Verstappen plays with his rivals and Alonso is not in Spa either

Rain had washed away the stench of flares on the Kemmel Straight before the sun finally dried the good lane of the line.. It was a typical Saturday afternoon in Spa, with constant alternatives in the lead, until Max Verstappen felt like it. The leader of the World Cup let go, playing over and over again with his rivals, until at the moment of truth he appeared as an alien. With his 1:46.168 he was ahead of Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez by just over eight tenths. It was his eighth pole of the course, although he carried a previous penalty of five places for changing the gearbox. It doesn't matter.

He picked up his trophy of the day Mad Max and smiled for the cameras, so that Red Bull would not be too offended by the anger he had dedicated to his engineers. “I'm sorry I ranted like that,” he apologized.. It did not seem acceptable for the next champion to be irritated in this way, given his absolute control of the situation, almost obscene in the second sector. The configuration of his RB18, with more downforce than Ferrari, left Leclerc's options at nothing, who only had options while opening his DRS.

Pérez, with identical means, could not even show his nose and did enough to contain Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz, author of pole position last year. The man from Madrid shone in the first and last sectors, although he lost more than half a second in the intermission. At least, he did not receive the penalty for pushing to the track limits in his last attempt in Q3 and finished in a creditable fifth place. There was also no way for Fernando Alonso, ninth, to recover his tone with his Aston Martin.

10 minute late

With this 1,47,843, the Asturian is 1.6 seconds away from the head. Or five tenths of the first McLaren, which should be its true reference, after the magnificent inertia of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris from Silverstone. As expected, the AMR23 also does not find the rhythm of the best in these dizzying curves of the Ardennes.

The FIA, extremely careful, delayed the start by 10 minutes. The asphalt conditions must not have been so delicate when nobody mounted the extreme wet tire. Even with the intermission, Norris already saw and wished with an excursion through the gravel in turn 15. Meanwhile, there was trouble with Verstappen's impeding Alex Albon at turn 18, which could have led to another three penalty spots. The next champion, however, was acquitted by the commissioners.

Although a timid sun was peeking through the trees, no one could afford a distraction. Leclerc, usually uncomfortable in the cold and humidity, had to speed up his last attempt to get out of the well. And he did it by setting the best time in Q1. Alonso also spent his pluses and minuses before sneaking in among the best.

Tenth in Q2

The water was evaporating and the line seemed almost dry in corners like Pohuon. The appearance of the first slicks seemed imminent and Alfa Romeo was the first to be encouraged by Valtteri Bottas. But that example was premature. It would still be necessary to push to the extreme for the exponential improvement of the times. And there was no one who did not taste the taste of anguish.

That carousel of emotions at the close of Q2 was worth the price of admission on its own. Because not even Verstappen himself was spared, as bad planning with the batteries would make his engineers ugly. While Piastri led the table, Mad Max could only pass as tenth. And he still had Pierre Gasly and Kevin Magnussen to thank for his latest failed attempt. Another fateful Saturday for Alpine, who had already lost Esteban Ocon, due to a touch that caused damage to his front wing.