Photo Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
World champion Max Verstappen showcased his prowess in challenging conditions, dominating the rainy qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix. Verstappen outpaced Charles Leclerc by 0.595 seconds, securing the fastest time despite a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his permitted number of engine components.
With Verstappen’s penalty, Red Bull's Sergio Perez, who was third fastest, will be promoted to the front row alongside Leclerc. Lewis Hamilton will start third for Mercedes, followed by the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. George Russell of Mercedes qualified seventh, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon completing the top ten.
Verstappen arrived in Belgium following a period of inconsistent form, with McLaren appearing to take the lead in Formula 1. However, on his favorite track, where he has triumphed for the past three years, Verstappen was in commanding form, always seeming destined to be he fastest.
The qualifying session was marked by tricky conditions. The track remained wet due to persistent light rain, but the weather never worsened to the point of stopping the session. The amount of spray was limited, and visibility was manageable for the drivers.
“It was a nice qualifying. Luckily the weather was OK. It was raining a little bit but we could do a decent qualifying,” Verstappen said. “Everything went well. Every tire set I was on, we could do decent lap times. The car was working quite well in the wet. I was just able to do clean laps.”
Verstappen’s dominance was underscored by the significant gap between him and Leclerc, which was larger than the margin separating Leclerc from Russell in seventh. However, Verstappen expressed caution about his chances in the race, stating, "I am not as confident as in the last two years coming back to the front. I still see it as a damage limitation race."
Leclerc’s position in second, and thus on pole position due to Verstappen’s penalty, was unexpected. Ferrari had not anticipated a strong performance at Spa, given their recent struggles since Leclerc’s victory at the Monaco Grand Prix in May. Leclerc, who narrowly edged out Perez by 0.011 seconds, acknowledged the surprise, saying, “I definitely did not expect that this weekend, but with the tricky conditions, we could do something above our expectations.”
Leclerc is aware of the challenges of starting from pole at Spa, particularly the risk of being overtaken on the long run from La Source through Eau Rouge and up the Kemmel straight. “When I am in Eau Rouge on the first lap, I will see what is the best thing I can do, but I will try to keep that first place,” he said.
McLaren's recent form did not translate into qualifying success, with Norris and Piastri separated by just 0.046 seconds but 0.8 seconds off Verstappen’s pace. Norris admitted, “Clearly we were lacking compared to the cars ahead. Especially the Red Bull, which is another level compared to us in the rain – and even in the dry they were probably still a bit stronger. I expected worse and I’ve not been driving particularly well. One of those days when it’s just not clicking. Similar to yesterday, to salvage P5 I was pretty happy with.”
Despite the wet conditions affecting their performance, McLaren is optimistic about their chances in the dry race on Sunday.
