In the round-up: McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says his driver Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz Jnr can both learn from the collision which ruined their races in Spa.
In brief
The stewards did not investigate the first corner collision which left Piastri and Sainz with race-ending damage. “We trust their operations, we trust their judgement,” said Stella in response to a question from RaceFans. “It doesn’t change the outcome. Carlos got his damage as well, he needed to retire, so there’s a bit of learning for everyone and we move on.
Piastri retired because the collision left him with broken steering. “There was no way to continue,” Stella confirmed.
“I briefly took a look with Oscar at the incident and it looks like, to be honest, Carlos kind of either he didn’t know that Oscar was there, or because he needed to avoid the car ahead just drove onto Oscar and there was a wall delimiting the space available, so a big shame.”
Williams’ speed vexes rivals
Williams failed to score at Spa but the straight-line speed of their FW45 drew jealous remarks from rivals. “I’m going to probably have nightmares of that Williams rear wing because these guys, it seems like a different category in the straights,” said Pierre Gasly, who put a superb pass on Alexander Albon in the middle of the lap.
Zhou Guanyu scrapped with the other Williams. “I tried to get past Sargeant,” he said. “The Williams, they’re so quick on the straight. At old Monza they would be winning.”
Pourchaire staying humble after regaining lead
Theo Pourchaire moved 12 points clear at the top of the Formula 2 championship after a double podium weekend in Belgium. Former leader Frederik Vesti failed to start the feature race after crashing on the reconnaissance lap.
But with six races left, Pourchaire is aware “we have to be consistent” to stand a chance of delivering the title. “I try to stay humble, I try to stay focused on myself, you never know what can happen,” he said.
“I need to take it race after race, push, and the championship, that’s for sure a dream. That’s my goal. But we never know what can happen. So I’m just focused on race after race and doing my best.”
Goethe and Gray get grid penalties
Oliver Goethe has been given a 10-place grid penalty for the next race he competes in, after his Trident team personnel remained on the grid after the 15-second signal before the start of yesterday’s feature race. He was initially given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty, but because that was converted to a grid drop after he retired from the race.
Oliver Gray was given a five-place grid penalty for the next race he competes in after causing a collision with Hugh Barter at Spa. The Carlin driver locked up at turn 18 and hit his rival who was trying to pass him.
Race control deemed Gray “predominantly responsible” for the collision in view of the mixed conditions. Gray was initially given a 10-second time penalty which was later converted due to him not finishing the race. Two penalty points were also been added to his licence.
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
The seldom-seen black flag is being waved in the #F2 race.
It’s for @hauger_dennis, who was given a push-start by the marshals following a spin on the first lap.
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) July 30, 2023
WORLD @FIAFormulaE CHAMPIONS! Could not be more proud of @JakeDennis19 @AndrettiFE and @FollowAndretti !!
Also big thank you to @PorscheFormulaE for giving us a great power train! @avax #AllAndretti— Michael Andretti (@michaelandretti) July 29, 2023
We were told by FIA Safety delegates that we could continue to race. I nursed the car home after overtaking 16 cars to finish P2 today and a result is taken away unfairly. We saw cars restarting with no front wings and half broken, and they were cleared to race also. Unfair today
— Antonio Felix da Costa (@afelixdacosta) July 29, 2023
Unfortunately, due to track conditions and visibility, GB3 race three at Silverstone has been cancelled. pic.twitter.com/Xdv6n0Q6W1
— GB3 Championship (@GB3Championship) July 30, 2023
Alonso complaining about Hamilton: “On the penultimate lap, Hamilton was flashing the light. Charging, obviously, for the last lap, but I think we are only allowed to use race, no? Not ‘cool’ or not ‘out’.”
AM: “Yeah, he might have been doing it with K0, but we’ll have a look.”
— RaceFans Live (@racefanslive) July 30, 2023
|@schecoperez explained why Christian Horner said “you’ll talk to me now” after he qualified third on Friday.
“It was a joke. He came before qualifying and said ‘if you’re not in the top three, I will not talk to you the rest of the weekend’.”#F1 #BelgianGP #RaceFans pic.twitter.com/z1hXRnQvEj
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) July 30, 2023
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Egc and Osvaldas31!
On this day in motorsport
- 40 years ago today Mario Andretti won the CART IndyCar race at Road America