The current weekend at Spa Francorchamps is turning into one of the chaotic race weekends of the 2021 F1 season. Max Verstappen is starting the Belgian GP from pole position alongside George Russell in a Williams, a car that barely looked capable enough to to secure a top 15 start.
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But behind the duo the mix-up begins. Several drivers, including Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris, carry start penalties. So, despite a lot of confusion, let’s take a look at the actual starting grid considering the declines in position.
Top 10 on the grid for the Belgian GP
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As mentioned before, Verstappen will start from the front of the field ahead of Williams’ Russell. The Briton secured Williams’ first start since 2017 in Italy from the front row. Hamilton will start from P3 alongside Daniel Ricciardo on P4, his best starting position for McLaren.
Formula 1 F1 – Belgian Grand Prix – Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium – August 28, 2021 George Russell from Williams in action during the REUTERS / Christian Hartmann qualifying
Sebastian Vettel enjoyed his best qualifying with Aston Martin and starts from P5, with Pierre Gasly from P6; this is the Frenchman’s fifth P6 start this season. Sergio Perez had to be content with P7 after a bad last run in Q3 in front of the Hungarian GP winner Esteban Ocon.
In the absence of Norris, Charles Leclerc will move up one seat to P9 alongside Nicholas Latifi. This is the Canadian’s first Top 10 start this season. Since both Williams are in the top 10, there is also a second colon in a row on the cards.
Rest of the F1 grid
Carlos Sainz will be a mustache off the top 10 on P11, ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who has dropped from P8 to P12. Fernando Alonso will be in P13 behind the duo.
The Spaniard will compete alongside Norris on P14; The Brit suffered a terrifying crash around the Eau Rouge on Saturday. Therefore he had to accept a starting penalty of five places due to a gear change.
Antonio Giovinazzi was unable to take advantage of the wet conditions as Alfa Romeo’s problems seem to be endless this season. The Italian will start from P15 after securing a position from Lance Stroll’s penalty.
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Formula 1 F1 – Belgian Grand Prix – Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium – August 28, 2021 McLaren’s Lando Norris in qualifying REUTERS / Johanna Geron
Yuki Tsunoda’s qualifying problems haunted him again at Spa when the Japanese had to be content with P16. Tsunoda failed to qualify for Q2 for the seventh time in 2021. Mick Schumacher will start from P17 and thus set his best starting position of the season ahead of Kimi Räikkönen.
P19 goes to Nikita Mazepin, as Stroll completes the last place on the grid due to the disorder penalty at the Hungarian GP.
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Overall, the starting grid has been officially set and many drivers are certainly not in position. So do we have a Sunday indulgence at the Belgian GP in the middle of a possibly wet race for the first time since Turkey 2020?
View history: Biggest crashes from 2020 with Leclerc, Vettel & Grosjean
The post What is the updated order of the grids for the Belgian GP Post Bottas & Norris penalties? first appeared on monter-une-startup.
