Belgian GP: Mclaren & AlphaTauri Set To Struggle If It Rains

Mercedes are likely to perform well in wet conditions at Spa-Francorchamps as they are running a high-downforce set-up.

Mclaren and AlphaTauri had a reasonably strong qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday, but they are likely to struggle if it rains during the race.

Mclaren drivers Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris qualified seventh and tenth, respectively, while Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly will start the race just outside the top 10 in their Honda-powered AlphaTauri cars.

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Both teams opted to run low-downforce set-ups in qualifying, leaving them at risk of falling down the order if it rains during the 44-lap Belgian Grand Prix.

After qualifying, Sainz, who will move to Ferrari at the end of the 2020 season, said they could “suffer” if the race is wet.

“We elected to run super low downforce, which means if the rain comes, we might suffer a bit,” Sainz told Sky Sports F1.

“Normally on Saturday if I see there’s any rain risk, I would actually sing and try and make the rain come because as you know, I like the rain.

“For a midfield car it’s always nice to have rain, because it means maybe there’s opportunities for a bit more than P6 or P5.

“I’m always looking forward to the rain, but maybe [if] there’s one race that would not suit us very much, it’s here in Spa because of the little wing that we are running.

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“We could find ourselves a bit in trouble if it suddenly rains, so let’s see.”

He added that they experimented with running a higher downforce set-up in some of the Free Practice sessions, but were struggling with pace.

The Silver Arrows locked out the front row of the grid in qualifying.

Both Mercedes are running a higher downforce aero set-up, so they are likely to excel in the rain.

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