Heavy rain was forecast for the Sunday of the Belgian Grand Prix, tempting several Formula 1 teams to adopt higher downforce settings – even if that meant breaking parc ferme rules and starting from the pitlane. For the majority this came at a cost, but not to Lewis Hamilton as he raced to seventh place in Belgium.
Ferrari went into qualifying on Saturday with both cars in low-downforce trim but, while Charles Leclerc ultimately qualified third, Hamilton was eliminated in Q1 when his last run was deleted owing to a track-limits infringement at Raidillon. That would have left him 16th on the grid so, with rain in prospect, the team felt there would be fewer downsides in starting from the pitlane.
