Formula 1 live ticker: The race in Spa-Francorchamps now live!

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In ten minutes the race in Spa begins and we are moving the action to our session ticker for now. So there is a short break here, after the finish line it continues here with the voices about the Grand Prix.

And if you want to know how to watch Formula 1 live during the Belgium weekend, you can find out here.

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Alexander Albon has already received an investigation before the start. We do not know exactly what it is about, the race control only reports “CAR SAFETY LIGHTS” as the reason, i.e. the safety lights on the car.

But it probably won’t play a big role anyway, because Williams normally won’t be fighting for points here.

All 22 cars are on the starting grid. This is quite noteworthy, because for a change today no one is starting from the pit lane – despite the many grid penalties.

Quick weather update: Currently we see a pretty dark cloud over the track. Rain is actually not forecast, but that might unsettle some people now. Let’s keep an eye on it.

You know the drill: 40 minutes to the start and now the pit lane opens in Spa. The drivers now have ten minutes to make their way to the starting grid.

We don’t see the starting tires here yet though. They will only be mounted shortly on the grid. The final tire choice will be known only a few minutes before the start.

The BBC reports that Red Bull has found a quasi-successor for Helmut Marko. Gwen Lagrue is said to move from Mercedes to the Bulls and take on a leadership role in the junior program there.

Currently Lagrue is still under contract as “Driver Development Advisor” at Mercedes. The move to Red Bull has not yet been officially confirmed.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton start only from P4 and P5. However, the Monegasque makes it clear that he still considers a podium possible today. “Overtaking will be difficult for us though,” he also emphasizes.

Therefore it will be important to get forward right at the start. “If we get the position on the track there, hopefully we have enough pace to stay up front,” says Leclerc.

Just under two hours to the start in Spa, where the driver parade has just begun. Here you can get some impressions and voices directly from the track again:

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Carlos Sainz is the fifth driver to receive a grid penalty this weekend. He got a new engine control electronics and must therefore drop ten places on the starting grid.

The updated starting grid can be found here.

Aston Martin is planning a big update for Budapest. Today’s race should therefore be the last one where they are hopelessly behind. “We know there is not much to gain here,” says Lance Stroll.

“It’s about getting through this weekend and focusing on what awaits us in Budapest,” says the Canadian. And Mike Krack also emphasizes: “It will not be an easy race.”

“But we will focus on getting the best out of tomorrow. Only one more race, then we can focus on Budapest,” he stresses.

Let’s just hope the update really works as hoped …

Since we already talked about the grid penalties this weekend: In Spa it is quite possible to win a race even from outside the top 10. The traditional track appears twice in this photo gallery:

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