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 actual starting grid – as Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu and Mick Schumacher will all start at the back.

It means 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: 

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 10^th on back.

Belgian Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Sainz

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

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

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 15^th. Leclerc qualified fourth but will start behind Verstappen in 16^th.

Esteban Ocon (Alpine) was fifth fastest but drops to 17^th. 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 18^th).

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

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