Raikkonen to start from pit lane at Belgian Grand Prix

Mark Scott
Kimi Raikkonen at Spa. Spa August 2021

Finlands' Kimi Raikkonen drives for Alfa Romeo at the Belgian Grand Prix. Spa August 2021

Kimi Raikkonen is the latest driver to suffer a grid drop for the Belgian Grand Prix, now due to start from the pit lane at Spa-Francorchamps.

‘The Iceman’ had been due to start from P18 after another pretty miserable qualifying performance for the Finn, but the pit lane now beckons as Alfa Romeo have changed the rear wing assembly on his car – probably prompted by the very wet track conditions at Spa.

The drop means Nikita Mazepin will move up to P18, behind team-mate Mick Schumacher, and Lance Stroll, who has a five-place grid drop of his own after causing a collision at the Hungarian Grand Prix, up to P19.

F1 TV Pro is half price for two months! In order to claim this fantastic discount, click the following link and use the promo code SPA50 at checkout!*

*Offer expires at 23:59 on Sunday, August 29. Offer only available on Pro. Customers will need to take out a monthly subscription and this offer can only be redeemed on web. Offer not available in NL, FR or NZ.

Kimi’s move to the pit lane was confirmed by the FIA just a little over an hour before lights out.

A statement read: ‘The rear wing has been replaced with the approval of the FIA technical delegate following a written request from the team concerned, this being in accordance with Article 34.2 of the 2021 Formula One Sporting Regulations.

‘But as the above part is different from the one originally used, car number 07 should now be required to start from the pit lane according to Article 34.8b of the 2021 Formula One Sporting Regulations.’