Moist circumstances on the Belgian Grand Prix have claimed their first sufferer, with a driver pressured out of the race earlier than it even begins.
Welcome to our reside protection of the Belgian Grand Prix, the place Daniel Ricciardo is chasing his greatest results of the season to date.
The Australian will begin from the second row on the grid after he turned in his greatest qualifying efficiency with McLaren, along with his excellent lap the fourth-fastest of the sphere.
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Ricciardo’s fifth-placed end on the British Grand Prix final month was his greatest outcome with McLaren to date and he might be trying to enhance on that once more in Belgium.
He’ll race his two hundredth Grand Prix in Belgium, turning into simply the twentieth driver to attain the milestone.
Purple Bull’s Sergio Perez out of the race earlier than it even begins
The moist circumstances at Spa have claimed their first sufferer, with Purple Bull’s Sergio Perez dominated out of the race after he broken the entrance of his automobile on the nice and cozy up laps.
He couldn’t management the automobile on the slippery monitor and crashed into the obstacles at gradual velocity whereas on his solution to the grid.
Sky Sports activities commentator Natalie Pinkham described the crash as “an absolute shocker for Sergio Perez”.
It’s an enormous blow for Purple Bull, which wants each level it will possibly get within the battle with Mercedes for the constructors’ championship.
Ricciardo on the lookout for greatest ever outcome with McLaren
Ricciardo may have his greatest probability but to complete forward of his teammate Lando Norris, who was taken to hospital after a heavy crash on the Eau Rouge nook throughout the third qualifying session.
The younger Brit has been cleared to race however will begin from 14th on the grid after McLaren copped a five-place penalty for changing his gearbox, which was broken within the crash.
There might be moist circumstances once more on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, and Ricciardo believes the monitor might must be modified to stop comparable crashes from taking place sooner or later.
“As thrilling as Eau Rouge is, it does are likely to have massive accidents just about yearly,” he advised Autosport.
“If it’s not in F1 it will likely be in one other class, the place there are massive ones. I feel that’s the place it’s a bit an excessive amount of.
“I feel the nook will nonetheless be scary and thrilling even when they push the barrier a couple of further metres again, as a result of it’s additionally the way in which the automobiles then bounce again onto the monitor.
“It’s type of simply realigning the security. I don’t suppose it’s altering the pure character of the nook. I feel it’s simply eradicating any of the pointless hazard. With historical past, and that kind of aspect of it, nobody advantages when the hazard’s pointed in that route.”
“I’m nonetheless joyful racing right here. I feel in the event that they attempt to tweak and simply make the monitor a bit safer then I feel all of us need to hold coming right here, and we’re positively not attempting to get it faraway from the calendar.
“However in fact if we can assist it stay on the calendar by adjusting a few of these areas, then we’ll do this as a result of it’s a mega monitor.”
The Grand Pix will get underway at 11pm (AEST).
Belgian Grand Prix Beginning Grid
Entrance row: Max Verstappen (NED/Purple Bull-Honda), George Russell (GBR/Williams-Mercedes)
2nd row: Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes), Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes)
third row: Sebastian Vettel (GER/Aston Martin-Mercedes), Pierre Gasly (FRA/AlphaTauri-Honda)
4th row: Sergio Perez (MEX/Purple Bull-Honda), Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault)
fifth row: Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes), Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)
sixth row: Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari), Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams-Mercedes)
seventh row: Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes), Fernando Alonso (ESP/Alpine-Renault)
eighth row: Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari), Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri-Honda)
ninth row: Mick Schumacher (GER/Haas-Ferrari), Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari)
tenth row: Nikita Mazepin (RUS/Haas-Ferrari), Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes)
Word: Bottas and Stroll each penalised 5 locations on the grid following accidents
Initially revealed as Belgian F1 Grand Prix reside: Carnage earlier than race even begins