What Is the Updated Order of the Grid for the Belgian GP Post Bottas’ & Norris’ Penalties?

The ongoing weekend at Spa Francorchamps is shaping up to be one of the most chaotic race weekends of the 2021 F1 season. Max Verstappen will be starting the Belgian GP on pole alongside George Russell in a Williams, a car which hardly looked capable enough to secure a top 15 start.

However, behind the duo starts the mix-up. Several drivers, including Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris, are bearing grid penalties. Hence, amidst a lot of confusion, let’s take a look at the actual starting grid, considering the position drops.

Top 10 of the grid for Belgian GP

As mentioned, Verstappen will be starting from the front of the grid, ahead of Williams’ Russell. The Briton secured what was Williams’ first front-row start since 2017 in Italy. Hamilton will start from P3 alongside Daniel Ricciardo in P4, his best starting position for McLaren.

Sebastian Vettel enjoyed his best qualifying with Aston Martin and will start from P5, with Pierre Gasly in P6; this will be the Frenchman’s fifth P6 start this season. Sergio Perez had to settle for P7 after a poor final run in Q3 ahead of Hungarian GP race winner, Esteban Ocon.

Amidst Norris’ absence, Charles Leclerc will move up a place into P9 alongside Nicholas Latifi. This will be the Canadian’s first top 10 start of this season. Also, with both Williams in the top 10, a second consecutive double points finish is on cards.

Rest of the F1 grid

Carlos Sainz will be a whisker away from the top 10 in P11 ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who dropped down to P12 from P8. Behind the duo will be Fernando Alonso in P13.

The Spaniard will line up alongside Norris in P14; The Briton endured a scary crash around the Eau Rouge on Saturday. Hence, a change of gearbox meant that he had to take up a five-place grid penalty.

Antonio Giovinazzi failed to capitalize on the wet conditions, as there seems to be no end to Alfa Romeo’s struggles this season. The Italian will start from P15 after gaining a position out of Lance Stroll‘s penalty.

Yuki Tsunoda’s qualifying troubles returned to haunt him at Spa, as the Japanese driver had to settle for P16. Tsunoda failed to qualify for Q2 for the seventh time in 2021. Mick Schumacher will start from P17, equaling his best starting position of the season ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.

P19 will go to Nikita Mazepin, as Stroll rounds off the final spot on the grid due to the penalty citing the Hungarian GP mess.

Overall, the grid is officially set and a lot of drivers are certainly out of position. Hence, are we in for a Sunday treat at Belgian GP amidst what could be a full-wet race for the first time since Turkey 2020?

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