Qualifying kicked off at Spa in very wet conditions following heavy rain that started in FP3.
Q1
Championship contender Lando Norris was first out, posting a 1:58.894. However, a 1:57.411 from Piastri saw him beat his teammate by almost 1.5s, with Hülkenberg splitting them.
On his first flier, a 1:56.003 from Max Verstappen put him 1.4s clear of the field as he went purple in sectors 1 and 2.
Verstappen, Piastri, Hamilton, Leclerc, Russell, Perez, Gasly, Alonso, Magnussen and Ricciardo was the top 10 after everyone completed a lap. Norris was down in 16th.
Piastri continued to show excellent pace, logging a 1:55.549 to go fastest by almost half a second from Verstappen. Leclerc, Ricciardo, Pérez, Gasly, Tsunoda, Hamilton, Russell and Bottas completed the top 10 at that point.
Magnussen, Albon, Hülkenberg, Sargeant and Stroll was the bottom five as many drivers fitted new inters heading into the final six minutes.
The three-time defending World Champion responded at the front, with a 1:54.938 from Verstappen putting him 0.6s clear of the field.
Aston Martin showed the power of fresh inters. Alonso and Stroll immediately jumped into the top 10.
Sargeant, Russell, Bottas, Guanyu and Hülkenberg found themselves in the relegation zone as the final attempts started.
On his new inters, Russell vaulted up to 3rd, comfortably booking his place in Q2 in the end.
Both Alpines did a fantastic job. Gasly was 2nd quickest to Piastri in the end. The Aussie did a 1:54.835 to top Q1. Esteban Ocon was 8th as they comfortably made it through.
The other standout drivers were Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon. All of them were over a second quicker than their teammates, booking their places in Q2.
Haas’ difficult weekend continued, with Hülkenberg and Magnussen only P16 and P17. Tsunoda, Sargeant and Guanyu joined them in getting knocked out.
Although they were outside the top 10, Norris in P12 and Hamilton in 13th comfortably made it through as they were over half a second clear of Hülkenberg.
Q2
Alex Albon kicked things off in Q2 as a 1:54.724 put him top, immediately beating the best time of Q1. Lando Norris beat that by 0.265s, before Max Verstappen logged a 1:53.857 to put 0.6s into the field. The Dutchman chipped another 0.020s off that on his next attempt.
Piastri, Ocon, Pérez, Ricciardo, Alonso, Hamilton and Sainz completed the top 10.
Russell, Gasly, Leclerc, Bottas and Stroll needed to improve. The Brit was complaining of the rears sliding as he could only manage P11.
Big improvements from the Ferraris and Russell moved them into P3, P4 and P7 with three minutes left, putting Ricciardo, Alonso and Gasly into danger with Bottas and Stroll.
Ocon, Alonso, Gasly, Bottas and Stroll were the drivers in trouble as the final laps started.
The track continued to improve and almost everyone improved at the end. Hamilton and Russell moved up to P2 and P3 behind Verstappen. Sainz, Piastri, Leclerc, Alonso, Norris, Ocon and Pérez also booked their places in the final segment.
There was heartbreak for Alex Albon as he missed out on Q3 by 0.003s. Gasly, Ricciardo, Bottas and a distant Lance Stroll also departed at the end of Q2.
Q3
A 1:54.011 from Lewis Hamilton started things in Q3, with Piastri going 0.016s slower. Russell was 3rd, 0.232s off, as Lando Norris was 0.002s slower than the second Mercedes.
Red Bull delivered big times. A 1:53.159 from Max Verstappen put him 0.606s clear of Sergio Perez. Hamilton, Piastri, Russell, Norris, Sainz, Leclerc, Alonso and Ocon was the rest of the order.
Hamilton improved on his second attempt, but he ended up 0.070s slower than Pérez. Critically for Norris, he managed to move himself up to 4th, jumping Piastri and Russell in the process.
However, it was Charles Leclerc who came good at the end. A brilliant lap from the Monégasque driver put him P2, 0.011s faster than Sergio Pérez. With Verstappen dropping ten spots, the Ferrari driver will start on pole for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.
Leclerc, Pérez, Hamilton, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Sainz, Alonso, Ocon and Albon will be the top 10 at the start, with Verstappen in P11.
