Like most teams, Mercedes decided in practice on Friday to use different wing levels on their cars in order to find the right compromise between straight-ahead speed and downforce for the long spa course.
As it was raining on Saturday afternoon in the run-up to qualifying, the teams were faced with the difficult decision of whether to lean more towards the conditions or plan a dry race on Sunday.
Mercedes kept its thinner rear wing for qualifying to ensure Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas still had good straight-line speed, but an extra stretcher fit in in response to the rain.
Hamilton qualified third on the grid behind F1 title rivals Max Verstappen and Williams driver George Russell, but Bottas battled for eighth place and will continue to fall behind with a starting penalty.
After qualifying, Hamilton admitted that it would be “tricky” for Mercedes in the race if the conditions were the same as in qualifying given the chosen setup.
“There’s that balance between straight line speed and mid-section downforce,” said Hamilton.
“I think we tried to find the best possible balance. Maybe it’s not the best for today, but we’ll see exactly how good it is tomorrow.
“Tomorrow is another day and hopefully we will have better weather.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
It continued to rain throughout the Sunday morning at Spa, with the conditions forcing the F3 race to do a few laps behind the safety car before it could start. The rain is expected to continue throughout the day.
Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff stated that the setup of both W12 cars was geared more towards dry conditions in order to maximize straight-ahead speed, which reduced his chances in wet qualifying.
“I think we have a really fast racing car,” said Wolff after qualifying.
“When the weather conditions stay dry or stay almost dry, we have a good straight-line speed.
“We opted for a somewhat drier set-up in order to maximize the speed on the straight and that was a bit of a burden for us today.”
Bottas is expected to start the race from 12th on the grid. Despite finishing in 13th place due to his penalty, Lando Norris was forced to change gear after his qualifying crash, which left him falling further behind.
“He’s got a good car tomorrow,” said Wolff of Bottas.
“Depending on the weather, I think he can score solid points and get back to the top four.”
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