Charles Leclerc Starts From Pole At Belgian Grand Prix After Max Verstappen Penalty

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start from pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix despite Max Verstappen having set the fastest time in qualifying on Friday. Double world champion Verstappen incurred a five-grid penalty for a change of gearbox on his Red Bull demoting him to sixth for Sunday's race. Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez will start alongside Leclerc on the front row for the 12th race of the Formula One season. Verstappen, who leads the championship by 110 points, won at Spa-Francorchamps last year from 14th on the grid. "Last year we had lots of penalties and I still won the race so that will be the aim again," said the Belgian-born Dutch driver.

Leclerc, eight-tenths of a second slower than Verstappen, said: "Not a bad qualifying for us, especially in those conditions.

"We went a bit too early for that last run but we could have been a bit closer. Having said that, we have a great starting position for Sunday and let's see how it goes."

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari occupy the second row.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Verstappen come next, with Lando Norris (McLaren), George Russell (Mercedes) and Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll in the Aston Martins rounding out the top 10.

Saturday features the third sprint race of the F1 season after Azerbaijan and Austria, with qualifying for the standalone race scheduled for Saturday morning at the majestic Ardennes circuit.

Verstappen's penalty does not apply to the sprint.

The Red Bull ace was lucky to squeeze into the third qualifying session with a late lap to climb to 10th in Q2 and admitted he had battled the drying conditions throughout the session.

"It was very tight. The conditions were really tricky and on my final lap in Q2 I