F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Spa Speed Trap: who is the fastest of them all?

Mercedes fears that Ferrari would give the German team a run for its money at Spa are panning out as expected.

On pure pace, poleman Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel are clearly in a league of their own in Belgium, where Spa's long straights cater to the SF90's low downforce qualities and to the force of its powerful engine.

Vettel blew past the speed trap at 317.7 km/h in qualifying. That’s a healthy amount of velocity but it's not quite as fast as the top speed recorded at Baku earlier this year, where McLaren's Carlos Sainz was clocked at 323 km/h.

Renault's Daniel Ricciardo was snapping at Vettel's heels up the Kemmel straight with a straightline speed of 316.9 km/h, just edging Leclerc.

After qualifying, Lewis Hamilton underscored Ferrari's advantage in Spa's first sector, and the readout shows that Mercedes' drivers were on average about 8 km/h slower than their red rivals up the straight.

Many call Ferrari's advantage at Spa this weekend an 'open goal' for the Scuderia. Let's hope they can finally score that first win.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Rookie no more: Why Bortoleto has left a mark on Hülkenberg

Nico Hülkenberg has been around Formula 1 long enough to know that wisdom usually flows…

1 hour ago

Zak Brown, look away: Steiner offers Norris a MotoGP test!

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has never been shy about blurring the line between…

3 hours ago

Former Ferrari boss slams Hamilton’s ‘useless’ notes to team

Former Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has fired a pointed judgment at Lewis Hamilton, dismissing…

4 hours ago

Remembering Colin Chapman, F1's great innovator

Lotus team boss Colin Chapman passed away on this day in 1982, the legendary Briton…

5 hours ago

Honda to unveil 2026 F1 engine at special event in Tokyo

Honda has announced that it will unveil its 2026 power unit in Tokyo next month,…

6 hours ago

Portimao back on F1 calendar for 2027 and 2028

Formula 1 fans can start marking their calendars: the Algarve International Circuit near Portimao is…

7 hours ago