Wet weather conditions cause chaos in qualifying Pirelli Report

(Pirelli Motorsport Media)

Today's qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa Francorchamps circuit was set to be sensational following a monsoon like downpour just prior to the start of the session. The conditions improved enough for the session to get underway on time. 

When it did get underway a number of driver's opted to run Pirelli's Blue walled full wet tyre while some other driver's ran the Intermediate tyre. By the time Q3 came around track conditions had improved substantially which allowed the top ten to complete their times on the Green Intermediate tyre.

Mercedes Nico Rosberg will start tomorrow's race from pole position just ahead of team mate and championship rival Lewis Hamilton.

The German set his fastest time on a brand new set of the Pirelli Intermediate tyre. Everyone in the top ten with the exception of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Jenson Button completed their fastest laps on brand new tyre's. Speaking following the session Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery commented:

'The teams have a tough task ahead of them because we expect a dry race following a wet qualifying, meaning that the data from today might not necessarily be relevant to tomorrow’s grand prix. As usual the challenge in qualifying was not so much dealing with the rain, but coping with the fact that the rain was inconsistent, with some parts of the circuit very wet and others parts more dry. As is always the case under those circumstances, this led to a very exciting qualifying session where the timing of the fast laps was crucial. We’re expecting two pit stops tomorrow, but it’s possible that some teams might try three if they feel there is a pace advantage, given that no slick tyres were used during qualifying and they will all have new sets of dry slicks for the race tomorrow. As a result, they all have enough new slick tyres to keep every option open.'

Pirelli believe that if the conditions stay dry for the race the Belgian Grand Prix will feature a two stop strategy. Should teams opt to start on the Option tyre Pirelli have forecast stopping on lap 15 for a fresh set of Option tyre's before making a second stop on lap 29 for a set of the Medium tyre's.

© Ben Johnston 2014