Belgium: Strategy, top speed see Daniel slide
A long middle stint placed Daniel into a DRS train after his final pit stop and saw him finish out of the points, despite spending 26 of the 44 laps inside the top 10.
Race data
Belgium (Round 14 of 22), 28 August 2022
Spa-Francorchamps, 44 laps, 7.004km
Qualified: 11th (started 7th after engine penalties for Verstappen/Red Bull, Leclerc/Ferrari, Ocon/Alpine and Norris/McLaren)
Finished: 15th
Laps per position: 4 laps (6th), 3 laps (7th), 8 laps (8th), 3 laps (9th), 8 laps (10th), 3 laps (11th), 1 lap (12th), 1 lap (13th), 13 laps (15th)
Pit stops/tyres: Lap 12 (medium/hard), Lap 32 (hard/medium)
Fastest lap: 1:53.080 (17th, lap 34)
Points this event: 0
Points this season: 19 (13th in world championship)
Daniel's download
"That was a pretty long old day. I started inside the top 10 and was able to get (Alex) Albon at the start, but it was a bit of a mess with (Fernando) Alonso and Lewis (Hamilton) coming together on the first lap and I was trying to go here and there to avoid it, so that's when Seb (Vettel) got me.
"Without being pessimistic, I knew coming into the race we'd would probably find it hard through the first and third sector with the rear wing that we were forced to use from qualifying, we had a bit of an issue with the one we wanted to run which was unfortunate. We were just too slow on the straight, that was the main thing. I obviously hoped I'd have enough speed in the second sector to try and make something happen, but we just couldn't overtake with the speed we had. In clear air we certainly had a bit more speed, but we just lost so much time being stuck behind cars and couldn't really make anything happen.
"It's been a big week and it certainly hasn't been the most fun weekend going through all this, but it was actually nice to get back in the car and just try to put everything behind me, have a bit of fun. When all the red lights were going on, I was smiling, I was just happy to be in that moment again. But I'm glad that the bulk of this announcement is done and hopefully gets a bit more fun for the last eight (races).
"We've got a week to come back for Zandvoort. We'll see how we go there, hopefully it's a good weekend."
How Daniel's race unfolded
* Started seventh, finished first lap in sixth after passing Albon/Williams, being passed by Vettel/Aston Martin, and with Hamilton/Mercedes retiring from the race.
* Passed by Verstappen/Red Bull on lap 5, fell to seventh.
* Pitted from eighth place on Lap 12, re-joined in 15th place on hard tyres.
* Moved back inside the top 10 on Lap 19 after pit stops for Gasly/AlphaTauri and Stroll/Aston Martin.
* Advanced to eighth on Lap 26 after Alonso/Alpine pitted.
* Pitted from 10th place on Lap 32, re-joined in 15th place on medium tyres.
* Crossed the line after 44 laps in 15th place, 1min 47secs behind race-winner Verstappen/Red Bull, and five seconds behind final points-scorer Albon/Williams in 10th.
Next race
Round 15: Netherlands (Zandvoort), 4 September
Last race (2021): qualified 10th, finished 11th
Career: 1 race, 0 points
Best finish: 11th (2021)
Zandvoort highlights: Raced the circuit for the first time since his 2009 Formula 3 days last year, as the Dutch Grand Prix returned to the calendar for the first time in 36 years.
