Max Verstappen was fastest in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix but a 10-place grid drop means Charles Leclerc will start from pole
Red Bull opted to change Verstappen’s engine heading into the weekend and therefore incurring a penalty, and the championship leader dominated a damp qualifying to finish 0.5 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Leclerc.
Q1
All drivers fitted wet tyres on a drying track, with laptimes tumbling in the closing minutes. Verstappen snatched first place in the final moments ahead of Leclerc and Mercedes driver George Russell but, having been shuffled to fourth, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri ended up fastest and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly climbed to second, with Sergio Perez finishing one place behind team-mate Verstappen in fourth. Both Haas drivers missed out on Q2, as did RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Williams driver Logan Sargeant and Sauber’s Guanya Zhou.
Elimated:
16. Nico Hulkenberg Haas
17. Kevin Magnussen Haas
18. Yuki Tsunoda RB
19. Logan Sargeant Williams
20. Zhou Guanyu Sauber
Q2
Alex Albon led for Williams before being beaten by McLaren’s Lando Norris, but Verstappen moved to the top. Rain started to come down heavier, with Perez scraped into Q3, having initially sat 11th before improving by one position. Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Russell put in late efforts to finish second and third ahead of Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso also improved to move out of the drop zone. Albon slipped out of the top 10, and he was joined in being eliminated by Gasly, RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Aston Martin’ Lance Stroll.
Eliminated:
11. Alex Albon Williams
12. Pierre Gasly Alpine
13. Daniel Ricciardo RB
14. Valtteri Bottas Sauber
15. Lance Stroll Aston Martin
Q3
Hamilton posted an opening benchmark of 1m54.011s which was good enough to lead Russell who was soon demoted to third by Piastri. Verstappen surged to the top with a 1m53.159s, with Perez taking second. Norris improved on his second lap to fourth ahead of Piastri before Leclerc climbed to second which became pole with Verstappen’s penalty.Results:
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull
2. Charles Leclerc Ferrari
3. Sergio Perez Red Bull
4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
5. Lando Norris McLaren
6. Oscar Piastri McLaren
7. George Russell Mercedes
8. Carlos Sainz Ferrari
9. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin
10. Esteban Ocon Alpine
Featured image credit: F1 on X
