All eyes were on Scuderia Ferrari as the qualifying session got underway at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday. After the extremely disappointing results during the free practice sessions, the Maranello team was in danger of hitting a desperate new lows at Spa. Charles Leclerc, who claimed his maiden F1 victory last year, was 17th and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel 20th and last in the third free practice session, the two Ferrari men struggling even to match the Italian outfit’s customer teams.
Team boss Mattia Binotto had warned on Friday that Ferrari faced a host of issues as they battled to find performance at the long, demanding and high-speed Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The team has struggled this year with a power deficit to their rivals, but Binotto said it was not only this deficiency that hampered their speed, but also a struggle to warm up their tyres and find balance. Three-quarters of the lap is driven at top speed, requiring minimum down-force, while the other quarter requires more down-force to cope with slower sections with corners.
Eventually both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc managed to set a personal best lap in the final stages of Q1 and both drivers made it to Q2, avoiding a completely embarrassing afternoon at Spa. However, the Alfa Romeo Racing car was just 0.08s off the pace of the works Ferrari, with Kimi Raikkonen the first below the line in Q1.
But Q2 was always going to be the end for Scuderia Ferrari. Charles Leclerc managed to finish P14, just ahead of his teammate Sebastian Vettel, as both Ferrari drivers were only faster than Williams’ Russell. That’s unsurprising considering their pace so far this weekend.
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