Stella's theory on why Verstappen missed out on pole position fight

The Belgian GP qualifying once again confirmed—if there were any doubts—the dominance of the two McLarens, with Lando Norris delivering the perfect lap to edge out teammate Oscar Piastri by less than a tenth.

Max Verstappen, on the other hand, was not in the fight for pole position. Unlike yesterday, he couldn’t slot in between the two McLarens and even ended up behind Charles Leclerc in fourth.

Overall, it’s still a respectable position, though third place would have been within reach if not for the small mistake at Turn 1.

Speaking with GPBlog, among other media, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella identified a factor that, in his view, ruled Verstappen out of contention compared to yesterday.

"I cannot comment very much", he started, to then add: "We saw they increased the downforce. I'm not sure if this made the entire car slower."

Verstappen later admitted to ViaPlay that he struggled to find grip in this afternoon’s qualifying: "I had absolutely no grip. We could have been third, then it looks better, but it was not a nice qualifying."

Choosing to run more rear downforce could pay off in the race, with rain expected tomorrow potentially shaking up the order again—like at Silverstone—and benefiting those who opted for a higher wing load.