RECORD: Piastri beats Hamilton's all-time lap record at Spa-Francorchamps
Having secured pole position for the Spa F1 Sprint, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri has also set a new all-time lap record at Spa-Francorchamps, beating Lewis Hamilton's record from the 2020 F1 season. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo explains what the Australian achieved on Friday evening.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri put in a dominant performance to top the qualifying session for the Spa F1 Sprint, whilst Lewis Hamilton, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell suffered early exits.
Following an impressive performance in the sole practice session, championship leader Oscar Piastri set the benchmark in sprint qualifying, posting a time of 1m40.510s to secure pole position for the Spa F1 Sprint.
His latest pole position was not only enough for the Australian to beat his team-mate Lando Norris in their fierce championship battle, but his benchmark also saw him record an all-time lap record at Spa-Francorchamps.
The fastest ever lap at Spa was completed by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in 2020 when the Briton clocked a 1:41.252 behind the wheel of his W11. Piastri's pole time was 0.742s quicker than Hamilton's benchmark from 2020.
It is the first time that a current ground-effect car breaks an absolute track record. In fact, the Spa-Francorchamps track is ideal for that given their high efficiency and the new asphalt that was laid down ahead of last year's Belgian Grand Prix.
Comparing the Piastri's and Hamilton's lap, it is apparent that the Mercedes W11 is quicker mostly in the medium-speed corners and changes of direction which is partly down to the fact that the 2020 F1 cars were 54kg lighter than the current ones.
The MCL39 has, however, a better aerodynamic efficiency thanks to ground-effect floor. The current car has significantly less drag with DRS open (+12km/h top speed) and more peak downforce.
