The Latest Breaking News on 'A huge win for F1': Lewis Hamilton hails Las Vegas Grand Prix as 'better than most European tracks'

Verstappen set the fastest time in Friday qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps, which will be converted to sixth on the grid due to a gearbox penalty, after putting a massive eight tenths on Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the end of Q3.

Leclerc took second in Friday qualifying for Sunday's race, ceding eight tenths to Red Bull's Max Verstappen in Q3 on a drying track.

Verstappen had entered the qualifying session at Spa having had a fifth gearbox of the season fitted, which triggers a five-place grid penalty for the GP but does not impact his starting spot for Saturday's sprint race.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz emerged as the fastest driver in a wet and red-flagged free practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. However, Red Bull's championship leader Max Verstappen did not set a timed lap during the session.

NEW DELHI: Red Bull's dominant Formula One championship leader, Max Verstappen, will face a five-place grid penalty for the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix after the team decided to make a gearbox change. This means that he will have to start five places lower on the grid than his qualifying position.

Max Verstappen will be hit with a five-place grid penalty for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

Alonso pointed out that the run of podiums at the start of 2023 was not expected, and claimed that each weekend is “a celebration” as the team remembers where it was a year ago.

Exclusive interview: Jake Dennis speaks to Karl Matchett ahead of the season finale in London’s E-Prix

Belgium's Max Verstappen seeks to extend Red Bull's record-breaking streak at this weekend's Belgian GP. He could make it eight wins in a row and level with Sebastian Vettel's 2013 run of nine.