Max Verstappen clocked the fastest time in the qualifying round for the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon. Charles Leclerc, in his Ferrari, secured the second fastest time, which puts him in pole position for tomorrow’s race. Due to a ten-place grid penalty (engine change), the three-time world champion will start the Belgian Grand Prix in eleventh place, a race he has won for the past three years.
Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Pérez, will start the race alongside Leclerc from the first row. The Mexican recorded the third fastest time in the session.
Q1: Piastri and Verstappen Off to a Quick Start
The qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps begins as the rain temporarily stops. Lando Norris, in his McLaren, is the first to hit the drying track, with the prospect of new rain showers. All drivers are urged to set a fast time immediately. After the first series of quick runs, Max Verstappen tops the time list with 1.56,003, followed by Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).
With a temperature of 18 degrees Celsius (and a track temperature of 20 degrees), the drivers stay on the track to take advantage of the drying (and therefore faster) track, as long as they can. Verstappen continues to improve on his intermediates, despite being briefly held up by Guanyu Zhou’s Stake F1 car.
The predicted heavy rain at the end of Q1 does not materialize. Under the challenging conditions, there are no major surprises. Norris continues as twelfth, Hamilton as thirteenth. The fastest time in Q1 is set by Piastri (1.54,835), followed by Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Verstappen. Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Pérez, also survives Q1. For the Mexican, this is already considered a stroke of luck.
The dropouts in Q1 are: Nico Hülkenberg, Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda, Logan Sargeant, and Guanyu Zhou. For Tsunoda, his early elimination doesn’t matter much. The Visa RB’s Japanese driver had a grid penalty of a whopping sixty (!) places and will start at the back on Sunday regardless.
Q2: Pérez Barely Advances, by 0.003 Seconds
At the start of Q2 of the qualifying session, Verstappen reports the first raindrops over the radio. It’s not much yet, but that changes as time goes on. Therefore, it’s crucial to set a sharp time on intermediates as quickly as possible. Verstappen immediately drives to the fastest time: 1.53,857. After the first series of fast runs, George Russell and Charles Leclerc are among those in the danger zone.
Despite deteriorating conditions on parts of the track, Verstappen manages to improve his time to 1.53,837. Russell and Leclerc, in turn, jump out of the danger zone. Sergio Pérez also manages to do this a little later, albeit barely. With 0.003, he is on the right side of the score. He records the tenth time, and thus the Mexican is present in Q3 for the first time since the GP of Austria. Behind Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell record the second and third time.
The dropouts in Q2 are: Alexander Albon, Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, and Lance Stroll.
Q3: Verstappen Superior, Leclerc a Smiling Second
As the last twelve minutes of the qualifying session begin to run, Hamilton is the first to hit the track. It’s drizzling here and there, but the heavy showers predicted by the teams are still absent.
After the first series of fast runs, Verstappen is immediately at the top again (1.53,159). Surprisingly, just before Pérez, who would therefore be allowed to start from pole (due to Verstappen’s grid penalty).
At the end of Q2, the order changes again, but Verstappen remains at the top. Leclerc is the laughing second. Pérez may start the race from the first row based on his third time in qualifying. The top-10 looks as follows: Hamilton, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Sainz, Alonso, and Ocon.
Verstappen knows that there are plenty of opportunities in his race after his strong qualification, despite the grid penalty of ten places. Two years ago, Verstappen won the race in Spa-Francorchamps from P14. However, this is not a record. In 1995, Michael Schumacher managed to win the Grand Prix of Belgium from P16.
The Grand Prix of Belgium starts Sunday at 15.00 UST.
