On the Belgian Grand Prix every of the previous two seasons Max Verstappen took a grid penalty as Crimson Bull modified elements on his race automobile.
Verstappen overcame these penalties to win in each 2022 and 2023.
As we and others have famous, 2024 is just not both of these seasons. The Method 1 grid has modified, and the times of Crimson Bull dominating the sector — and Verstappen overcoming penalties with ease — are behind us. Verstappen was quickest on Saturday and that efficiency throughout qualifying led many to imagine that he would overcome the ten-place grid penalty, and P11 begin, within the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
However that was not the case. Verstappen crossed the road fifth on Sunday and was promoted to fourth following the disqualification handed all the way down to George Russell following a post-race inspection. That restoration drive is a formidable consequence to make sure given his beginning place, however one other reminder that his and Crimson Bull’s days of dominance over the grid are within the rear-view mirror.
“The primary stint, I stayed out of bother the primary few laps, bought into that DRS prepare and mainly simply stayed there. Then we tried to do a pleasant undercut which I believe labored fairly properly, however yeah the automobiles are all very related in tempo after which it’s simply very troublesome to maneuver up,” mentioned Verstappen after the race.
“So, I believe from P11 we did a very good job. I believe wanting on the championship it was a optimistic day for me, in fact you need extra however yeah with our tempo the previous couple of races, it’s not reasonable to suppose we are able to go P11 all the way in which to the entrance once more,” added the Crimson Bull driver. “These days are behind sadly. However now we have loads of issues to analyse over the break and see if we are able to enhance the automobile beginning already in Zandvoort.”
The outcomes noticed Verstappen lengthen his lead over Lando Norris to 78 factors, because the Crimson Bull driver banked 12 factors on Sunday, versus Norris’ ten. However issues are completely different on the Constructors’ aspect of issues, as McLaren banked 28 factors on Sunday at Spa, in distinction to the 19 Crimson Bull was capable of placed on the board.
Because of this because the grid goes quiet for the summer season shutdown, McLaren is simply 42 factors behind Crimson Bull. That truth would possibly result in some attention-grabbing discussions in Milton Keynes over the following few weeks relating to the standing of Sergio Pérez alongside Verstappen.
“Fortunately it’s altering just a little bit, so it’s not one specific crew that’s taking factors away however yeah, we all know now we have a bit of labor to do, we wish to do higher and we’ll see what we are able to do,” concluded Verstappen on Sunday at Spa.
Can Crimson Bull discover the solutions they’re searching for? How that query will get answered will go a good distance towards writing the ultimate chapter of what’s changing into a legendary F1 season.
