Rate the race: 2023 Belgian Grand Prix

38 comments on “Rate the race: 2023 Belgian Grand Prix”

1. 

   Jere (@jerejj)
   30th July 2023, 15:31

   A decent Belgian GP overall, even after Max run away into another comfortable victory.
   1. 

      Yellow Baron
      30th July 2023, 20:36

      Your standard has been lowered significantly.
   2. 

      BasCB (@bascb)
      31st July 2023, 8:03

      I was mainly very happy to see several good battles and overtakes going on outside of the DRS zones (where it was mostly completely lame and predictable highway passes).

      Overall I enjoyed the race quite a bit.
2. 

   Alex (@)
   30th July 2023, 15:32

   Not the most entertaining race, but I appreciate how close the drivers were throughout.

   I can’t think of another race where there was no red flag, and no safety car – yet no-one was lapped. Any takers?
   1. 

      MadMax (@madmax)
      30th July 2023, 15:34

      if one ignores RBR was again 1s faster per lap, then yes. the rest of the field is pretty level
      1. 

         Alex (@)
         30th July 2023, 15:38

         Even if you look at the Red Bull – Verstappen pushed at the start to overtake Perez, and pushed at the end to the point where his engineer was telling him to play the percentages – but he didn’t lap a single other car.

         Obviously part of that is the length of the lap at Spa, but a lot of it is that the ‘floor’ for team performance is higher than it’s ever been. There’s a gap of perhaps 0.7s between Red Bull and Mercedes; but after that all teams are relatively close – possibly closer than they’ve been in the history of the sport.
3. 

   S
   30th July 2023, 15:34

   6.
   Lack of practice leading to plenty of on-the-fly strategy decisions was a positive, as were the several overtakes not using DRS.
4. 

   BLS (@brightlampshade)
   30th July 2023, 15:34

   I’d say a very middling race. Top 4 were pretty set, Sainzs damage put a big gap in the field, but there was some interest throughout.
   1. 

      Alex (@)
      30th July 2023, 15:41

      Yeah, Sainz’s defending skills in a damaged car really spaced out the cars from Alonso down: while I appreciate the guts, it’s a shame, as it effectively protected everyone ahead of him from competition.
5. 

   Ciaran (@ciaran)
   30th July 2023, 15:35

   Plenty of good racing behind Max. One of the better Belgian Grand Prix in recent memory
6. 

   Albo94
   30th July 2023, 15:35

   Lame as always in 2023.
   This will certainly become the lowest rated season ever on ‘ rate the race’.
   No doubt.
   1. 

      Esploratore (@esploratore1)
      30th July 2023, 20:16

      I gave it 5, very disappointed the rain didn’t really come, although it at least came friday and saturday, it’s the fia not letting them race in proper conditions, and I hardly ever give 5 to a race, but apart from the rain disappointment I found it pretty dull, with no chance to fight for 1st or even 2nd place.

      There was ofc some action in the midfield, a few overtakes and battles, which could give it a redeeming 1-2 points for some, but not for me this time.
   2. 

      Jim (@jimgogo)
      30th July 2023, 21:01

      Very dull season.

      I blame these regulations. I loathe the thought of having to put up with them for another 2.5 years.
7. 

   melanos
   30th July 2023, 15:37

   Would have liked Max to push a little more, open the gap and get the flap in the last one

   It was very close, about 20 seconds from Checo with one lap left

   Fred had a pretty good race but had he been a little faster the Big Weaver would not have had a chance
8. 

   asd
   30th July 2023, 15:40

   It was quite entertaining throughout the field. I wish DRS wasn’t used for that race.
   1. 

      Alex (@)
      30th July 2023, 15:44

      It would force more people to make creative & gutsy overtakes like Norris’s round the outside.

      I understand the fear in the TV execs of going back to how things used to be, but with how much easier it is to overtake this year and last, they could at least cut the zones down significantly.
   2. 

      Ciaran (@ciaran)
      30th July 2023, 16:22

      The positioning of DRS on the Kemmel Straight constantly confuses me. The cars are able to follow a bit better through Eau Rouge/Raidillon, and there’s no need to create such a speed disparity. Agreed with @smallvizier as well that more creative passes would benefit, I don’t think there’s a risk of going back to the zero-passing scenarios of the 2000s these days.
9. 

   melanos
   30th July 2023, 15:47

   It got pretty tense with the first raindrops. Unfortunately it did not pour. But Max gave us an entertaining save at the Raidillon. He was competing only against himself anyway
10. 

    Scalextric (@scalextric)
    30th July 2023, 15:50

    At least it was more than 3 laps
11. 

    If I'm not wery much mistaken (@ifiamnotwerymuchmistaken)
    30th July 2023, 15:54

    Some nice proper (non-drs passes), but aside from that very boring. It’s very sad when the race winner wins from 6th, and all of his overtakes are forgotten the moment they are done.
    I’m sure VER would’ve won without drs, but he would’ve had to fight for places, not just go around deffenceless obstacles.
12. 

    MadMax (@madmax)
    30th July 2023, 16:08

    Unfortunate turn 1 for Piastri. Seems like Perez’ swerving at the start caused it, with Hamilton being blocked into turn 1, and Sainz trying switch to the inside line, where Piastri already was there with nowhere left to go.

    These blocking moves at start should get forbidden somehow. Especially as it again was the usual stupid overaggressive driving of RBR drivers, as soon as Hamilton is around.
    1. 

       Jim from US (@jimfromus)
       30th July 2023, 17:11

       Should it be considered weaving if you move across and then back?
    2. 

       Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
       30th July 2023, 20:09

       I recommend a life-size Scalextric setup so they remain in their lanes. The Jeddah circuit would be permitted to add crossovers, table legs and giant cats batting cars off the track.
    3. 

       melanos
       30th July 2023, 21:19

       Watching the replay carefully I watch Carlos divebombing while ignoring that Oscar had nowhere to go (I’d guess Carlos did not even see him). I’m pretty sure that Carlos would have got a penalty for causing a collision had it not been turn 1 of the race where stewards are often a lot more lenient.

       But Checo? Caused? It? In which alternate universe?

       Next thing we’ll know Max and/or Checo demised JFK, MLK and Julius Caesar. Seriously.
       1. 

          MadMax (@madmax)
          30th July 2023, 22:34

          Sainz would have taken the same line as Hamilton, if the latter would not have been held up a bit by Perez, who entered the corner a bit slower after coming back from the inside of his swerve. Thats what resulted into Sainz locking up and choosing the inside, cause with Hamilton being slowed down he got a shot for overtaking. Cascading effects.
13. 

    Blutto
    30th July 2023, 17:11

    It would be better if there was a slight rain in the middle. Just to throw things off a bit
    1. 

       Esploratore (@esploratore1)
       30th July 2023, 20:20

       Yes, or persistent rain, they would keep racing until someone crashed out and they needed to recover the car, only a few mins of decent rain intensity can force intermediates.
14. 

    David BR (@david-br)
    30th July 2023, 18:14

    5. It’s getting difficult to watch F1 with the same interest this season.
    I know it’s now standard to say Verstappen is in another league of his own, but I don’t really think it’s true. He’s fast, calm and confident, totally in tune with the car. But that doesn’t mean he’s being pushed. Perez crumbled and the lead is now a staggering 5 race wins ahead half way through the season. Verstappen is making little mistakes that really show his main problem is concentration. The Red Bull is simply way ahead of anything else on the grid.
    1. 

       melanos
       30th July 2023, 21:42

       A staggering 5 race wins ahead

       125 points ahead, so equivalent to 5 race wins. But the race tally is 2 -10 so that’s 8 wins ahead. Scary.
    2. 

       osnola
       31st July 2023, 11:50

       Verstappen is making little mistakes that really show his main problem is concentration.

       I do not think concentration is the problem.
       He makes way less mistakes then any other driver, so you are grasping at straws here .
       His save during the race (like several others experienced) was a result of driving on the edge even when leading the race
15. 

    PeterG
    30th July 2023, 19:14

    Just a shame they continue to put an overly powerful and completely unnecessary DRS zone on the kemmel straight.

    The kemmel straight was a place that has always been good for overtaking and we always saw a fair bit of it there before DRS and you still see today some good slipstreaming and side by side fights down there with some real overtaking into Les Combes on laps when DRS isn’t activated.

    If they are going to stick with DRS then put it only where it’s needed and use it to create more overtaking possibilities in places where overtaking wouldn’t be possible without it. Putting it in places where overtaking was already possible just results in passing been far too easy more often than not.

    The fact the kemmel DRS zone was too powerful in 2011 & has remained so every year yet it has remained there shows what the true purpose of DRS is. It clearly isn’t aimed at improving the racing or providing us with some great overtaking and is instead simply there to create quantity over quality to pad the stat books as they have clearly decided that 50+ mostly easy, boring and unmemorable passes are better than fewer hard fought for, exciting & memorable ones.
    1. 

       roodda (@roodda)
       31st July 2023, 3:28

       Why they didn’t review the DRS zones after the first five races has been so weird and a forgotten story of 2023.
16. 

    GmP (@gmp)
    30th July 2023, 19:22

    8
    Always good to see the best driver handling the best car win. A pity that Lewis could not put any pressure on Charles. I am sure Lewis’s is trying, but is he really getting the best out on the Merc at this moment? Other than fastest lap he had such an unremarkable race. I liked all the racing that happened for the lower places, great to see Yuki finish 10, pity that Williams made a mishap in strategy with Alex.
    And Norris and Ocon keeping digging and gaining places to the end. Worth waking up at six for.
    1. 

       MadMax (@madmax)
       30th July 2023, 20:25

       P4 was probably all one could wish for, with the current Merc performance. For sure its easier cruising with a car with 1s a lap more performance in it.
17. 

    Ronald (@mosquito)
    30th July 2023, 21:10

    Quite an entertaining race. Good to see F1 on a proper track. Some nice moves by the Alpine guys, some mixed strategies, I enjoyed myself.8/10
18. 

    Sham (@sham)
    30th July 2023, 22:15

    A 4 from me.

    DRS. At Spa. For the entire length of the Kemmel straight.
    Again.

    There is no excitement in one car simply driving past another.
19. 

    Jim from US (@jimfromus)
    30th July 2023, 22:55

    What was the national anthem singer wearing? Is that a traditional Belgian outfit?
20. 

    roodda (@roodda)
    31st July 2023, 3:29

    A race that threatened to be fantastic but the top six didn’t change in the second half. Rain shower was a complete tease. Biggest gripe — the DRS zone on Kemmel straight remaining unchanged. It’s a good 200m too long. How DRS zone reviews have been forgotten after the first five races of 2023 is a strange one.

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