Verstappen pips Leclerc to top qualifying at Belgian Grand Prix

F1 Grand Prix, GP Belgium, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen set the fastest lap time in qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix, but his five-place grid penalty for exceeding his gearbox allocation will promote second fastest Charles Leclerc to the first starting position for Sunday's Spa F1 race. F1Technical's senior writer Balázs Szabó reports on the qualifying session at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The first qualifying session at the Belgian Grand Prix was delayed by ten minutes. After heavy rain hampered much of the running earlier in the day, the drivers were greeted to much better conditions, with blue skies even making an appearance.

Most of the drivers spent the entirety of the opening qualifying session on the track, trying to constantly find improvements as the conditions got better. Ferrari drivers appeared to be quick early on in the session, but both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc tumbled down the order as their rivals opted for a second new set of intermediates.

Leaving it late, Leclerc recorded a 1m58.300s to top the initial part of qualifying, beating Max Verstappen by two tenths of a second.

The biggest disappointment belonged to F1 returnee Daniel Ricciardo and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg. The Australian looked quick, but he found himself in 19th, after his fastest time that put him sixth was deleted. By contrast, the German driver brought up the rear after not coming out of the pit lane late for his final run.

Eliminated in Q1: Alexander Albon, Guanyu Zhou, Logan Sargeant, Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg.

Despite the track constantly getting drier, the remaining 15 drivers made their way out on to the track, bolting on the intermediate tyres. Lando Norris had a shock moment as he slid off the track and had to rush back into the pits as McLaren needed to inspect his car for damage.

Although everyone set a banker lap in the early stages of the session, they quickly made the call to switch to slicks with Carlos Sainz becoming the last driver to make the change to the red-walled Pirelli.

Using the slick tyres for the first time this weekend, McLaren’s Australian driver Oscar Piastri set the quickest lap with a 1m51.534s. Ferrari duo Sainz and Leclerc ended up second and third fastest respectively, beating Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Lewis Hamilton narrowly beat Sergio Perez for P6 with George Russell and Fernando Alonso taking 8th and 9th fastest in Q2. Double world champion Max Verstappen had issues with his battery management, and narrowly missed the progression into the last part of qualifying, setting only the 10th quickest time.

On the day when Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer, Technical Director Pat Fry and Sporting Director Alan Permane announced their exit from the team, Alpine hoped for a better start to their weekend.

However, Pierre Gasly finished down in P12 while his team-mate Esteban Ocon damaged his front wing after crashing into the barrier at Turn 9 and ended up down in P15.

Eliminated in Q2: Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas Esteban Ocon.

Track conditions improved for the final part of qualifying with the sun drying out the ideal run for the most crucial part of Friday’s track action.

Charles Leclerc kicked off Q3 in the best way, setting the fastest lap of the weekend. Ferrari sent the Monegasque driver very early out on to the track for his final lap with Leclerc becoming the first driver on the circuit. With cars and the sun drying the track rapidly, it meant that Leclerc had the worst track conditions to master for his final hot lap.

The five-time F1 race winner improved his time to a 1m46.988s, shaving a further 9 tenths of a second off his previous best. However, Max Verstappen clocked a 1m46.168s to go quickest in the session, but Leclerc managed to hang on to the second starting position that will evolve into pole for Sunday’s Spa F1 race given Verstappen’s grid drop penalty.

After dismal qualifying performances, Sergio Perez clinched third place, narrowly beating Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz.

McLaren displayed eye-catching pace in Q2, but their drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris ended up ‘only’ sixth and seventh fastest in the end, beating Mercedes racer George Russell.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was unable to get involved in the battle for pole position, and will only line up ninth on the grid on Sunday. His team-mate Lance Stroll finished down in P10, a full second adrift of the two-time world champion Spaniard.