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Charles Bradley

F1 Grand Prix qualifying results: Sainz takes Belgian GP pole

Due to grid penalties for power unit changes, the qualifying order doesn’t truly reflect the starting grid – as Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu and Mick Schumacher will all start at the back.

So Sainz will start ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

Belgian Grand Prix starting grid, after penalties are applied: 

Cla Driver Time Gap km/h
1 Spain Carlos Sainz 1'44.297   241.755
2 Mexico Sergio Perez 1'44.462 0.165 241.373
3 Spain Fernando Alonso 1'45.368 1.071 239.298
4 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 1'45.503 1.206 238.992
5 United Kingdom George Russell 1'45.776 1.479 238.375
6 Thailand Alex Albon 1'45.837 1.540 238.238
7 Australia Daniel Ricciardo 1'45.767 1.470 238.395
8 France Pierre Gasly 1'45.827 1.530 238.260
9 Canada Lance Stroll 1'46.611 2.314 236.508
10 Germany Sebastian Vettel 1'46.344 2.047 237.102
11 Canada Nicholas Latifi 1'46.401 2.104 236.975
12 Denmark Kevin Magnussen 1'46.557 2.260 236.628
13 Japan Yuki Tsunoda 1'46.692 2.395 236.328
14 Finland Valtteri Bottas 1'47.866 3.569 233.756
15 Netherlands Max Verstappen 1'43.665   243.229
16 Monaco Charles Leclerc 1'44.553 0.256 241.163
17 France Esteban Ocon 1'45.180 0.883 239.726
18 United Kingdom Lando Norris 1'46.178 1.881 237.472
19 China Zhou Guanyu 1'46.085 1.788 237.681
20 Germany Mick Schumacher 1'47.718 3.421 234.077
 

What happened in Belgian Grand Prix Q1?

After a 25-minute delay due to barrier repairs following a support race crash, Verstappen set the pace at 1m44.581s, ahead of Sainz on 1m45.050s, 0.469s slower, and Perez a further three tenths back.

Falling at the first hurdle were Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), Nicholas Latifi (Williams), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo). However, due to the grid penalties of drivers ahead, this quintet all move up the grid to fill the spots from 10th on back.

Belgian Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Sainz

Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'44.581     241.099
2 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1'45.050 0.469 0.469 240.022
3 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 1'45.377 0.796 0.327 239.278
4 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'45.572 0.991 0.195 238.836
5 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1'45.650 1.069 0.078 238.659
6 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 1'45.672 1.091 0.022 238.610
7 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'45.736 1.155 0.064 238.465
8 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 1'45.745 1.164 0.009 238.445
9 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 1'46.039 1.458 0.294 237.784
10 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 1'46.075 1.494 0.036 237.703
11 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1'46.178 1.597 0.103 237.472
12 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1'46.183 1.602 0.005 237.461
13 Australia Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1'46.212 1.631 0.029 237.396
14 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1'46.256 1.675 0.044 237.298
15 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas 1'46.342 1.761 0.086 237.106
16 Germany Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1'46.344 1.763 0.002 237.102
17 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams 1'46.401 1.820 0.057 236.975
18 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 1'46.557 1.976 0.156 236.628
19 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1'46.692 2.111 0.135 236.328
20 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1'47.866 3.285 1.174 233.756

What happened in Belgian Grand Prix Q2?

Verstappen set the bar at 1m44.723s, 0.071s ahead of Perez and with Sainz in third – who was 0.695s down. Leclerc put in a scruffy lap, moaning about his car’s handling in slow-speed corners and dropping a wheel into the dirt approaching Fagnes.

Leclerc ran again at the end of the session and produced 1m44.551s to top the times by 0.172s.

Knocked out at this point were Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren, who will start seventh), Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri, eighth), Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin, ninth) and Mick Schumacher (Haas) – three of them will move up the grid due to penalties to others, with Zhou and Schumacher heading to the back.

Belgian Grand Prix Q2 results: Leclerc fastest from Verstappen

Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'44.551     241.168
2 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'44.723 0.172 0.172 240.772
3 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 1'44.794 0.243 0.071 240.609
4 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1'45.418 0.867 0.624 239.184
5 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'45.420 0.869 0.002 239.180
6 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1'45.461 0.910 0.041 239.087
7 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 1'45.475 0.924 0.014 239.055
8 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 1'45.552 1.001 0.077 238.881
9 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 1'45.603 1.052 0.051 238.765
10 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 1'45.675 1.124 0.072 238.603
11 Australia Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1'45.767 1.216 0.092 238.395
12 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1'45.827 1.276 0.060 238.260
13 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1'46.085 1.534 0.258 237.681
14 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1'46.611 2.060 0.526 236.508
15 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas 1'47.718 3.167 1.107 234.077

What happened in Belgian Grand Prix Q3?

On the first runs, Verstappen led the way on 1m43.665s from Sainz by 0.632s, with Perez third on 1m44.462s.

Leclerc wasted his new tyres on his first run giving Sainz a tow, so ran a lap longer and could only manage 1m44.553s in fourth, 0.888s off the pace.

Verstappen stayed in the pits for the final runs, so Perez didn’t get a tow. Leclerc came out of the pits late to give Sainz a big tow but the lap didn’t work out, as he run wide at Fagnes, so he stayed second – but that was enough for pole as Perez didn’t improve either and will start alongside him on the front row.

Verstappen’s fastest Q3 time means he will start 15th. Leclerc qualified fourth but will start behind Verstappen in 16th.

Esteban Ocon (Alpine) was fifth fastest but drops to 17th. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) will start third, ahead of the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Alex Albon will start fifth for Williams, and qualified faster than Lando Norris’s McLaren (who drops to 18th).

Belgian Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen fastest, Sainz inherits pole

Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'43.665     243.229
2 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1'44.297 0.632 0.632 241.755
3 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 1'44.462 0.797 0.165 241.373
4 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'44.553 0.888 0.091 241.163
5 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 1'45.180 1.515 0.627 239.726
6 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 1'45.368 1.703 0.188 239.298
7 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'45.503 1.838 0.135 238.992
8 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1'45.776 2.111 0.273 238.375
9 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 1'45.837 2.172 0.061 238.238
10 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 1'46.178 2.513 0.341 237.472
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