Earlier this month, all 10 groups signed the Concorde Agreement, which sets out the situations in which the groups will compete in the game until 2025. This was also accompanied by the news that another four races were added to this year’s calendar, adding a return to intercity Istanbul Park in Turkey, which last hosted a Grand Prix in 2011. This raises the total number of races at this year’s championships to 17, an impressive racing schedule that has been greatly affected by the covid-19 pandemic.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton will start in front of everyone tonight after achieving his 93rd pole position on Saturday. In doing so, he also set a record time of 1.41.51 in a staggering third qualifying session. This is Hamilton’s sixth pole on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit and was entrusted to Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman, who died Saturday after a four-year war with colon cancer. Hamilton admitted that re-concentrating after waking up with the news was not simple. “Today was very important to me, I woke up with the sad news of Chadwick’s death. This Story of Array shook me and it wasn’t easy to concentrate, but I knew I had to pass out and drive perfectly. He was a bright light, ” said the 35-year-old.
His teammate, Valtteri Bottas, will start the race on P2, completing only part of Hamilton, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will check out to reach them on P3. Verstappen’s teammate Alex Albon is on the P5, while Renault has noticed that his driving force, Daniel Ricciardo, makes an impressive turn to take the P4. Prior to the Grand Prix, Mercedes team manager Toto Wolff said the team had “outstanding businesses” at Spa as he had not won on the circuit since 2017. That could replace very well between now and the end of tonight’s race.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was the slowest in the first qualifying query and slightly reached Q2 with compatriot Charles Leclerc, who won on the circuit in 2019. They failed to qualify for Q3. Ferrari has disappointed so far this season and roughly the same thing at Spa on Saturday. It will be attractive to see if Leclerc, which will start on P13, and Vettel, P14, can get something out of the race.
With nineteen curves and some high-speed chicanes, the Spa-Francorchamps circuit is one of the longest and most picturesque circuits of F1 in this calendar. If Hamilton won later in the day, it would lead him to 89 career victories, two fewer than the record of 91 wins by seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. With the racing schedule now extended, there are each and every chance of Hamilton breaking that record.
The race also comes nearly a year after the tragic death of driver Anthoine Hubert, who lost his life in a tragic twist of fate on the circuit of a Formula 2 race. Hubert, 22, who was flying for the BWT Arden team at the time, was widely warned of a brilliant long run on F1. Many drivers from the existing team, such as Pierre Gasly, Leclerc d’AlphaTauri and others, had competed with Hubert in the departure of their motorists, which made his return to the circuit 12 months later even more exciting. Gasly was one of many people who paid tribute to Huibert before the Grand Prix by placing flowers on the track on Thursday morning. All other groups do not forget Huibert dressed in an “AH19” tattoo (his initials and car number) on the chassis of his car. Emotions will be present when the pilots arrive at the grill on Sunday night.
The 2020 Formula Belgian Grand Prix race starts at 6.40 pm IST on Sunday
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