F1 qualifying results: Verstappen takes Spa pole, Russell stars

Verstappen will start ahead of Russell and world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes after the one-hour qualifying session, which was twice delayed due to rain and to clear away Norris's wrecked car.

Belgian Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from Russell

Cla	Driver		Time	Gap	km/h
1	Max Verstappen		1'59.765		210.532
2	George Russell		2'00.086	0.321	209.969
3	Lewis Hamilton		2'00.099	0.334	209.946
4	Daniel Ricciardo		2'00.864	1.099	208.617
5	Sebastian Vettel		2'00.935	1.170	208.495
6	Pierre Gasly		2'01.164	1.399	208.101
7	Sergio Perez		2'02.112	2.347	206.485
8	Esteban Ocon		2'03.513	3.748	204.143
9	Lando Norris
10	Charles Leclerc		1'57.721		214.187
11	Nicholas Latifi		1'58.056		213.579
12	Carlos Sainz Jr.		1'58.137		213.433
13	Valtteri Bottas		2'02.502	2.737	205.828
14	Fernando Alonso		1'58.205		213.310
15	Antonio Giovinazzi		2'02.306	2.541	206.158
16	Yuki Tsunoda		2'02.413	2.648	205.978
17	Mick Schumacher		2'03.973	4.208	203.386
18	Kimi Raikkonen		2'04.452	4.687	202.603
19	Nikita Mazepin		2'04.939	5.174	201.813
20	Lance Stroll		1'58.231		213.263
View full results

What happened in Q1?

After a short delay due to heavy rain and standing water, the session began on a wet track surface. In the opening moments, Hamilton and Bottas both ran wide at Bruxelles on wet tyres as Williams’s Russell set the pace on intermediates. His teammate Latifi spun at Fagnes on his first flying lap (also on intermediates) but then got to within 0.6s of Russell for P2.

That sent the wet-shod majority into the pits for inters. Pole position then switched hands relentlessly with Sainz, Perez, Ricciardo, Leclerc, Russell (again), Verstappen, Norris all taking turns in P1.

In the closing moments, Norris’s 1m58.776s was the target – and was momentarily toppled by Verstappen’s 1m58.717s but Norris grabbed it back with 1m58.301s.

Falling at the first hurdle were Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, Mick Schumacher (Haas), Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa) and Nikita Mazepin (Haas).

Belgian Grand Prix Q1 results: Norris fastest from Verstappen

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Lando Norris	McLaren	9	1'58.301			213.137
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	8	1'58.717	0.416	0.416	212.390
3	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	8	1'59.218	0.917	0.501	211.498
4	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	9	1'59.334	1.033	0.116	211.292
5	George Russell	Williams	9	1'59.864	1.563	0.530	210.358
6	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	8	1'59.870	1.569	0.006	210.347
7	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	9	2'00.175	1.874	0.305	209.814
8	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	9	2'00.387	2.086	0.212	209.444
9	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	8	2'00.728	2.427	0.341	208.852
10	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	9	2'00.966	2.665	0.238	208.442
11	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	8	2'01.184	2.883	0.218	208.067
12	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	8	2'01.583	3.282	0.399	207.384
13	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	9	2'01.597	3.296	0.014	207.360
14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	8	2'01.653	3.352	0.056	207.264
15	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	8	2'01.824	3.523	0.171	206.973
16	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	9	2'02.306	4.005	0.482	206.158
17	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	9	2'02.413	4.112	0.107	205.978
18	Mick Schumacher	Haas	9	2'03.973	5.672	1.560	203.386
19	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	9	2'04.452	6.151	0.479	202.603
20	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	8	2'04.939	6.638	0.487	201.813
View full results

What happened in Q2?

In Q2, the track was slowly drying out but more rain was forecast. Mercedes started on used intermediates, but quickly bailed out on that idea and joined the rest on fresh inters after one lap.

Norris again set the initial pace, at 1m57.235s, but Verstappen took over the top spot with 1m56.559s. The Mercedes duo were struggling to make the cutoff and were forced into using a third set of inters.

In the closing moments, Norris took P1 on a new set of inters with 1m56.025s, two tenths ahead of Hamilton and Bottas. "That was way too close, guys," said Hamilton.

Knocked out at this point were Leclerc, Latifi, Sainz, Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – who will start last due to his five-place grid penalty from the Hungarian GP.

Belgian Grand Prix Q2 results: Norris fastest from Hamilton

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Lando Norris	McLaren	8	1'56.025			217.318
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	8	1'56.229	0.204	0.204	216.937
3	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	8	1'56.295	0.270	0.066	216.814
4	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	8	1'56.440	0.415	0.145	216.544
5	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	6	1'56.559	0.534	0.119	216.323
6	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	7	1'56.814	0.789	0.255	215.850
7	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	7	1'56.886	0.861	0.072	215.717
8	George Russell	Williams	8	1'56.950	0.925	0.064	215.599
9	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	8	1'57.127	1.102	0.177	215.274
10	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	8	1'57.354	1.329	0.227	214.857
11	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	8	1'57.721	1.696	0.367	214.187
12	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	8	1'58.056	2.031	0.335	213.579
13	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	7	1'58.137	2.112	0.081	213.433
14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	8	1'58.205	2.180	0.068	213.310
15	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	7	1'58.231	2.206	0.026	213.263
View full results

What happened in Q3?

Before the top-10 shootout, the heavens opened once more so the track was fully wet again – sending teams scrambling for full wets. Both Norris and Vettel, who went out first, complained of “aquaplaning” and “too much water” respectively – with Vettel requesting a red flag moments before Norris crashed heavily at Eau Rouge. He was unhurt.

After a lengthy delay to retrieve the wreckage and wait for weather conditions to improve, Q3 resumed with eight minutes remaining. Most drivers went out on intermediates, with Ocon and Russell on wets pitting immediately coming in to join them.

Hamilton set the benchmark at 2m01.552s, 0.5s ahead of Perez, 0.9s faster than Verstappen and 1.5s clear of Bottas.

On the final run, Russell produced a stunning lap of 2m00.086s, with Hamilton slower by 0.013s. Verstappen then unleashed his 1m59.765s to seal pole position, 0.321s clear of Russell. Hamilton qualified third, ahead of Ricciardo, Vettel, Gasly, Perez, Bottas and Ocon.

Bottas has a five-place grid penalty, which drops him to 13th.

Belgian Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole, Norris crashes

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	6	1'59.765			210.532
2	George Russell	Williams	7	2'00.086	0.321	0.321	209.969
3	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	6	2'00.099	0.334	0.013	209.946
4	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	6	2'00.864	1.099	0.765	208.617
5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	7	2'00.935	1.170	0.071	208.495
6	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	6	2'01.164	1.399	0.229	208.101
7	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	6	2'02.112	2.347	0.948	206.485
8	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	6	2'02.502	2.737	0.390	205.828
9	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	7	2'03.513	3.748	1.011	204.143
10	Lando Norris	McLaren	2
View full results