TELEMETRY: How did the different aerodynamic configuration impact the fight for pole position?
McLaren's Oscar Piastri dominated Friday's sprint qualifying to secure the best starting position on the grid, whilst reigning champion Max Verstappen ended up second, but almost half a second adrift of the pole position time. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers his latest analysis from Spa-Francorchamps.
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.
Reigning champion Max Verstappen was his closest rival, but he was 0.477s adrift of the the Australian's benchmark that was not only enough for him to take pole position, but it also saw him set a new all-time lap record around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
It is not unusual that different cars achieve similar lap times at Spa, but produce it in very different manner. It was the case yesterday as well, as Verstappen excelled in the opening and closing sector, whilst Piastri was hugely impressive through the middle part of the track.
The Dutch driver recorded a 29.869s in Sector 1 that was 0.133s quicker than what Piastri managed. The middle part of the track saw the McLaren man record a 42.723s which was a whopping 0.447s quicker than Verstappen's best time.
The last part of the track was dominated by Piastri and Verstappen, with the Australian having had the upper hand over the Dutchman - 27.823s for Piastri and 27.948s for Verstappen.
Looking at the telemetry provided by F1DataAnalysis, Verstappen gained a little time down the start straight, but Piastri was over a tenth faster through Turn 1 - La Source.
The section between Turn 1 and Turn 5 which included the infamous complex of Eau Rouge and Raidillon is the longest full-throttle segment on the entire Grand Prix calendar.
The less loaded rear wing enabled Verstappen to gain over two tenths. Interestingly, McLaren had a good traction which meant that Piastri hardly lost anything through the first 400 metres, but Verstappen stated to make inroads down the Kemmel straight.
The more loaded rear wing saw Piastri gain back time through the medium-speed Les Combes (Turns 5 and 6), and while Verstappen managed to keep the loss in control between Malmedy (Turn 7) and Rivage/Bruxelles (Turn 8), he lost a big chunk of time again at the never-ending Turn 8.
Come the most daunting part of the track - Turns 10 and 11 - Verstappen lifted less and gained time through Pouhon, before suffering a shock through Fagnes (Turns 12 and 13), losing around three tenths of a second through this very section.
Having exited the Campus/Stavelot and Curve Paul Frere (Turns 14 and 15), Verstappen managed to benefit from his less loaded rear wing, gaining a tenth through the second longest full-throttle section of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
However, the more aerodynamic load allowed Piastri to brake later and harder, registering higher negative longitudinal acceleration into the entry of the Bus Stop chinance (Turns 18 and 19).
This big difference in the way Red Bull and McLaren produce their lap times at Spa-Francorchamps is not surprising given the fact that the two teams have opted to very different aerodynamic configuration.
Red Bull appear to use the same low-load wing which they ran last time out at the British Grand Prix. The ambitious aerodynamic configuration saw Verstappen grab pole position at Silverstone, but it hindered the Dutchman's chances in slippery rainy conditions in the race.
However, with the Spa-Francorchamps circuit featuring fewer medium-high speed corners and more time spent on full throttle than Silverstone, the balance clearly favours low drag rather than high downforce.
By contrast, McLaren - and Ferrari - elected to use a rear wing that produces higher loads than the ones used by Red Bull and Mercedes which clearly gives a much better platform through the medium-speed corners of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
