Spa-Francorchamps – 44 laps – 7.004km – 19 corners

Sprint starting position: P1
Sprint result: P2
Fastest lap: 1m46.061 (lap 6)

GP starting position: P2
GP result: P1 (Inter -> Medium)
Fastest lap: 1m45.706 (lap 43)

Not only did Oscar win what is admittedly one of his favourite races, but he also set a new track record with a sprint qualifying lap time of 1m40.510. The race also marked Oscar’s 31st consecutive Grand Prix in the points. The 3rd longest streak in F1 history.

The weekend through OP’s visor

Sprint Quali…

“I’m really pleased with that. The pace in the car has been strong all day, and I felt confident going into Sprint Qualifying. I had a little bit of a scare in SQ2, but we put it all together when we needed to, with a lap I was really happy with. We’ll see what we can do in the Sprint tomorrow before we reset for Grand Prix Qualifying.”

Sprint & GP Quali…

“Starting P2 tomorrow. I’m a little bit disappointed as I didn’t put the lap together in the final run of Q3, losing time at Turn 14, but it’s incredibly fine margins out there, and it felt like the car was in a really good place again. The weather tomorrow means it’s tricky to predict what will happen, but starting on the front row is always a good thing. We’ll work through it all overnight and be ready to go racing tomorrow.”

The race…

“It’s a great feeling to win one of my favourite races. I knew Lap One was probably my best chance of winning, so I committed and managed to make it work, which I am proud of. We then managed the rest of the race really well. I struggled a bit towards the end of the Medium, but I felt we had it under control. Thank you to the team for giving us a great car this weekend. I’m excited for Hungary.”