Charles Leclerc will start on pole for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix after fastest qualifier Max Verstappen serves a ten-place grid penalty for exceeding his allocated number of engines permitted for the season.
A late 1:53.754 for Leclerc in wet conditions at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps elevated him to second, behind Verstappen, in Q3, and was enough to claim the pole once the three-time World Champion’s penalty is applied.
An under pressure Sergio Perez bounced back from a poor run of form to earn second on the grid, falling just 0.011s short of the lead Ferrari driver’s time.
Both, however, were over half a second behind the championship leader.
Lewis Hamilton inherits third on the grid and was also less than one-tenth off the pace of the pole-sitting Ferrari.
Lando Norris lines up fourth, one place ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, who starts on the third row next to Mercedes’ George Russell.
Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso form an all-Spanish fourth row, with Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon, who was eliminated in Q2, completing the top ten.
The preceding F2 Sprint Race was postponed due to the conditions, and Formula 1 qualifying began in the wet, with all competitors on intermediates.
The Haas duo of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen were joined in the bottom five by Yuki Tsunoda, Logan Sargeant, and Zhou Guanyu.
A host of component changes for Tsunoda see him relegated to the rear of the field.
Zhou also received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Verstappen in qualifying but moves forward from 20th to 19th following Tsunoda’s eye-watering 60-place grid penalty.
Perez secured progression to Q3 by just 0.003 seconds at the expense of Alex Albon in Q2, with the Williams driver joined by Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll in the bottom five.
The Belgian Grand Prix begins at 1.00 am NZST and will be shown live on Sky Sport.
Belgian Grand Prix Starting Grid
| Pole | Charles Leclerc |
| 2nd | Sergio Perez |
| 3rd | Lewis Hamilton |
| 4th | Lando Norris |
| 5th | Oscar Piastri |
| 6th | George Russell |
| 7th | Carlos Sainz |
| 8th | Fernando Alonso |
| 9th | Esteban Ocon |
| 10th | Alex Albon |
| 11th | Max Verstappen |
| 12th | Pierre Gasly |
| 13th | Daniel Ricciardo |
| 14th | Valtteri Bottas |
| 15th | Lance Stroll |
| 16th | Nico Hulkenberg |
| 17th | Kevin Magnussen |
| 18th | Logan Sargaent |
| 19th | Zhou Guanyu |
| 20th | Logan Sargeant |
Header Image: Getty Images/ Red Bull Content Pool
