Belgian Grand Prix: Curious stats

Some interesting statistical selections from the Belgian Grand Prix…

Qualification

For the second year in a row, Max Verstappen won qualifying at Spa and lost pole for the second time in his career due to a penalty – after Mexico’19, where he did not slow down under yellow flags.

Carlos Sainz started from pole for the second time in his career, after Great Britain. This is Ferrari’s 11th pole at Spa, they have equaled McLaren’s record on the Belgian circuit.

Sergio Perez started from the front row for the fourth time in his career, ahead of another Mexican, Pedro Rodriguez, who started three times from the front row. For Red Bull Racing this is the 150th start from the front row.

The second time this season – after the Canadian Grand Prix – Fernando Alonso started in the top three. For the Spaniard, this is the first top three start in Belgium in 15 years – the first time since 2007 when he drove for McLaren.

Lewis Hamilton qualified seventh and equalized with teammate George Russell – they are 7-7.

Alex Albon’s ninth place in qualifying and sixth at the start is Williams’ best result of the season. For the first time in the season Alex went to the final of the qualifiers.

Sebastian Vettel dropped out for the fifth time in the last six Grand Prix in the first part of qualifying.

race

By winning the Belgian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen achieved the ninth victory of the season and the 29th of his career. For the first time in a career and the first time in Red Bull history, a win was taken from 14th place. For the second race in a row, Verstappen took the win, starting outside the top ten.

Sergio Perez finished second and climbed the podium for the 22nd time in his career, equaling René Arnoux in this indicator. For the fourth time this season and the 21st in Red Bull Racing history, it won the winning double.

Carlos Sainz finished third for his seventh podium of the season – his teammate Charles Leclerc has only five podiums so far. For Carlos this is the 13th podium in his career, according to this indicator he overtook Jochen Rindt, François Sever, Gilles Villeneuve, Didier Pironi and Nick Heidfeld.

George Russell finished fourth and continued the trend of top five finishes in all the races he was assigned to.

Fifth place Fernando Alonso – a repeat of Alpine’s best result this season – was placed in this position twice by Alonso and once by his team-mate Esteban Ocon.

Sebastian Vettel’s eighth place is Aston Martin’s best result since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in June.

Pierre Gasly finished ninth in a series of five races without points.

Lewis Hamilton only retired on the first lap for the fifth time in 302 races in his career, but at Spa this is his third first-lap retirement – after 2009 and 2012.