Martin Brundle slams 39-podium F1 driver ‘nowhere’ at Belgian Grand Prix

Follow us on Google Discover

Martin Brundle has slammed a Formula 1 driver who was ‘nowhere’ during qualifying for the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix after their costly failure when it mattered on Saturday.

Pole position at Spa headed the way of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as rain drenched the track in the Ardennes. The 26-year-old will inherit P1 on the grid after posting the second-fastest lap time in Q3. Max Verstappen topped the timesheets but he will serve a 10-place grid penalty.

Red Bull elected to use the Belgian GP as their chance to install new power unit elements to Verstappen’s RB20 beyond the number allowed. He will try to come back from P11 with two Ferraris, two Mercedes, two McLarens, an Aston Martin, one Alpine and a Williams in front.

Martin Brundle slams Sergio Perez for being ‘nowhere’ in qualifying at Spa

Verstappen also finds his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez ahead of him on a grid for the first time this year. The 26-year-old also last started a Grand Prix behind the 34-year-old at the 2023 Belgian GP when the Dutchman fell from P1 to P6 due to his gearbox change penalty.

Both times, Perez ended qualifying at Spa in third place, but he will hope for a better result in the 2024 Belgian GP. The Mexican finished in P2 to Verstappen with a 22.305-second gap between the Red Bull teammates in 2023. Leclerc fell from pole to third, 9.954s from Perez.

READ MORE: Five unforgettable Belgian GP from Schumacher vs Hakkinen to a 13 car crash

Yet Perez finishing qualifying for the 2024 Belgian GP in P3 with a 0.606s deficit to Red Bull teammate Verstappen drew criticism from Brundle. The Sky Sports commentator took issue with how far off his stablemate’s lap Perez was at the end of Q3 before aborting his final go.

“Perez [was] nowhere in the middle sector,” Brundle stated on Sky Sports F1 (27/07, 16:01).

Sergio Perez will hope the Belgian GP continues to be a repeat of 2023

Brundle was not alone to criticise the Red Bull driver during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, either. Bernie Collins also felt Perez was ‘lucky’ to reach Q3 after finishing Q2 just 0.003 seconds clear of Williams’ Alex Albon. It was also just his third Q3 over the last eight rounds.

But, lucky or not, Perez reached Q3 and also sealed second P2 on the grid with third place in qualifying this Saturday. The Guadalajara native will now hope to repeat how he started the 2023 race. He took the lead away from Leclerc with a big slipstream on the Kemmel Straight.

Perez had the pass done on the Ferrari driver before they reached Les Combes thanks to the tow the pole sitter often gives from La Source all the way through the rest of the first sector. Yet Perez did have to also be alert off the line to chop across Lewis Hamilton to remain in P2.

Repeating his start in 2024 could also see Perez return to the podium after claiming his 39th in Formula 1 back at the Chinese Grand Prix this April. He has not made it onto a rostrum in the last eight rounds and has even only finished as high as P4 once in the Miami Grand Prix.