Max Verstappen tops Belgian F1 GP qualifying but Carlos Sainz Jr takes pole

Carlos Sainz Jr took pole for the Belgian Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver did not set the fastest lap, which was firmly sealed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. However with he and title rival Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc taking grid penalties the Spaniard claimed the top spot. Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez was third and will start second, while Alpine’s Fernando Alonso moves up from sixth to third.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were promoted to fourth and fifth from seventh and eighth.

Setting the grid at Spa-Francorchamps was a complex and unwieldy process given that a full seven drivers had grid penalties. McLaren’s Lando Norris, Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Mick Schumacher of Haas also all have the same penalties as Verstappen and Leclerc, moving them to the back of the grid for taking new components power unit components beyond their allocation.

Championship leader Verstappen was the class of the field in an ominously quick Red Bull, repeatedly setting the quickest times and ultimately finishing with a lap that was six-tenths clear of Sainz, while Leclerc could manage only fourth.

Verstappen will start from 15th and Leclerc in 16th. The two Mercedes could do little to challenge and were a country mile off the real pace with Hamilton 1.8seconds down on Verstappen. Williams’s Alex Albon did superbly to claim ninth and move to sixth on the grid.

Esteban Ocon was fifth for Alpine and will start in 17th and McLaren’s Lando Norris 10th to start in 18th.

Verstappen was quickest in qualifying with a lap that would have been worthy of pole and is doubtless expectant of repeating the form in race pace. At the last round in Hungary he started from 10th on the grid but fought through to claim a win and his pace