Rolling the Dice

One of the most competitive Belgian Grands Prix in recent history witnessed a crucial gamble lead to an extremely close finish

- Gaurav Davare

THE 2024 BELGIAN Grand Prix was a perfect example of how competitive Formula 1 is. We had up to four teams within a shout of a win and it was the one who got things absolutely right that made the difference between winning and an eighth-place finish.

The race weekend itself started off with the weather gods spicing things up. On top of that the three-time champion, Max Verstappen (Oracle Red Bull Racing), elected to take an extra engine component beyond the allocated limit, which meant a 10-place grid penalty from wherever he started. In qualifying, he made full use of his higher downforce set-up by qualifying on pole position, but it was Charles Leclerc (Scuderia Ferrari) who inherited it.