A notable fact from the first day at Spa-Francorchamps was Mercedes’ difficulty in adapting to the track.
Despite a new package to increase downforce, the W15 suffered from severe bouncing, which affected performance.
So, it does not look like the Silver Arrows will play a major role this weekend, although the long runs were not bad. Indeed, in terms of times, they were similar to Verstappen, although given his ‘testing’, it offered very little certainty.
In short, McLaren seems to be the fastest team again, but Red Bull is not far behind this weekend.
It will also be important as to how quickly Verstappen can hit the front from the midfield during the race itself.
The circuit is long, but the pit lane is relatively short, so an undercut is powerful.
Mercedes and Ferrari seem unlikely to play a significant role again, although Leclerc could still provide a surprise in qualifying.
