Charles Leclerc has claimed pole position for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver benefitted from a five-place grid penalty handed down to reigning world champion Max Verstappen at Spa following a gearbox change to his Red Bull.
Verstappen, the runaway title leader again in 2023, showcased his dominance once more in a qualifying session delayed due to heavy rain that many thought could see it cancelled altogether, recording a superb final lap of one minute and 46.168 seconds that was a full 0.820 seconds quicker than closest rival and provisional pole-sitter Leclerc, though will start Sunday’s race from down in sixth on the grid due to that punishment.
Last week at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen was pipped to pole by a blistering last-gasp lap from Lewis Hamilton, who led the grid for the first time since 2021, though he quickly took the race lead heading into the first corner and cruised to a seventh successive win as Red Bull eclipsed the great McLaren team of 1988 with a record 12th consecutive victory.
Instead this will be Leclerc’s second pole of a frustrating season so far for Ferrari, following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku in April, when he was quickly passed during the opening stages of the race and ended up finishing third behind the Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and Verstappen.
Perez will be second on the grid at Spa on Sunday, with Hamilton third for Mercedes ahead of Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz, the McLaren of Oscar Piastri and Verstappen.
McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ George Russell are also in the top 10, along with the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. A standalone sprint race is due to take place in Belgium on Saturday, weather permitting.
“Not a bad qualifying for us, especially in those conditions it is always tricky to put everything together,” said Leclerc, who isn’t optimistic about challenging for victory despite taking pole. “I put in a lot of work in those conditions as I wasn’t comfortable a few races ago and it seemed to pay off.
“We went a bit too early for that last run but we could have been a bit closer. Having said that, we have a great starting position for Sunday and let’s see how it goes.”
Few will bet against the dominant Verstappen’s chances of moving quickly through the field and competing for his 10th win from 12 races so far this season. Last year at Spa, he fought back from much worse circumstances to claim a famous victory after being hit with engine issues that dropped him down to 14th on the grid.
“I think this year the car is better so I’m still targeting to win the race for sure,” he said.
“It was very tight. Of course, the conditions are very tricky. The track was really drying quickly and yeah, my final lap, I just didn’t have that confidence in Q2 to push more and I was very lucky to be in P10.
“In Q3, you have two tyre sets and you can push a little bit more, you can risk a little bit more and that’s what we did on that final lap. I know that I have to drop back on Sunday with the penalty I have but it was the best I could do today.”
