Verstappen fastest in F1 qualifying, Leclerc to start on pole on Sunday at the Belgian GP

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After a day where lots of rain had fallen, the sun appeared as qualifying began at Spa.

Everyone went out on inters as the session begun, with lots of water getting kicked up by the drivers.

Russell kicked things off with a 2:02.360. Teammate Lewis Hamilton beat that by 0.080s moments later.

The McLaren of Lando Norris was the first in the 2:01s as he logged a a 2:01.874. On his next attempt, the Brit had a huge moment at turn 15 and took a trip through the gravel.

Carlos Sainz pumped in a 2:00.536 to lead the session halfway through. Verstappen, Alonso, Piastri and Russell completed the top 5.

Magnussen, Hülkenberg, Bottas, Guanyu and Sargeant found themselves in the bottom five with 5 minutes to go.

Sainz continued to show impressive pace as he was the first driver to dip below the 2-minute barrier. A 1:59.944 put him top, but Max Verstappen banged in a 1:58.932.

Heading into the final attempts, Ricciardo, Albon, Sargeant, Magnussen and Hülkenberg found themselves in trouble. Unfortunately for the German in the Haas, he couldn’t do a final run as a hydraulic issue ended his day early.

A flurry of improvements saved drivers who tumbled down the order and into the relegation zone, such as Charles Leclerc, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. A 1:58.300 from the Monegasque saw him end up fastest from Verstappen and Hamilton.

Daniel Ricciardo had set a time that was good enough to get him through to Q3, but he cut the kerb too much at Raidillon and exceeded track limits. The Williams of Alex Albon got loose under braking at Rivage and explored the tarmac run-off.

Albon, Guanyu, Sargeant, Ricciardo and the unfortunate Hülkenberg were the drivers eliminated at the end of Q1.

Once again Mercedes went out first and it was Hamilton leading the way on a 1:58.024, followed by Russell who was 0.248s slower.

However, those times on used inters would be blown away as a 1:55.535 from Max Verstappen put him 0.447s clear of teammate Pérez. Leclerc, Piastri, Ocon, Gasly, Tsunoda, Magnussen, Alonso and Bottas completed the top 10 halfway through.

As the track continued to dry out and the sun appeared, the drivers started to turn to the dry tyres. As it’s not an ATA weekend, everyone had plenty of new softs to use.

Unsurprisingly, the track was still quite slippery and Esteban Ocon broke his front wing at turn 9 as he lost the rear on entry. His session was done.

The man who switched the softs on best was Oscar Piastri as the McLaren driver delivered a scorching middle sector to go end the session quickest on a 1:51.534. Sainz and Leclerc put their Ferraris into 2nd and 3rd and were the only drivers within half a second of the Aussie.

Stroll, Norris, Hamilton, Pérez, Russell, Alonso and Verstappen also made it through to the final segment of qualifying.

It was far from convincing from the Dutchman as he squeaked through by just under 0.4s. Verstappen also had a moment in turn 9 like Ocon but avoided the gravel and wall.

Tsunoda impressed in P11 but missed out. He was joined in the knockout zone by Gasly, Magnussen, Bottas and Ocon.

Alonso kicked things off in Q3 with a 1:49.164, but he was quickly beaten by both McLarens as they got themselves into the 1:48s.

However, it would be Charles Leclerc leading the way after the first runs as a 1:47.931 from the Ferrari driver put him 0.128s clear of Max Verstappen. In spite of setting purple sectors in 1 and 3, Sainz could only manage P3, 0.421s away from pole.

Piastri, Norris, Hamilton, Alonso, Pérez, Russell and Stroll completed the order ahead of the last runs.

Once again Charles Leclerc delivered a great lap as a 1:46.988 put him fastest. Unfortunately for the Monegasque, he didn’t win out in qualifying as a 1:46.168 from Verstappen saw him take P1 by 0.820s. Nonetheless, the Ferrari star will be P1 for Sunday’s race because of Verstappen’s gearbox penalty.