Max Verstappen denied George Russell a remarkable pole position in an eventful qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix.
As the rain arrived at Spa-Francorchamps, Williams reaped the rewards after opting for a full wet setup as the Briton set the lap times a light both in Q1 and Q3.
But the Red Bull driver would find just enough on his final run to beat Russell by three-tenths of a second.
Lewis Hamilton had set the initial benchmark in Q3 which was disrupted by a big crash for Lando Norris at Raidillon as the rain intensified.
RED FLAG: Lando Norris is into the barriers – and Q3 is halted
Lando tells McLaren over the radio that his ok #BelgianGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/u1mbNytWiF
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 28, 2021
However, the Mercedes would have to settle for third just 0.013s behind his potential 2022 teammate.
Q1
Heavy rain after practice saw the start of qualifying delayed by 12 minutes as the weather improved.
When the action did begin, Williams made an inspired call to go straight onto intermediate tyres as Russell and teammate Nicholas Latifi led the way.
The entire field would join them on the shallower treaded wets, with Norris emerging as the surprise leader, four-tenths clear of Verstappen.
Despite the conditions, there were no significant surprises in the elimination zone with Antonio Giovinazzi 16th ahead of Yuki Tsunoda.
Mick Schumacher was 18th, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Nikita Mazepin slowest in the second Haas.
Q2
Conditions continued to improve in Q2 but Mercedes struggled for pace on the intermediates with Hamilton and Bottas outside the top 10 entering the final run.
Two minutes to go in Q2 – and Hamilton and Bottas both in the bottom five ?#BelgianGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/0WjgnTEpTw
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 28, 2021
However, both would improve significantly on their last flying lap to make Q3, while Norris continued to lead for McLaren.
The big surprise was Ferrari as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were eliminated in 11th and 13th.
Latifi was an impressive 12th in the Williams, while Fernando Alonso was only 14th for Alpine.
Lance Stroll ended P15 after failing to cross the line in time to start his final lap.
Q3
As Q2 ended, the heavens opened as a heavy downpour hit the Spa track forcing all drivers back onto full wet tyres.
With Sebastian Vettel calling for a red flag, Norris’ dreams of a first pole would end with a big crash in Raidillon after aquaplaning going up the hill causing the session to be suspended.
After a lengthy wait, Q3 continued with Mercedes and Red Bull going straight out on intermediates.
Hamilton set the pace after the first flying laps, almost a second clear of Verstappen in second.
In the difficult conditions, it was Russell with his greater downforce, who thrived going 1.4s faster than the Mercedes.
GEORGE RUSSELL STARTS P2. WHAT A LAP!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/sHXcAYFOSP
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) August 28, 2021
The seven-time world champion came close but couldn’t quite beat the Williams on his final run, but Verstappen would to the delight of the thousands of Dutch fans.
Daniel Ricciardo validated McLaren’s impressive pace in fourth, although there’s no doubt Norris would have been very much in amongst the top three.
Vettel claimed an impressive fifth in the Aston Martin, ahead of Pierre Gasly in sixth for AlphaTauri.
Sergio Perez was seventh in the second Red Bull, in front of Valtteri Bottas, who drops to 13th on the grid after his five-place grid penalty for causing the start crash in Hungary.
That will promote ninth-placed Esteban Ocon up to eighth, as Norris, who has been sent to hospital for an elbow X-ray, will line up ninth pending any penalties following his huge crash at Eau Rouge.
An eventful session that saw the stars of tomorrow shine in the Spa gloom, and with similar conditions predicted for Sunday, a similarly unpredictable race awaits!
Full results from qualifying can be seen below:
