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Fans have been absolutely blown away by championship leader Max Verstappen's pace and performance throughout the Belgian Grand Prix race weekend so far. The Dutchman had an incredible first half of the 2022 season, having secured eight race wins, giving him a comfortable 80-point lead over his title rival Charles Leclerc before heading into the summer break. Verstappen returned to the track in the same form, to set blistering lap-times all weekend in Spa, having set the fastest time in Saturday's qualifying.
Although the Red Bull driver will be starting the race in P15 as a result of an engine penalty, Ferrari and Alpine drivers have confessed that Verstappen is likely to pose a massive threat this weekend. Verstappen himself admitted that he expects to be on the podium at Spa.
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Charles Leclerc, who seems to be the only driver to potentially challenge Max Verstappen for the title this season, also admitted that Red Bull's pace this weekend has been "impossible" to match, in a post-qualifying interview. The Monegasque said:
“They seem to be flying this weekend. Since FP1 they’ve been on another level. I mean, if it’s track-specific, then they built this car exactly for this track because seven tenths is a lot! So, I don’t know. They found something this weekend that is quite impressive. I mean, it’s a big gap. I hope that in Zandvoort it will change.”
Carlos Sainz, who was handed pole position after setting the second-fastest pace in Saturday's qualifying session thanks to Max Verstappen's grid penalty, admitted that Ferrari's pace gap to the Dutchman's Red Bull was "puzzling". He said:
“We just have a pace deficit to Red Bull and Max that is a bit puzzling, because we’ve been on the pace all year, we’ve been fighting for pole. But for some reason at this track, this weekend, I don’t know if it’s temperatures, the efficiency of their car or whatever – it’s just putting them with a very healthy margin ahead that is making our life a bit more difficult.”
“So, if you see the gap to Max, it has been there all weekend. FP3, FP2, he was just always more than half a second ahead of us in every compound, in every situation.”
Fans react to Max Verstappen's pace at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix qualifying
Max Verstappen has what it takes to become one of "the best of all time", says former F1 driver
Fans are not the only ones convinced that Max Verstappen has the potential to be one of the most legendary talents to race in F1. Former McLaren driver Pedro de la Rosa admitted that he believes the reigning world champion has proven himself to be one of the "best" in the sport.
Speaking to RacingNews365.com, the Spaniard said:
“I think Max has everything it takes to become one of the best of all time in Formula 1. He has all the qualities, that’s for sure. Only time will tell which teams he will drive for and how competitive those teams will be in the next 10 years. But Max has everything it takes to become the best.’’
The Red Bull driver is chasing his second consecutive F1 world championship title this season.
