Due to grid penalties for power unit changes, the qualifying order doesn’t truly reflect the starting grid – as Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu and Mick Schumacher will all start at the back.
So 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:
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Carlos Sainz |
 |
1'44.297 | 241.755 | |
| 2 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
1'44.462 | 0.165 | 241.373 |
| 3 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
1'45.368 | 1.071 | 239.298 |
| 4 |  Lewis Hamilton |
 |
1'45.503 | 1.206 | 238.992 |
| 5 | George Russell |
 |
1'45.776 | 1.479 | 238.375 |
| 6 |  Alex Albon |
 |
1'45.837 | 1.540 | 238.238 |
| 7 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
1'45.767 | 1.470 | 238.395 |
| 8 |  Pierre Gasly |
 |
1'45.827 | 1.530 | 238.260 |
| 9 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
1'46.611 | 2.314 | 236.508 |
| 10 |  Sebastian Vettel |
 |
1'46.344 | 2.047 | 237.102 |
| 11 | Nicholas Latifi |
 |
1'46.401 | 2.104 | 236.975 |
| 12 |  Kevin Magnussen |
 |
1'46.557 | 2.260 | 236.628 |
| 13 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
1'46.692 | 2.395 | 236.328 |
| 14 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
1'47.866 | 3.569 | 233.756 |
| 15 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
1'43.665 | 243.229 | |
| 16 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
1'44.553 | 0.256 | 241.163 |
| 17 | Esteban Ocon |
|
1'45.180 | 0.883 | 239.726 |
| 18 | Lando Norris |
 |
1'46.178 | 1.881 | 237.472 |
| 19 |  Zhou Guanyu |
 |
1'46.085 | 1.788 | 237.681 |
| 20 | Mick Schumacher |
 |
1'47.718 | 3.421 | 234.077 |
| View full results | |||||
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 10th 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 15th. Leclerc qualified fourth but will start behind Verstappen in 16th.
Esteban Ocon (Alpine) was fifth fastest but drops to 17th. 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 18th).
Belgian Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen fastest, Sainz inherits 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 | ||||||
