F1 Driver Form: Belgian Grand Prix

Until the Dutch Grand Prix joined the calendar in 2021, the Belgian Grand Prix was Max Verstappen’s de facto home race. In seven appearances, Verstappen has scored three podium finishes, winning at the track for the first time in 2021. He finished third in both 2018 and 2020. His eighth place in 2015 is the only other time he has scored here.

Verstappen has retired from the event twice: he suffered power unit problems after just seven laps in 2017 and crashed out on the opening lap in 2019 after making contact with Kimi Raikkonen.

2015 is the only year that Verstappen has not reached Q3 at Spa, as well as the only season that he has not out-qualified his team-mate. He took pole position here last year, which was his first front row qualification at the track since 2016.

Sergio Perez crashed on his way to the grid at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix and would have recorded a DNS if not for the extensive rain delay. He was allowed to start from the pit lane and finished the ‘race’ in nineteenth place.

Perez has a best result of fifth at the Belgian Grand Prix, a position which he has finished in at the track three times – in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Since 2014, his 2017 retirement is the only time other than 2021 that Perez has failed to score at the circuit. He also retired from the event in both 2011 and 2012.

2013 and 2014 are the only years that Perez has not qualified in the top ten at Spa. His best qualifying result at the circuit is fourth in 2018; though he also started fourth on the grid in both 2012 and 2015. In the last eight seasons, 2018 and 2021 are the only years in which he has been out-qualified by his team-mate here.

Lewis Hamilton has won the Belgian Grand Prix four times and has finished on the podium in all of the last seven seasons. In fact, aside from his four DNFs at the circuit and his fourth place in 2007, Hamilton has finished on the podium on every other outing at Spa.

Hamilton has had more retirements at Spa than at any other circuit in his career. He has not retired from the event since 2014, a race in which he made contact with then team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton has taken six poles at the Belgian Grand Prix, and 2009 and 2016 are the only times in fifteen appearances that he has not reached Q3 at the circuit. In total, Hamilton has had nine front row starts at the track. 2012 and 2014 are the only years that Hamilton has been out-qualified by a team-mate at Spa on pure pace.

Charles Leclerc took his maiden Formula 1 victory at the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix. It’s one of only two times he has scored at the track. He was eliminated at the first corner in the 2018 race, and finished only fourteenth in 2020. He finished eighth here last year.

Leclerc took pole position in 2019 – but that’s the only time he’s reached Q3 at the venue. Nevertheless, he is yet to be out-qualified by his team-mate at Spa. Leclerc has won at the track in F3, GP3 and F2, though he was stripped of his F2 Feature Race win in 2017 due to a technical infringement.

Carlos Sainz has only scored two points in seven visits to the Belgian Grand Prix. He finished tenth for Toro Rosso at the circuit in 2017 and tenth with Ferrari last year. His only other finish here is eleventh place with Renault in 2018, with all of his other four appearances resulting in DNFs. He failed to even start the 2020 race, as an engine issue put him on the sidelines.

2020 marked the first time that Sainz has reached Q3 at Spa since his debut season. He was out in Q2 last year.

Daniel Ricciardo won the Belgian Grand Prix in 2014. He also finished on the podium with Red Bull in 2016 and 2017, and scored for the first time since his last podium visit in 2020. He has finished fourth in the last two Spa races.

Ricciardo has recorded three DNFs at the track – in 2011, 2015 and 2018, while 2019 is the only other time the Australian has finished the race in a position outside of the points.

Ricciardo has reached Q3 in every year since 2014 and has a best qualifying result of fourth, which is where he has qualified in each of the last two seasons. From eight finishes at the track, 2019 is the only time Ricciardo has finished in a worse position than where has started.

Fernando Alonso has never won the Belgian Grand Prix – though he has had three podium finishes at Spa Francorchamps. He finished as runner-up in 2005 and 2013, and finished third in 2007.

Alonso has recorded no less than seven retirements at the track – notably being taken out in dramatic fashion at the first turn in 2012 and 2018. He last scored here in 2016, when he finished seventh – his only points-scoring appearance in his five latest Belgian Grand Prix outings.

Alonso has never taken pole or started from the front row at Spa. His best grid slot here is third, which is where he started in 2004 and 2007. He last reached Q3 at the track in 2014.

Esteban Ocon made his Formula 1 debut with Manor at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix. From his five appearances at the track, that’s the only time that he has failed to score. Ocon recorded his best result to date at the circuit in 2020, finishing in fifth place.

The Frenchman has reached Q3 on every appearance bar his 2016 debut, and recorded the best qualifying result of his career to date with third on the grid at the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix.

Pierre Gasly has scored on all four appearances at the Belgian Grand Prix, recording his best result to date with sixth place last year. He finished ninth on both of his first appearances at the circuit, before going one better in 2020 and finishing eighth.

Gasly reached Q3 at the circuit for the first time in 2021, qualifying in sixth place. 2020 is the only season in which Gasly has been out-qualified by a team-mate here. Prior to F1, Gasly raced at Spa in Formula Renault 3.5 and GP2. He won the GP2 Feature Race at the track in 2016.

Sebastian Vettel has been victorious three times at the Belgian Grand Prix. He won with Red Bull in 2011 and 2013 and took victory with Ferrari in 2018.

He has had a further three podium finishes at the circuit. He recorded another top five result at the track last year. 2007 is the only year that Vettel has failed to reach the end of the race, while 2010 and 2020 are the only other years in which he has failed to score. He has finished in the top six on every other appearance.

Vettel has taken pole only once at the track, in 2011, but has started from the front row a further four times. 2020 marked the first time Vettel did not reach Q3 at Spa since 2012.

Lance Stroll holds a 100% finish rate at the Belgian Grand Prix and has scored here twice. He recorded his best result so far at the circuit with ninth place in 2020.

2020 also marked the first time that Stroll reached Q3 at the circuit, qualifying in ninth place. The Canadian has never out-qualified his team-mate at this track. He finished last year’s rain-shortened race in last place after picking up a 10-second time penalty for an illegal rear wing change under the red flag.

Valtteri Bottas is yet to win the Belgian Grand Prix, but has finished on the podium three times and scored on all but two appearances. His maiden outing here in 2013 with Williams, when he finished fifteenth, and last year, when he finished twelfth, are the only times that the Finn has failed to score at the circuit, meaning he has a 100% finishing record at the venue. Bottas has finished on the podium here three times, with third place in 2014 and 2019 and second in 2020.

2013 is the only season in which Bottas has missed out on Q3 at the circuit. 2020 is the only season in which he has started from the front row here. Bottas has only ever led one lap at Spa. That was with Williams back in 2014.

Kevin Magnussen has scored only once from six previous appearances at the Belgian Grand Prix. He picked up four points with eighth place in 2018. From his other five starts, the Dane has failed to finish only once. That was in 2016, when he suffered a huge crash at the top of the hill. Magnussen has qualified in the top ten here three times, with a best qualifying result of seventh in 2014.