‘Kicking ourselves’: Ricciardo gamble backfires; 0.003 seconds could swing Red Bull race — Wrap

Charles Leclerc will start on pole for the Belgian Grand Prix as Sergio Perez ended his horror qualifying run for Red Bull in a blow to Daniel Ricciardo.

SPA, BELGIUM - JULY 27: 13th placed qualifier Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Visa Cash App RB talks to the media during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 27, 2024 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix on pole position with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez next to him on the front row.

World champion Max Verstappen was fastest in qualifying on Saturday but the Red Bull driver starts in 11th place because of a 10-place grid penalty.

Verstappen dominated qualifying, with the Red Bull looking well suited to the wet conditions that saw drivers using intermediate tyres throughout. His best lap of 1m 53.159s was half a second better than of Ferrari’s Leclerc.

Sergio Perez, meanwhile, ended his horror run of Q1 exits by qualifying in third ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in P4.

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It was a much-needed boost for Perez, who is at risk of losing his seat – according to rumours, as soon as the mid-season break that follows this weekend’s race.

Daniel Ricciardo, who is a strong chance of being promoted from Red Bull sister team VCARB to replace the Mexican, again outqualified his own teammate Yuki Tsunoda, but missed out on a top-ten spot due to a failed gamble on conditions.

RB expected rain to continue worsening during Q2 and kept Ricciardo in the garage as the chequered flag waved, only for him to be bumped out of the session.

Prior to that, Ricciardo had displayed good pace well inside the top-10.

“I don’t even want to say we got it wrong, we just didn’t get it right,” Ricciardo told reporters. “It wasn’t a call that I was upset with, it made sense and if it just rained a bit heavier, we look like the smart guys.

“So for that, of course, we’re all a little bit disappointed but it wasn’t a call that we’re all kicking ourselves over, it’s just the one we made and wasn’t the [right] one.”

He added: “I feel a lot better than 13th. I felt like every time we crossed the line, we were inside the top 10; at times I heard he was saying P3, P4, so we were competitive.” 

Ricciardo took 13th place in the RB, but will start 12th, five spots ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda – though Tsunoda was already set to start from the back of the grid due to an engine penalty.

Meanwhile, Perez only made it into the top-ten shootout that is Q3 by 0.003s – three thousandths of a second.

Ferrari's Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc (L) speaks with Red Bull Racing's Mexican driver Sergio Perez.

Perez said that he’s still aware that it only matters where he finishes on Sunday as he fights to keep his seat at Red Bull.

“It doesn’t change anything from my point of view. I think tomorrow is a new day, a new opportunity. It will have been the same if I was knocked out in Q2, you know, tomorrow’s a new opportunity to do better and it’s the way I see it,” he said. “It’s tomorrow what really counts.

“And if I don’t have a good race tomorrow, I will try to have a good one in Zandvoort.

“But it’s how it is, this is a sport and sometimes it goes your way, sometimes you have to fight and nothing goes in your direction. But I think it’s just the nature of this.”

Perez ended up just 0.011s behind Leclerc, who crowed over the shock result.

“I definitely did not expect that this weekend but with the tricky conditions we could do something above our expectations,” said Leclerc.

“It is a good day for the team and now we need to focus on tomorrow and see what will happen when the rain is gone.”

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will start behind Hamilton in a disappointing result after their one-two finish in Hungary last time out.

Mercedes’ George Russel was seventh ahead of Carlos Sainz of Ferrari. Fernando Alonso was ninth in his Aston Martin and Esteban Ocon tenth for Alpine.

Originally published as ‘Kicking ourselves’: Ricciardo gamble backfires; 0.003 seconds could swing Red Bull race — Wrap