Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Recommended for you

Why Rally Finland victory means as much as a WRC title to Pajari

WRC
Rally Finland
Why Rally Finland victory means as much as a WRC title to Pajari

Paddon secures extra Hyundai WRC outing in 2026

WRC
Rally del Paraguay
Paddon secures extra Hyundai WRC outing in 2026

The deep and lasting significance of the McLaren MP4/4’s forgotten older brother

Feature
Formula 1
The deep and lasting significance of the McLaren MP4/4’s forgotten older brother

WRC Finland: Pajari claims back-to-back WRC victories

WRC
Rally Finland
WRC Finland: Pajari claims back-to-back WRC victories

KTM might drop Vinales with immediate effect

MotoGP
British GP
KTM might drop Vinales with immediate effect

Supercars Perth: Payne outduels Feeney for victory

Supercars
Perth Super 440
Supercars Perth: Payne outduels Feeney for victory

Verstappen's mindset going into the F1 summer break: "Of course I can easily stop, but I love racing"

Formula 1
Hungarian GP
Verstappen's mindset going into the F1 summer break: "Of course I can easily stop, but I love racing"

Voting is open in Autosport Best of the Month for July 2026

General
Voting is open in Autosport Best of the Month for July 2026

Belgium Friday quotes: McLaren

Lewis Hamilton, 2nd & 3rd: The weather made it a bit of an up-and-down day. It started off very wet, so we didn't do too much running in the morning. But we got a few more laps this afternoon on the Intermediates and then the Option tyre. Because the rules don't allow us to use too many wet-weather tyres - we only have three Extremes and four Intermediates - we really need to look after them, so we were very cautious, just in case we need to use them later on in the weekend. We're definitely making small steps forward. This track does seem to suit our car better [than in Hungary], but let's not get ahead of ourselves. If it rains, then we seem to be competitive, but we have realistic expectations for this weekend - I didn't score in the last race, so it's important that we get more points on the board on Sunday

Jenson Button, 6th & 7th: Considering the conditions, I think today was a reasonable day. We've still got some more work to do, but I'm happier with the car here than I was in the last couple of races. I've got a reasonable balance and a good basis to work on, and that's important. We got pretty much everything Spa could throw at us today. And, despite the weather, we still got some running done on the Extreme, Intermediate and Option tyre. I'm happy with how the car felt in the different conditions - it's a positive. I purposely didn't do too many laps on either wet-weather tyre, as I didn't want to destroy them. You can't afford to do that. So we looked after the tyres, which could be useful for us ahead of qualifying.

Martin Whitmarsh, team principal: The weather made things interesting, if challenging, today. Both our drivers were forced to conserve wet tyres in the expectation of needing them later in the weekend, which limited our running. However, they were satisfied with the balance of their cars - although in these conditions it's almost impossible to establish competitiveness relative to rivals. So, overall, I guess I'll just say that we're pleased to end the day with two undamaged cars.

Previous article Belgium Friday quotes: Williams
Next article Belgium Friday quotes: Bridgestone

Top Comments