Belgian GP: Hamilton takes 6th straight pole

Spa Hamilton Quali.png
Lewis Hamilton will start tomorrow's Belgian Grand Prix from pole position after dominating Saturday's qualifying session at Spa Francorchamps.

Throughout all three sessions Mercedes looked well clear of the rest of the field, leaving Hamilton and Rosberg to fight it out at the top with Valtteri Bottas picking up the pieces in the third qualifying session.

As qualifying got underway, Q1 passed with very little drama all round. At the front Mercedes asserted their dominance yet again after topping the session in 1st and 2nd without ever bolting on the quicker soft tyre on either of their two cars.

Meanwhile Max Verstappen reported a loss of power on his final Q1 attempt that meant that, whilst he did make the cut, he was unable to post a lap time in Q2. So after Q1, Felipe Nasr, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi all failed to make the grade.

In Q2 Mercedes again impressed as their first option run put both cars 1.2 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, meanwhile Kimi Raikkonen's hopes of a strong qualifying at his favourite circuit came to a swift halt as his Ferrari spluttered to an untimely death halfway through the session, with Ferrari noticing a drop in oil pressure on his car.

At the end of the session the times started tumbling with Nico Hulkenberg being the big surprise drop out in Q2 in 11th after making a mistake at La Source, whilst his team mate went through to Q2 with a stellar 4th place. Meanwhile the Hulk was joined by Kvyat and Ericsson in 12th and 13th respectively.

In Q3 however it was business as usual in Q3 as Hamilton did more than enough to take pole position ahead of his team mate, ensuring that the Brit will take home the 2015 Pole Trophy. Behind the two Mercedes Bottas picked up the pieces after Vettel had a poor Q3 where he could only manage 9th, whilst Grosjean pulled out an incredible lap to start 4th in tomorrow's Grand Prix. Sergio Perez was another fine performer with his 5th place grid slot, whilst Ricciardo, Massa and Maldonado line up 6th, 7th and 8th, with Carlos Sainz Jr. completing the top ten.

Belgian GP Qualifying Official Results:
1. Lewis Hamilton- Mercedes - 1:47.197
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 1:47.655
3. Valtteri Bottas- Williams - 1:48.537
4. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:48.561
5. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:48.599
6. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull - 1:48.639
7. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:48.685
8. Pastor Maldonado- Lotus - 1:48.754
9. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - 1:48.825
10. Carlos Sainz Jr.- Toro Rosso - 1:49.771
11. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:49.121
12. Daniil Kvyat- Red Bull - 1:49.228
13. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber - 1:49.586
14. Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari - No Time Set
15. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso - No Time Set
16. Felipe Nasr- Sauber - 1:49.952
17. Jenson Button- McLaren - 1:50.978
18. Fernando Alonso - McLaren - 1:51.420
19. Will Stevens - Manor - 1:52.948
20. Robert Merhi- Manor - 1:53.099
 
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I was hoping Rosberg would be 1st at the end of Q3, sadly he was a bit sloppy.
Great drive from Perez although I thought he'd be above the Lotuses, so gj Grosjean.
What about Vettel?
 
  • Deleted member 161052

Unimpressed by Vettel's qualifying position.
 
r.e. raikonnen
agree with what they said in commentary, he does get a fair bit of flack for being so far behind vettel in the championship - but he's also had more than his fair share of bad luck.

once again, as a fan of the team - awful day for McLaren :violin:
 
Alonso is not beating his own team mate though isn´t that criteria nr one :)
yes true, they seem to be quite evenly matched.
But my point was about Mercedes. It's by far the best far, Ferrari have done well to close the gap but it's still not competitive enough. Rosberg doesn't seem to be a threat to Hamilton this season (somehow.. strange imo), so these combined make a season where you can easily predict the champion(s).
 
Ugh, I hope Rosberg and Hamilton take each other , allowing Vettel to close the gap. Then Bottas hopefully will have a problem, Massa spins out, allowing Vettel to win, from hopefully Ricciardo and either Grosjean or Hulkenburg. Then I'll sit back, with a Mars Bar, and read everyone's Shamilton or Cheatberg comments and laugh :D

In all serious, if Vandoorne doesn't get a drive at McLaren, I think Mercedes should replace Rosberg with him. I'm sick of seeing Rosberg not being able to challenge Hamilton.
 
McLaren are also plonkers for going with the Honda engine. They said they'll be matching Ferrari in terms of power. As soon as they find they are only 1 second ahead of Manor, Arai comes and says that nobody ever said that :D

Also with a 105 place grid penalty (Damn that's how broken the penalty system is in real life, cant wait for F1 2016 :D), they will be starting way back at Puhoun :D
 
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