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    2023 RACE REVIEW

    Scuderia Ferrari goes into the summer break with the satisfaction of scoring its third podium finish of the season, courtesy of Charles Leclerc. He drove a solid race and his pace was strong and consistent from start to finish. Carlos Sainz was very unlucky, involved in a racing incident with Oscar Piastri at the first corner, which led to him retiring at half-distance because of the damage to his SF-23.
    Track Temperature30 °C
    Humidity62 %
    Air Temperature19 °C
    Wind Speed2 km/h SE
    • CHARLES LECLERC
    • Race Result3
    • Fastest Lap1:50.436
    • Pit Stop23.148 s
    • Race Time1:23:02.709
    • Gap from leader+32.259 s
    avg speed
    top speed
    avg speed
    top speed
    • CARLOS SAINZ
    • Race ResultDNF
    • Fastest Lap1:53.138
    • Pit Stop23.303 s
    • Race Time44:53.845
    • Gap from leader-
    avg speed
    top speed
    avg speed
    top speed
    Tyres
    Charles Leclerc
    N. Pit Stop2
    Total laps44
    pit
    10
    20
    30
    40
    Race laps
    13
    28
    44
    Percentage set used
    66 %
    Hard
    34 %
    CARLOS SAINZ
    N. Pit Stop1
    Total laps23
    pit
    10
    20
    30
    40
    Total laps
    7
    23
    Percentage set used
    Medium
    30 %
    Hard
    70 %
    “
    We are happy with Charles’ podium,
    it was well deserved and it’s a nice way to head into the summer break. Apart from that, I’d say the weekend in Belgium had several other positives. The pace was good all weekend, on rain tyres and slicks, both the Medium and Soft. We made the right strategy calls and all the pit stops went well. Overall therefore, I think we have made a step forward and we must start off from this point when we are back on track, because only with this attitude can we aim to beat our closest rivals. It’s a shame for Carlos because he too could have got a good result given that his pace was similar to Charles’ all weekend. The first corner here is often tricky and racing incidents after the start are always a possibility and that’s what happened. We opted to keep him out on track until the rain shower in the hope there might be a red flag which would have given us the chance to fix the car, but then it became clear that wouldn’t happen so we decided to retire him. This first half of the season has seen many highs and lows, but today it was clear we have reacted well after recent races that had not gone the way we wanted. The team all deserve the break, having worked so hard at the track and back in Maranello over the past months and when we come back, I want to see that same sense of determination.
    Frédéric Vasseur
    “
    Third was the best result
    we could have achieved today. We knew that the Red Bulls would be quicker than us, so our target was to maximise points with the package we have, and we did that. We had to base our strategy on Lewis' (Hamilton). He had a good pace and we had to make sure we kept him behind us. The Red Bulls in front then had to react to our moves, so we were all on the same strategy. In terms of tyre management, we didn't have too much degradation and we have been doing a good job in that area for the past few races. The team has done an amazing job to bring updates ahead of schedule and let us take steps forward faster than we thought we would. It's good to finish this first half with a podium and hopefully we can maximise our package at the upcoming races after the break too.
    Charles Leclerc
    #Charles16
    “
    Not the way I wanted to finish
    the first part of the season. Hamilton stayed behind Perez and I attacked him on the inside. Then came the contact with Oscar and that was it, a racing incident, but in my opinion Oscar was way too optimistic as he was never side by side with me and making that move from behind has never really worked here in Spa. I’m disappointed, but it’s also part of racing. On a positive note, it looked like the pace was good today so congrats to the team and Charles on an encouraging result. We need to keep pushing hard to make sure we come back strong after the break and have a good second half of the season.
    Carlos Sainz
    #Carlos55
    CARLOS SAINZ SPRINT SESSION
    POSITION
    4
    GAP FROM LEADER
    +12.648 S
    FASTEST LAP
    2:01.472
    CHARLES LECLERC SPRINT SESSION
    POSITION
    5
    GAP FROM LEADER
    + 15.016
    FASTEST LAP
    2:02.635
    “
    We had good pace
    with the Inters but we missed out on a better result. The pit stop was crucial today and unfortunately, we lost some valuable positions there. We will look into it, but apart from that it was a solid Saturday for the team and I felt good in these conditions. Now we focus on tomorrow: it's difficult to know how our pace will be during the race so I prefer to be cautious. However, I’m looking forward to putting everything together and finishing this first part of the season with a good result. Let’s race again!
    Carlos Sainz
    #Carlos55
    “
    We didn’t maximise
    our package today. Starting on the Wets like everyone else, I pitted one lap after Carlos, which I think was the right choice because we would have lost more time stopping right behind him. Unfortunately, we lost time in the pitlane and as a consequence we lost some positions there. The race tomorrow will depend a lot on the weather, as teams have set up their cars for different conditions. It’s always a bit of a gamble here, not just in terms of strategy, but you need a bit of luck too. In any case, it should be a good fight and I look forward to getting back in the car.
    Charles Leclerc
    #Charles16
    CARLOS SAINZ SPRINT SHOOTOUT
    Q1 - INTERMEDIATE TIRE
    1:59.414
    Q2 - SOFT TIRE
    1:56.557
    Q3 - SOFT TIRE
    1:49.081
    POSITION
    3
    GAP FROM LEADER
    +0.025 s
    CHARLES LECLERC SPRINT SHOOTOUT
    Q1 - INTERMEDIATE TIRE
    1:59.575
    Q2 - SOFT TIRE
    1:56.265
    Q3 - SOFT TIRE
    1:49.251
    POSITION
    4
    GAP FROM LEADER
    +0.195 s
    CHARLES LECLERC QUALIFYING SESSIONS
    Q1 - INTERMEDIATE TIRE
    1:58.300
    Q2 - INTERMEDIATE TIRE
    1:52.017
    Q3 - INTERMEDIATE TIRE
    1:46.988
    POSITION
    2
    GAP FROM LEADER
    +0.820 s
    CARLOS SAINZ QUALIFYING SESSIONS
    Q1 - INTERMEDIATE TIRE
    1:58.688
    Q2 - INTERMEDIATE TIRE
    1:51.711
    Q3 - INTERMEDIATE TIRE
    1:47.152
    POSITION
    5
    GAP FROM LEADER
    +0.984 s
    “
    On the one hand, it feels good
    because I struggled quite a bit in these conditions up until a few races ago and the hard work I put into my driving has paid off. I really felt at ease in the car. In Q3, we may have gone out a bit early, but at the end, it’s always down to risk versus reward, and we wanted to avoid any yellow flags. Our result is good, and we wouldn’t have been able to finish in front of Max (Verstappen) today. I expect him to catch up in the race on Sunday and with Checo in the mix, it will be a good challenge.
    Charles Leclerc
    #Charles16
    “
    Tricky qualifying today
    with the changing conditions. Every time we were going out we found a completely different track. We managed to go nicely through Q1 and Q2 but in Q3 I didn’t put together my best lap, having a moment in T8-9 which cost me some positions. We’ll start P4 on Sunday, which isn’t bad, and anything can happen this weekend with the weather, so we’ll see what we can come up with for the race.
    Carlos Sainz
    #Carlos55
    Carlos Sainz Practice sessions
    FP1 - POSITION: 1
    2:03.207
    Charles Leclerc Practice sessions
    FP1 - POSITION: 4
    2:08.148
    Sectors
    Turns
    Max Speed
    DRS
    • LocationSpa-Francorchamps
    • First GP1950
    • Circuit length7.004 km
    • Race Distance308.052 km
    • Laps44
    • Lap Record1:46.296Valtteri Bottas (2018)
    Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa-Francorchamps

    Spa-Francorchamps is a true classic Formula 1 circuit. There was a time when it was 14 kilometres in length and, even today, it is the longest track on the calendar, at 7.004 kilometres. One key section is the Bus Stop, formerly a double chicane and now a single turn. It’s very easy to overshoot and for safety reasons, it’s not possible to cut the corner. Rejoining the track therefore costs precious time. It nearly always rains in Spa, either in practice or during the race. It’s a track that sorts the boys from the men and the majority of drivers love it. To appreciate the difficulty of the challenge it presents, you only have to look at the winners’ roll of honour. Among the track’s most famous sections are the uphill esses at Eau Rouge and the following Raidillon, as well as Les Combes, Malmedy, Stavelot and Blanchimont. Ferrari has won 16 times in Belgium, 12 of them at Spa: the first victor was Alberto Ascari in 1952 and the last to date courtesy of Charles Leclerc in 2019.

    Eau Rouge and Raidillon

    One of the most spectacular pieces of track in the world. The barriers used to be much closer, punishing the slightest error, but even today it has to be treated with respect: making a slow exit almost invariably means losing a place.


    Bus Stop and La Source

    You arrive here on the run down from Blanchimont with the brakes having now cooled. A slow exit means laying yourself open at La Source, after the finish line. The hairpin after the start is very tricky: in 2012, Romain Grosjean played skittles with the pack, even flying over Alonso’s Ferrari.

    • 18
      RACE WINS
    • 14
      POLE POSITIONS
    • 19
      FASTEST LAPS
    • 50
      PODIUMS
    yeardrivermodel
    1952Ascari500 F2
    1953Ascari500 F2
    1956CollinsHill
    1961Hill156 F1
    1966Surtees312 F1-66
    1975Lauda312 T
    1976Lauda312 T2
    1979Scheckter312 T4
    1984Alboreto126 C4
    1996SchumacherF310
    1997SchumacherF310 B
    2001SchumacherF2001
    2002SchumacherF2002
    2007RaikkonenF2007
    2008MassaF2008
    2009RaikkonenF60
    2018Vettel SF71H
    2019LeclercSF90