The Sprint Race in Belgium saw Max Verstappen blast past Oscar Piastri in the opening lap and never look back as he took a sensational win. The Dutch driver looked very quick with his setup, which was focused on straight-line speed rather than downforce. A setup that gave him a lot of trouble during the Silverstone Grand Prix a few weeks ago.
Back in Silverstone, Verstappen took pole position with the low downforce setup but suffered during the race, during which massive amounts of rain hit the track. Since Verstappen didn’t have enough downforce for wet weather, he spun his RB21 and cost himself a podium finish.
Former Formula 1 Champion Nico Rosberg has made a prediction that will likely prevent a repeat of that during tomorrow’s likely wet race.
Nico Rosberg predicts setup changes for Red Bull going into Belgian GP Qualifying
Verstappen used his superior straight-line speed and clean air to hold off the charging McLarens for 15 laps. Verstappen himself described it as “having to do 15 quali laps”. Rosberg has hinted that this particular setup will not be successful for the Red Bull driver during tomorrow’s Grand Prix:
“Maybe Red Bull will have learned their lesson from Silverstone and go into qualifying with much more wing on the car. That would make sense, with the weather forecast for tomorrow, having more downforce on the car helps massively in the wet.”
“I’m sure they will go down that route.”
Belgian GP LIVE: Follow All the Reactions From the Sprint Race at Spa
With wet weather predicted for the Belgian GP tomorrow, Rosberg thinks Red Bull will be better off if they prioritise high downforce over low to avoid a repeat of Silverstone. However, if it is a wet race, it presents a new opportunity for Verstappen.
Another wet-weather masterclass incoming for Verstappen?
Despite Verstappen’s recent poor performance in the wet at Silverstone, we have learned to never count him out when the skies open up. The Dutchman has never failed to deliver results in wet weather conditions, and if he has the right setup, he could be outright unstoppable at Spa.
While rain is likely, it’s not a given at this point in the weekend. Red Bull will keep this in mind with their setup going into qualifying. Red Bull currently has the lower downforce setup compared to McLaren. However, like Rosberg predicted, this could very well change in the coming hours.
Belgian GP Set for Wild Sprint Weekend With Heavy Rain Forecast at Treacherous Spa
Spa can be driven in the dry with a multitude of setups, high downforce, low downforce or something in between. Every setup will be strong at some point on the track. In the wet, however, only a small number of setups will keep you in contention. If Red Bull increases the amount of downforce on their car, we could see a performance from Verstappen comparable to Brazil 2024, Russia 2021, or Brazil 2016.
It will be interesting to see what approach Red Bull chooses for qualifying and what twist the weather will throw for tomorrow’s race.
