The Belgian Grand Prix is often a turning point in the season and some teams have understood this. Red Bull, Ferrari and Williams each introduced a share of major developments to try to energize their performance and refine their car before the final stretch of the championship.
Red Bull: a new flat bottom for Verstappen
At Red Bull, Max Verstappen is the only one to benefit from a new flat bottom this weekend. A targeted development, introduced in a tense context for the Austrian team, who seeks to take up the ascendant on McLaren and Ferrari after several mixed weekends. With the Sprint format, each round counts to validate this technical choice, all the more in the absence of its Gianpiero Lambiase engineer.
Ferrari: front spoiler and rethought rear suspension
Ferrari bet on a double evolution with a new front fin and a reworked rear suspension. Objective: to improve mechanical behavior in slow and average turn, without sacrificing top speed, essential to SPA. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will both have access to these new parts, in a key moment to stay in the fight against Mercedes.
Williams: a complete aerodynamic package
For his part, Williams has deployed a complete package including a new flat bottom, a revised front fin and adjustments to the brake scopes. Grove’s stable seeks to consolidate its place in the ranking, with the ambition to get closer to the top 10 in pure performance. Alexander Albon will have the mission of testing these elements as a priority.
A sprint format that complicates everything
The Sprint format, with a single free test session disputed on Friday morning, limited the time of adaptation for the three stables. The developments were tested in a reduced niche, under pressure, before switching to the Sprint qualifications in the afternoon. It will now be necessary to analyze the data collected in FP1 to validate or not their use on the rest of the weekend, especially for the Sprint race and the Sunday Grand Prix. A major challenge in such a tight calendar.
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GP from Belgium: Three teams come out heavy artillery with big developments
GP from Belgium: Red Bull, Ferrari and Williams have introduced major technical developments to SPA. Each stable hopes to take advantage of these new pieces this strategic weekend in the race for the championship.
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