Lewis Hamilton set Spa-Francorchamps ablaze as he claimed Formula 1 pole No.93 at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Briton was simply in a league of his own in Q3, securing P1 by over half a second from teammate Valtteri Bottas as Mercedes locked out the front row again.
Max Verstappen came desperately close to splitting the two W11’s in third, but can at least be happy to be ahead of former Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who was fourth in his rocket Renault.
Q1
At the front, Mercedes confirmed exactly what we were expecting as they finally turned up the engine with Hamilton two-tenths clear of Bottas and eight-tenths up on Verstappen in third.
The big question would be, after being slowest in final practice, could Ferrari avoid being eliminated in the first part of qualifying?
The answer was only just as Sebastian Vettel was 13th and Charles Leclerc on the bubble in 15th.
Instead, it was their customer teams Alfa Romeo and Haas who were knocked out with Kimi Raikkonen just under a tenth behind the Monegasque in 16th.
Romain Grosjean was 17th ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi, while Nicholas Latifi was the only non-Ferrari powered car to not reach Q2 in 19th.
Kevin Magnussen completed the grid in 20th.
Q2
Mercedes continued their domination in Q2 with Hamilton setting a 1m42.0s to lead Bottas by a tenth as both opted for the medium compound tyres to start the race.
Verstappen was within half a second on the same tyres in third ahead of the two Renaults on softs.
Racing Point also tried to use the yellow-striped rubber but found themselves just outside the top 10 after the first run, requiring a switch back to the fastest Pirellis to ensure their Q3 place.
And that they did with Stroll seventh and Perez ninth, shuffling the two AlphaTauri’s down to 11th and 12th.
Leclerc could do no better than 13th, just ahead of teammate Vettel as Ferrari’s woes continued.
Perhaps the only solace for the Monegasque was the gap to P10 was less than 0.3s, less than was perhaps expected.
Q3
The battle for pole saw Hamilton break the lap record around Spa with a 1m41.4s on his first run, half a second clear of Bottas, who had a scruffy lap in the sister Mercedes.
Daniel Ricciardo shocked in third for Renault, just ahead of the two Red Bulls in fourth and fifth.
The final sprint saw the six-time champion consolidate pole by finding a further two-tenths on his second lap, finishing with a 1m41.252s.
That maintained Lewis’ half-second advantage over Bottas in second, as Verstappen fell just 0.015s short of splitting the Mercedes’ in third.
Ricciardo maintained fourth ahead of Albon, who can still be pleased in fifth.
Esteban Ocon backed up Renault’s strong pace in sixth ahead of Carlos Sainz in seventh
A big disappointment was Racing Point, as Perez and Stroll could only manage eighth and ninth.
Lando Norris rounded out the top 10 for McLaren.
