2024 Belgian Grand Prix race result and championship points

36 comments on “2024 Belgian Grand Prix race result and championship points”

1. 

   BLS (@brightlampshade)
   28th July 2024, 15:35

   Well…..
   I didn’t expect that result today. Well done George, well done Mercedes!
   1. 

      Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      28th July 2024, 15:38

      @brightlampshade you don’t use that strategy when your teammate is winning especially when you choose not to use the strategy against other teams.
      1. 

         BLS (@brightlampshade)
         28th July 2024, 15:41

         ??
         Mercedes turned a 1st and 5th-ish into a 1st and 2nd.
         I’d say that’s a good day. No one else held onto the tyres as well as George managed.
         1. 

            Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            28th July 2024, 15:44

            @brightlampshade by reversing the order of the drivers – sure, they could have had 1-2 but swapped since Russell got there mostly on account of strategy.
2. 

   t1redmonkey (@t1redmonkey)
   28th July 2024, 15:36

   Another bite taken out of RBR’s points lead by McLaren. Going to be an interesting second half of the season.
   1. 

      Steve Rogers (@yossarian)
      28th July 2024, 15:42

      And by Mercedes and Ferrari. If they don’t improve their form from the last 4 races and if Perez continues to be nowhere, Red Bull are at risk of being 4th
      1. 

         Oxnard (@montalvo)
         28th July 2024, 15:54

         I honestly don’t think Red Bull cares much about the constructors championship. It would actually be an advantage with the new rule set coming up.
      2. 

         Nick T.
         28th July 2024, 21:10

         You guys are being too harsh. I mean Perez is only 7 straight wins with 7 straight DNFs for Max from overtaking him…
   2. 

      Oople ZERO
      28th July 2024, 16:26

      If Merc = McLaren > Red Bull for the rest of the season…
      Could they drop to third in the championship?
      I have no doubt Max will still edge himself to the driver’s championship.
3. 

   Michael (@freelittlebirds)
   28th July 2024, 15:37

   Mercedes using the same strategy against Lewis that they denied him last season to cost him 2 victories. Ouch!
   1. 

      ben
      28th July 2024, 15:39

      Yeah, completely threw Lewis under the bus again on that one! He’s leaving the team so it isn’t surprising. Glad he’s got his Silverstone win this year because Mercedes won’t let him win again.
      1. 

         Michael (@freelittlebirds)
         28th July 2024, 15:46

         Yeah, if he had not won Silverstone, they would have left Lewis 3 seasons without a victory (scary) while giving Russell as many victories as they could. Lewis is very good at reading people and you can definitely tell that Mercedes have not had his interests and the team’s (since they are aligned) at heart for a while now. The same thing happened at McLaren and he jumped boat.
      2. 

         Patrick (@paeschli)
         28th July 2024, 15:46

         Russel pretty much came up with that strategy all by himself. Can’t argue Mercedes have favored Russel with the strategy when Russel made his own choices.
         Not asking Russel to let Hamilton through made sense as the time lost while letting Hamilton through would have made him vulnerable to Piastri. Holding position was the right call to ensure Russel finished the GP in the least amount of time possible, thus shielding him from Piastri.
         1. 

            David BR (@david-br)
            28th July 2024, 15:52

            @paeschli I thought it was a great call by Russell for the team and for himself. But it certainly was at the expense of Hamilton, who drove perfectly too.
            1. 

               Michael (@freelittlebirds)
               28th July 2024, 15:55

               Yeah but cannot ask that after Lewis has made the choice because that cost him the win. It’s incredibly backhanded – Lewis worked like a dog to win the race only to find Russell in front of him. It’s absurd.
         2. 

            Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            28th July 2024, 15:54

            Who cares who came up with it? It’s not difficult. Hey, should I pit or go the whole way? It’s 2 choices – it’s not that hard…

            They could have kept Lewis out as well. Once they pitted Lewis, Russell cannot stay out without swapping…

            It’s simple as that. And yes, you swap and let Russell defend Piastri Clearly he could have kept him behind…
            1. 

               Asanator (@asanator)
               28th July 2024, 16:19

               They could have kept Lewis out as well. Once they pitted Lewis, Russell cannot stay out without swapping…

               What a load of nonsense. There is absolutely no reason Mercedes had to swap the drivers. That may be the case if they are running 1-2 and the 2nd placed driver becomes the leader through an undercut (as in Hungary) but not in this situation.

               The only reason Mercedes used to have a policy of not splitting strategies was because they were so dominant that they would inevitably be running 1-2 and it would be unfair to the leading driver.

               That doesn’t apply anymore and hasn’t for a long time.
            2. 

               Michael (@freelittlebirds)
               28th July 2024, 16:23

               @asanator so your point is that Mercedes made the right call to cost Lewis the victory? Yet, it’s ok for them to pit Lewis and cost him a chance to fight for victory at other places. Is that because Russell wasn’t leading at the time?
            3. 

               Asanator (@asanator)
               28th July 2024, 16:48

               @freelittlebirds Not at all, I am saying that Mercedes/Russell absolutely made the right call in trying to improve on an inevitable 1-5 to put themselves in the position of a 1-2.

               If Hamilton wanted the win he should have taken it instead of running deep at La Source and Les Coombes, a few times in the last 3 laps, giving Russell enough space to defend the DRS and failing to make use of the 20 LAP(!) tyre advantage he had!

               I don’t know what you are talking about at ‘other places’
            4. 

               EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
               29th July 2024, 7:04

               @freelittlebirds I just do not get what you feel is the injustice here.

               They ended up on different strategies, and George came out on top. Just because Lewis was leading at one point doesn’t give him any reason to expect to be given the place back. It’s not the same as the McLaren situation where Norris was provided with the favourable pit stop instead of the leading driver. Lewis was pitted optimally as Mercedes saw it at the time.

               I am a major Lewis fan, and I did initially think it may have been better to let him by in light of Piastri’s progress in case they lost a win for either car. But given they got the one two, I don’t see what there is to complain about.

               Of course Lewis will be disappointed. Perhaps even annoyed. But who wouldn’t be knowing they could have won had things played out only slightly differently.
4. 

   Oxnard (@montalvo)
   28th July 2024, 15:48

   Red Bull seems to be really dropping the ball. Looked like they were the 4th fastest team out there. I seriously doubt they can keep Verstappen for next year if this downward spiral continues. Perez looked awful out there, which isn’t new, but if Verstappen also struggles then something is seriously wrong. Now I do think Verstappen’s race was compromised a lot (just like Norris) thanks to dirty air and not having another set of hards, but still.

   It feels like their Japan upgrade may have set them on a wrong path.
   1. 

      Edvaldo
      28th July 2024, 16:45

      Red Bull was not 4th fastest today. He started 10th and finished right behind Leclerc, who started on pole. How is that 4th fastest!?

      Pérez got a worse strategy putting mediums on the middle stint that didnt help too.

      If Max had started on pole as he should, it would probably be an easy win.

      This is how a competitive race should be, but you people are way too used with him drs-ing defenseless drivers.
      1. 

         Oxnard (@montalvo)
         28th July 2024, 16:59

         You’re ruling out the driver factor. I think Perez is a much better indication of where the car stands at the moment. Now he is likely underperforming, but still was far away from that 2nd Ferrari who was also struggling today.
         1. 

            Edvaldo
            28th July 2024, 17:05

            Perez only began to fade when everybody put on hards and they put him on mediums.
            Hards were the tyre of choice for this race. So he did that pathetic little middle stint with mediums instead of using them when the car was lighter to finish the race, like Max did.
         2. 

            EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
            29th July 2024, 7:07

            @montalvo

            I think Perez is a much better indication of where the car stands at the moment.

            I don’t.
5. 

   Paul
   28th July 2024, 15:49

   Yet another disappointing race for Perez. Be interesting to see if that contract goes through the shredder during the break.
6. 

   David BR (@david-br)
   28th July 2024, 15:49

   Poor weekend from Norris, falling away yet again at the race start, with Piastri looking more confident and more like a future team leader. Mercedes looking strong going into the break. Perez 8th (last place among the top 4 teams) will be cited as some kind of vindication of his driving, I guess, so he’ll make the rest of the season? If so, Red Bull are guaranteed to lose the WCC.
   1. 

      Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      28th July 2024, 15:58

      Yeah, bye bye WDC – McLaren doesn’t even have to think about it anymore over the summer break. I guess Zak and Andrea don’t think of Norris as championship material and perhaps they are right but in Norris’ defense, it’s hard to be a champion when your own Team Principals don’t believe in you and support you.
      1. 

         David BR (@david-br)
         28th July 2024, 16:24

         @freelittlebirds Norris has had a whole slew of races where he’s been P1 or on or near the front and falling back in the first lap. Piastri’s racing strikes me as a lot better; his weak point was tyre wear but today he was fine (OK, not a testing circuit). Lando’s one lap pace can be superb. Two very closely matched drivers, I get why McLaren stay kind of ‘neutral’ and they’ve always, to their credit, had that ethos. Still, I felt that the Hungary events – even though they were 50% down to him – would dent Norris’s confidence and seemed to have done so.
         1. 

            Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            28th July 2024, 16:30

            @david-br I agree – I think Norris is too hard on himself. He needs to grab the bull by the horns if he wants to do well. Sadly, he needs to hold onto the lead at the start and the only way to do that is to be willing to have a collision even with Piastri otherwise you’ll always lose the spot if they force the issue.

            Yeah, Hungary was a vote of no confidence. Do you remember Monza 2021 where Norris didn’t attack Ricciardo to secure the result?
            1. 

               David BR (@david-br)
               28th July 2024, 16:54

               More or less! I get Monza 2021, though, but think that Norris should have given back the position in Hungary and then raced. He may not have won but it would have left him in a better emotional state.
               For me the most notable thing immediately after the race was Max Verstappen’s quite expression of contentment as he walked away from his car. Job done. Championship looking and feeling safe.
            2. 

               Nick T.
               28th July 2024, 21:12

               I think Lando is fantastic, but I’ve watched Monza 2021 multiple times and Norris is not getting by Daniel even if he wants to and is free to. He didn’t have anything like the pace to do it.
         2. 

            SteveP
            28th July 2024, 19:22

            Norris has had a whole slew of races where he’s been P1 or on or near the front and falling back in the first lap. Piastri’s racing strikes me as a lot better;

            Sshhhhh. I said ages back that Norris should look at the other side of the garage to find his main competitor, of course I also questioned the generally held opinion that Norris was top dog and got rubbished.
            The next 12 months are likely to see some developments there.
   2. 

      Edvaldo
      28th July 2024, 17:33

      I can easily imagine Piastri having the measure of Norris next season.

      He’s just more mature than Norris already. Place himself better at the starts and doesn’t start on the back foor every single time you need to get it right.

      Good thing Mclaren did not left Norris win that race. Look at what he did today, they would look so silly thinking he has any chance at the WDC..
      1. 

         David BR (@david-br)
         28th July 2024, 18:15

         The question I guess is whether how Hungary unfolded actually led to Norris’s relative underperformance this weekend. But I agree. If I was TP and had to choose one, I’d choose Piastri.
7. 

   notagrumpyfan
   28th July 2024, 16:19

   Best of the Rest Championship*:
   1) Haas 410 (HUL 241, MAG 169)
   2) RB 385 (TSU 214, RIC 171)
   3) Alpine 311 (OCO 164, GAS 147)
   4) Williams 215 (ALB 143, SAR 72)
   5) Sauber 190 (ZHO 101, BOT 89)

   * regular points structure for bottom 5 teams, incl. FLAP & Sprint points

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