Belgian GP: Max Verstappen fastest but Carlos Sainz on pole at Spa

Carlos Sainz will start from pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix despite Max Verstappen setting the fastest time in qualifying.

The Red Bull driver blitzed the field by six-tenths of a second at Spa-Francorchamps, posting a 1m43.665s and be the only man under 1m44s.

However, a grid penalty for new engine components means he will start from near the back of the grid on Sunday.

Instead, the real battle for pole was between Sainz and Sergio Perez, and it was the Spaniard who beat the Mexican by less than two-tenths to secure P1.

Q1

The start of qualifying was delayed by 25 minutes due to barrier repairs after a crash in the Porsche Supercup.

But when the action got underway, Verstappen immediately went fastest, becoming the first driver in the 1m44s all weekend.

In the battle to avoid elimination, Mercedes had to go out on a second set of tyres but were never under real threat.

An impressive lap from Alex Albon put him sixth and dropped Sebastian Vettel into 16th, missing out on Q2 by just 0.002s.

Nicholas Latifi was just half a tenth behind in 17th, as the gaps proved very close around the longest circuit on the calendar.

Kevin Magnussen was 18th as Haas’ tough weekend continued, a lock-up at the final chicane ruined Yuki Tsunoda’s final lap in 19th.

Slowest overall was Valtteri Bottas in the Alfa Romeo, the first time the Finn has been eliminated in Q1 since 2015.

All drivers except Bottas will move up several places due to grid penalties for drivers ahead of them.

Q2

A late flier for Charles Leclerc put him in P1, almost two-tenths faster than Verstappen, though his time was set on used tyres.

Further down, Alex Albon ensured all 20 drivers have now made Q3 at least once this season as he claimed 10th.

The Williams driver’s lap came at the expense of Daniel Ricciardo in 11th, with a gap of just 0.092s between them.

Pierre Gasly took 12th, ahead of Zhou Guanyu. Lance Stroll and Mick Schumacher rounded out the top 15.

Q3

All the important times came on the first runs of Q3, as Verstappen went out and set the fastest time.

Sainz’s initial lap of 1m44.297s would be enough for pole after a poor final attempt by Perez in a third net second.

Charles Leclerc had a weird session as Ferrari put him on the wrong tyres for his first run, though still managed to take fourth.

He then tried to help his teammate with a tow, but Sainz would run wide as he too ruined his last flying lap.

Esteban Ocon was fifth but will join Verstappen and Leclerc towards the back due to penalties, promoting teammate Fernando Alonso up to third on the grid.

The Spaniard will line up alongside Lewis Hamilton, who moves up from seventh to fourth, ahead of George Russell in the sister Mercedes.

Alex Albon was ninth but is set to start sixth in the Williams, as Lando Norris, the fourth driver with grid penalties to reach Q3, rounded out the top 10.

An unusual qualifying given all the changes in position, but the message is clear: Max Verstappen is undoubtedly the man to beat entering the final nine races of the season. 

Full results from qualifying can be seen below: