2014 Belgian Grand Prix (Aug 22-24)
After some seat reshuffling it looked like three-time Le Mans winner Andre Lotterer and Alexander Rossi would compete for Caterham and Marussia but the latter was re-replaced by original driver Max Chilton after FP1. Bigger news, however, was the confirmation that Max Verstappen, son of Jos, will race for Toro Rosso starting next year. He will be just 17 years old then.
In the opening practice sessions, it was business as usual as the two Mercedes topped the field and Maldonado crashed out. Lotterer was hugely impressive behind the wheel of his Caterham, especially considering he had not driven the car or any F1 machine for many years.
Originally Posted by
Practice 1
Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps
1 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:51.577 25
2 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:51.674 0.097 24
3 14 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:51.805 0.228 16
4 22 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:52.404 0.827 21
5 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:52.818 1.241 17
6 11 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1:52.903 1.326 24
7 20 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1:52.922 1.345 23
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:52.937 1.360 22
9 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:52.972 1.395 19
10 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1:53.172 1.595 20
11 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:53.369 1.792 11
12 26 Daniil Kvyat STR-Renault 1:53.594 2.017 21
13 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:53.597 2.020 20
14 99 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1:53.703 2.126 14
15 19 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1:53.968 2.391 20
16 25 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Renault 1:54.189 2.612 20
17 36 Giedo van der Garde Sauber-Ferrari 1:54.335 2.758 16
18 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 1:55.336 3.759 21
19 17 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1:55.782 4.205 19
20 42 Alexander Rossi Marussia-Ferrari 1:57.232 5.655 20
21 45 Andre Lotterer Caterham-Renault 1:57.886 6.309 24
22 9 Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1:57.977 6.400 24
Originally Posted by
Practice 2
Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:49.189 26
2 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:49.793 0.604 28
3 14 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:49.930 0.741 19
4 19 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1:50.327 1.138 24
5 22 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:50.659 1.470 31
6 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1:50.677 1.488 26
7 26 Daniil Kvyat STR-Renault 1:50.725 1.536 25
8 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:50.977 1.788 16
9 20 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1:51.074 1.885 31
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:51.077 1.888 26
11 25 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Renault 1:51.383 2.194 26
12 99 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1:51.450 2.261 29
13 11 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1:51.573 2.384 28
14 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:52.196 3.007 25
15 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:52.234 3.045 18
16 17 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1:52.776 3.587 23
17 21 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1:53.955 4.766 7
18 4 Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1:54.040 4.851 18
19 9 Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1:54.050 4.861 30
20 45 Andre Lotterer Caterham-Renault 1:54.093 4.904 24
21 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault No time 2
22 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault No time 0
If you should see a man walking down a crowded street talking aloud to himself, don't run in the opposite direction, but run towards him, because he's a poet. You have nothing to fear from the poet - but the truth.
(Ted Joans)