Top 3 F1 drivers react after Belgian GP qualifying: 'We know the car is quick'

Max Verstappen secured pole position for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, but the Dutchman will not start on pole position.

Red Bull Racing opted to fit Verstappen's RB19 with a fifth gearbox, surpassing the allocated four for the year. This will see him receive a five-place grid penalty, resulting in him starting sixth.

"I know with the penalty, I drop back on Sunday, but (Friday) was all about feeling confident," the defending champ said after qualifying.

"We know the car is quick. Last year I had more penalties, and we still won the race, so that's the target."

Leclerc was close

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who won his first F1 race in Belgium in 2019, qualified second but is hopeful of another strong result. The Ferrari has not been looking particularly strong this year, but it looked competitive around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit - at least in qualifying trim with low fuel levels.

"Not a bad qualifying for us, especially in those conditions," Leclerc said.

"I've put in a lot of work in those conditions as I wasn't too comfortable a few races ago. We went too early on that last run, we could have been closer. But we have a great starting position for Sunday!"

Sergio Perez finally managed to break his poor qualifying run and secured third place behind his Red Bull teammate and Leclerc. He lamented the tricky conditions but said he wanted to catch Leclerc in the end.

"Very tricky qualifying out there; we thought it was going to get a lot drier a lot quicker," Perez said. "Even in Q3, there were a few places that were very tricky. It's a good result - a bit of a shame I didn't get Charles."