How Red Bull crushed McLaren at soaking Spa

Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix showed how close things are in Formula 1, Max Verstappen aside. 

The differences through the pecking order starting from P2 were very small, but nevertheless a number of technical matters have come to light following the qualifying results.

First of all, it appears Red Bull has chosen a set-up with high levels of downforce to optimise performance in qualifying. The purpose of this choice is to obtain more grip in the fast corners. 

This implies that the Milton Keynes-based team is likely to opt for an alternative strategy. The likelihood is that Verstappen will drive a very long first stint in order to take full advantage of the RB20's performance in free air. 

McLaren's 'decline' is striking, given its excellent performance earlier this weekend. The most obvious explanation seems to be that qualifying was sacrificed to optimally tune the car for a dry race. 

The Woking-based team made a choice completely different from that of the Red Bull. By not significantly adjusting the level of downforce or the ride height of the MCL38, the car became less precise in the changing conditions, especially in the second sector. 

This was reflected in the times, as it was precisely in this sector that the McLaren drivers lost the most time relative to the competition.

Hierarchy is going to change

According to our sources and a close assessment of the behaviour of both McLaren cars, it appears that the team from Woking is driving with a lower downforce level than the competition. 

Ferrari and Mercedes also had a higher level of downforce during qualifying. This hurt McLaren, but in the race, this could be a big advantage for it - although strategically they are in a much less prosperous position than they would have hoped.

Mercedes, like Ferrari, seemed to take partial advantage of the changing conditions. Indeed, the performances of both the Silver Arrows and the Scuderia on the wet track were much better than those on a dry track earlier this weekend.

It is fair to say that the hierarchy as it emerged from qualifying is about to change considerably. McLaren seemed to be the third team, but during the race, they could move forward quite easily.

The overall performance therefore shows that we can expect a very exciting grand prix. 

When Verstappen gets his chance in free air, it is important for McLaren to be as close to the front as possible.

The number of cars between them and Verstappen is smaller than expected and in terms of race speed, they are not far apart.