The Formula 1 weekend in Belgium provided many interesting episodes beyond the emotions on the track. From questionable decisions by the race commissaires, to tense moments in the pits, social media blunders and jokes during press conferences, the "paddock" in Spa produced some moments that did not go unnoticed.
"RIVER" OF PENALTY At Spa, several penalties were handed out: Lando Norris and Lance Stroll each received a 10-place grid penalty, Fernando Alonso was penalized 20 places, and Isak Hajjar 30. However, the strangest decisions affected Esteban Ocon and Ferrari. The French driver from the Haas team was fined 5000 euros for showing up a minute late for Thursday's press conference. Meanwhile, Ferrari was fined 10 euros (5000 euros for each car) for failing to hand in the correct sets of tires after the first free practice session.
A SPECIAL FAN Lewis Hamilton has more than 43 million followers on Instagram, but he follows very few profiles, less than 10. Not even the official Ferrari account is included among them. However, on the eve of the Belgian Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion became a follower of Racing Bulls. The Faenza-based team published a photo of this moment with the caption: “Everyone is our fan”. Of course, it was a mistake. Most likely, Hamilton had pressed the follow button by mistake. In fact, a little later he unfollowed the team’s profile.
CONFERENCE PERFORMANCE Among the various questions that Andrea Kimi Antonelli was asked over the weekend, one was particularly interesting: “Who is the most famous person in Italy?” The Mercedes driver immediately replied: “Charles Leclerc”, who was sitting to his right at the press conference at the time. The answer made the Ferrari driver smile. Kimi then gave an assessment of his performance in the first half of the season: “I wouldn’t give myself a 10, for example for the mistake in free practice 3 in Australia, where I almost missed qualifying. In Japan I won, but I started very badly. Lately I’ve been thinking about the mistake in the Miami Sprint or the qualifying in Barcelona and Austria. I would give myself an 8.5″.
DANGER IN THE BOX After the pit stop, Lewis Hamilton saw the green light and drove away, hitting a mechanic. Fortunately, he suffered no consequences. The incident was investigated by the stewards after the race and Ferrari was fined 30 euros for an unsafe exit from the pits. Hamilton explained: “I didn’t do anything unusual. Maybe the team was more responsible. At that moment I thought about the case when a mechanic broke his leg in the pits with Kimi Raikkonen. For a second my heart sank, but I’m really happy that he’s okay.”
WORLD TENSION Among the Formula 1 drivers, there were those who were eagerly awaiting the match between Argentina and Spain. Fernando Alonso explained that his objective for the weekend in Belgium was “to get home in time to watch the World Cup final”. Carlos Sainz appeared in the paddock wearing a Spanish jersey, while Franco Colapinto wore an Argentine one. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc refused to take sides for either nation: “I will remain neutral, otherwise all of Spain or Argentina will criticize me. I am from Monaco, so: Force Monaco”.
