifying ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
McLaren opted for a higher downforce setting that gives the car good performance in the corners through the middle sector, but slightly less top speed in the first and last sectors. It was an approach that worked for Piastri as he was nearly half a second clear of Max Verstappen, and 0.6s ahead of teammate Lando Norris, in a dominant Sprint qualifying display.
• Sprint qualifying report: Piastri blitzes field again
“It was a good lap,” Piastri said. “A little scared in SQ2 with the lap deletion [for exceeding track limits at Raidillon], but the car’s been mega all day and I feel like I’ve been able to put in a lot of good laps. So thanks to the team, the car’s been great and this is a track I love.
“It’s my favorite one of the year and, I don’t know, maybe that gave me a couple of extra tenths! But it’s always good fun around here and when the car’s handling as well as it is today, it’s a pleasure.
“The car has been in a good window from lap one and it’s a track I always enjoy coming to. I don’t know why, but I think I’ve had good confidence. I feel like the last few weekends have been good from a pace perspective, but not so much from a results perspective, so it’s nice to get a result for that.”
While the margin was big in the final lap times, Red Bull took the opposite approach to McLaren, with Verstappen particularly quick in the first and third sectors. That makes Piastri vulnerable to attack at the start on Saturday, something he’s wary of given the impact of a slipstream early on.
“I need to go and look. The Red Bulls were very quick in a straight line in practice – I don’t know if that was the same in Sprint qualifying, but that makes life difficult and Spa is probably the worst track to have pole position at, so let’s see. But I think the pace in the car is really strong and I’ve felt good today, so hopefully we can have a good day tomorrow.”
