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Lewis Hamilton storms to Belgian Grand Prix pole position as Ferrari endure miserable day

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton gestures as he poses after securing his 93rd pole position during the qualifying session at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Spa on August 29, 2020 ahead of the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix - AFP/ FRANCOIS LENOIR
Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton gestures as he poses after securing his 93rd pole position during the qualifying session at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Spa on August 29, 2020 ahead of the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix - AFP/ FRANCOIS LENOIR

Lewis Hamilton continued his dominance of the Formula One season by putting his Mercedes on pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who holds a 37-point championship lead over Red Bull's Max Verstappen, beat team-mate Valtteri Bottas to top spot with a new track record at Spa-Francorchamps.

The world champion saw off Bottas' challenge around the iconic 4.3-mile venue in the Ardennes by a mighty half-a-second. Verstappen lines up in third ahead of Renault's Daniel Ricciardo.

"That one was for Chadwick [Boseman]," said Hamilton, in reference to the Hollywood star who died on Saturday. "Rest in peace, mate."

After Sebastian Vettel finished rooted to the foot of the timings in final practice, Ferrari had been staring at one of the most humiliating afternoons in the Italian team's long history.

However, very much against the odds, both scarlet cars survived the embarrassment of being knocked out in Q1.

Instead, Leclerc, who won from pole here last year, will start 13th - one spot ahead of team-mate Vettel in what is proving to be a season to forget for the Scuderia.

"F--- there's not much more I can do," said a despondent Leclerc on the radio.

British driver Hamilton, though, remains firmly on course to match Michael Schumacher's record seven championships.

Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the qualifying session prior to the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa, Belgium Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020 - Lars Baron, Pool via AP)
Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the qualifying session prior to the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa, Belgium Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020 - Lars Baron, Pool via AP)

The pack had appeared closer to the all-black machines heading into qualifying.

But Mercedes, and in particular its star driver, proved their class by locking out the front row for a sixth time in seven rounds.

They have taken pole at all of the races this year, with Hamilton claiming his fifth pole of 2020 here and sixth at Spa.

"It is a really important pole because I woke up to the saddest news of Chadwick passing away," said Hamilton.

"It has been such a heavy year for all of us, and that news just broke me so it was not easy to get back into focus with that in my heart.

"But I wanted to drive to perfection for what he has done for our people."

Ferrari have led the challenge to Mercedes in recent seasons but they have suffered following an FIA investigation into the engine they used last year.

Indeed, it shows how far the sport's most successful team has fallen that locking out the seventh row of the grid will be considered something of a decent result.

Further questions will continue to be asked of Ferrari, and the team's beleaguered boss, Mattia Binotto at their home race in Monza and their 1,000th Grand Prix at Mugello a week later.

British driver Lando Norris finished 10th in his McLaren while George Russell out-qualified his Williams team-mate Nicholas Latifi for a seventh time in as many rounds. The young Briton lines up in 15th, just behind the Ferrari pair.

Final positions after qualifying

  1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

  2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes

  3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull

  4. Daniel Ricciardo, Renault

  5. Alexander Albom, Red Bull

  6. Esteban Ocon, Renault

  7. Carlos Sainz, McLaren

  8. Sergio Perez, Racing Point

  9. Lance Stroll, Racing Point

  10. Lando Norris, McLaren

  11. Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri

  12. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri

  13. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

  14. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari

  15. George Russell, Williams

  16. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo

  17. Romain Grosjean, Haas

  18. Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo

  19. Nicholas Latifi, Williams

  20. Kevin Magnussen, Haas


02:20 PM

That's it from me today

Hamilton: unbeatable. I'll be back tomorrow. Will be an interesting run towards Les Combes...


02:11 PM

Wakanda Salute from Hamilton

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton gestures as he poses after securing his 93rd pole position during the qualifying session at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Spa on August 29, 2020 ahead of the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix - FRANCOIS LENOIR/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

02:08 PM

That qualifying sums up where Bottas is

I'm afraid to say his 2020 is starting to look a bit more like 2018 (a bad year) than 2019 (a good year) for him. Granted, it's a longer lap here but half a second is not good. 


02:05 PM

Q3 classification

  1. HAM 1.41.252
  2. BOT +0.511
  3. VER +0.526
  4. RIC +0.809
  5. ALB +1.012
  6. OCO +1.144
  7. SAI +1.186
  8. PER +1.280
  9. STR +1.351
  10. NOR +1.405

02:03 PM

Lewis Hamilton takes pole position for the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix

Nobody in his league today. "That one was for Chadwick. Chadwick Boseman." Verstappen was 0.015s away from beating Bottas. Great lap. He's annoyed at that, but it was a great lap. Albon did end up half a second behind him in the end, though he did help give him a tow so that explains some of it. 


02:02 PM

QUALIFYING ENDS

Albon goes fifth, Verstappen goes third! Norris having a bit of a poor lap. Ricciardo has made a mess of his second run here and won't be able to move up to third but can he stay fourth?

Norris stays 10th... Ocon goes 6th above Sainz! But Sainz has another go... he can't improve... Ricciardo dives into the pits after his poor lap...


02:01 PM

Q3 - Hamilton cruising to his easiest pole of the season here...

Albon a bit of a scruffy sector one. Hamilton sets the fastest middle sector, ragging it out on the kerbs. Bottas loses another tenth in the middle sector...

Hamilton improves by two tenths and that will almost certainly be pole. Bottas is half a second off...


02:00 PM

Q3 - Hamilton quicker than his previous time after one sector

Bottas 0.174s down ALREADY...


01:59 PM

Q3 - Two minutes to go

Bottas has time to find, so does Lando Norris... 

The final runs are starting, Hamilton out front...


01:58 PM

Q3 - Cars out for their final runs

Bottas not putting up much resistance so far today. Can Verstappen jump Ricciardo here? Can Albon keep close to his team-mate? We are about to find out...

Renault going for the tow, with Ocon the man out front. 


01:55 PM

Q3 - Order and gaps after the first runs

  1. HAM
  2. BOT +0.578
  3. RIC +0.610
  4. VER +0.629
  5. ALB +0.813 
  6. SAI +0.987
  7. OCO +1.002
  8. PER +1.081
  9. STR +1.152
  10. NOR +1.957

Norris must have messed up his lap to be a second off Sainz. So improvement due there. 


01:55 PM

Q3 - Hamilton in a league of his own, here

Bottas must have had a very scruffy lap to be that far off and in danger of being behind Ricciardo. I didn't believe his middle sector time when I first saw it. Albon within two tenths of Verstappen, much better. Not sure what's up with the Racing Points... perhaps old soft tyres. 


01:54 PM

Q3 - Hamilton with a 42.588s in sector two...

Bottas? 43.024...POOR.

Hamilton goes quickest with a 1.41.451...

Bottas is six tenths behind. Ricciardo puts in a stunning time, within a tenth of Bottas for third! Stroll only ninth...Verstappen fourth...


01:52 PM

Q3 - Hamilton sets a 30.463 in S1

What can Bottas do? 30.704s, MILES behind... 

Ricciardo quickest in the slippery Renault in S1 but he won't hold that advantage come the finish line


01:50 PM

Q3 - What can Albon do here?

Looking like a solid half-a-second behind Verstappen here. Fair to say that in 12 months his qualifying performances have not improved. Ricciardo is out on track after not doing a second run in Q2. 


01:49 PM

Right, with Ferrari's dramas out of the picture

We could do with some drama here. 

Q3 begins and Hamilton is keen to get out and get going. 


01:48 PM

This is obviously not brilliant overall

But it is excellent progress from Williams. 


01:45 PM

Bit of a turnaround in 12 months

 How good do his two podiums this season look?


01:44 PM

Kvyat ahead of Gasly in qualifying for the first time this season

Close to getting through, too. 


01:43 PM

Q2 ends - both Ferraris out...

OUT: KVY, GAS, LEC, VET, RUS

Through:

  1. HAM
  2. BOT
  3. ALB
  4. VER
  5. SAI
  6. RIC
  7. STR
  8. OCO
  9. PER
  10. NOR

Albon through but he had to burn a set of soft tyres (which he will start on) to do so. It's looking pretty tight between Renault, Racing Point and McLaren. And Albon...


01:42 PM

Q2 - Final runs underway

Perez goes sixth, Stroll fifth! Russell only 13th... Leclerc now 13th! Kvyat 9th, ahead of his team-mate. Now Norris 9th! Ocon P6 with a super quick final sector. Sainz 4th! Vettel, what can he do? P14! Only ahead of George Russell...

Verstappen and the Mercedes cars abandon their laps. 


01:40 PM

Q2 - Stroll goes quickest in sector one

Russell doesn't have a very good first sector unfortunately. It's all pretty tight in S1 but S2 and S3 is where the lap is made. 


01:39 PM

Q2 - Ricciardo not out there

He complained of a brake-by-wire problem. He's in P4 and should be okay but he will be looking on with a little concern, I'd imagine. 


01:38 PM

Q2 - Four minutes to go

Verstappen does indeed go out on the red marked soft tyres. Stroll and Perez should get comfortably through on the soft tyres, though a mistake will be very costly. 


01:35 PM

Q2 - Mercedes pretty safe there

Verstappen likewise. Probably. Though he may do a safety run on softs. All of the top 10 within a second but fairly staggered. 


01:33 PM

Q2 - Classification after the first runs

  1. HAM Medium tyres
  2. BOT M
  3. VER M
  4. RIC Soft tyres
  5. OCO S
  6. ALB S
  7. GAS S
  8. NOR S
  9. SAI S
  10. KVY S
    DROP ZONE:
  11. STR M
  12. PER M
  13. VET S
  14. LEC S
  15. RUS (no time)

Russell bailed out of his hot lap. Not sure why. 


01:32 PM

Q2 - Leclerc goes 13th...

And on the softs. Vettel pips him to that spot a few moments later by a few tenths. Verstappen on the mediums goes third by under half a second and I think that might be enough for him to get through...


01:31 PM

Q2 - A 1.42.014 for Hamilton...

Just 0.112s slower for Bottas. Norris third, within a second, Sainz in 4th and a tenth further back. Stroll goes across the line on the mediums but I am not sure his time will be quick enough to progress. Both Mercedes on the mediums, too. Perez goes 11th just behind his team-mate. Think they will need to be switching to the soft tyres...


01:29 PM

Q2 - Hamilton and Bottas on quick runs

A 30.5s in the first sector for Hamilton, the same for Bottas but a 30.240s for Sainz. Mercedes have not been masters of sector one, but they claw it all back - and then some - in the rest of the lap. Hamilton ahead of Bottas currently after two sectors, how will it pan out?


01:26 PM

Q2 begins!

Would be a miracle for Ferrari to get out of this one. 


01:21 PM

Q1 - Classification

OUT: RAI, GRO, GIO, LAT, MAG

These drivers through. Well done George Russell. Tidy lap, that, and he shows his satisfaction over the radio. 

  1. HAM
  2. BOT
  3. VER
  4. GAS
  5. STR
  6. KVY
  7. RIC
  8. SAI
  9. PER
  10. ALB
  11. OCO
  12. NOR
  13. VET
  14. RUS
  15. LEC

01:20 PM

Q1 ends!

Vettel goes 13th! Leclerc goes 15th now, slipping down... Russell P14 at the moment. Decent! Latifi can't get out, only 17th. Giovinazzi likewise,. Raikkonen into P16! He can't dislodge Leclerc...

Ferrari have made it through with both cars... in P13 and P15. Leclerc through over Raikkonen by just under a tenth...


01:19 PM

Q1 - Final runs underway

Leclerc is doing okay here but is it enough? Currently 14th, will be the first driver to cross the line...

It's 12th and that could be dodgy...


01:18 PM

Q1 - Leclerc and Vettel without slipstreams here

Could that be costly? Everyone gets through the final chicane okay, I think. At least without any great incident. Leclerc is definitely vulnerable here but he has had a few tenths on Vettel. Leclerc does his best first sector but Grosjean and Russell are quicker than him still...

This could be close for Ferrari. Vettel has a couple of tenths on his team-mate in sector one...


01:16 PM

Q1 - As predicted

A gaggle of cars jockeying for position ahead of their final runs. Bit of a traffic jam and it, frankly, looks a bit silly. Leclerc has to get out of it through Pouhon. I can see an accident happening here...this is a mess. 


01:15 PM

Q1 - Four minutes left

Don't think anyone from the top three will be out again. Under two-tenths between Ricciardo in fourth and Norris in 11th. 


01:14 PM

Q1 - Decent lap from Albon

Just 0.010s slower than Verstappen. That is, until Verstappen posts another lap to go third, 0.874s behind Hamilton's Mercedes. 

Red Bull's Thai driver Alex Albon competes during the qualifying session at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Spa on August 29, 2020 ahead of the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix. - LARS BARON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

01:12 PM

Q1 - Order so far

  1. HAM
  2. BOT
  3. RIC
  4. SAI
  5. VER
  6. ALB
  7. STR
  8. GAS
  9. OCO
  10. PER
  11. NOR
  12. KVY
  13. RUS
  14. LEC
  15. GIO
    DROP ZONE:
  16. LAT
  17. RAI
  18. VET
  19. GRO
  20. MAG

It's very tight from around 13th to 18th, with around a tenth between them. 


01:10 PM

Q1 - Hamilton goes quickest

By pretty much a second over Ricciardo. Bottas then puts a lap 0.211s behind Hamilton. Trouble for Vettel, meanwhile, who is down in 18th, quicker only than Grosjean and Magnussen...

Oh. Dear. 


01:10 PM

Q1 - Now Sainz goes quickest!

That's a handy lap, 0.086s ahead of Verstappen. Ricciardo pips him, though, by just 0.013s. 

Hamilton lining a lap up, though...


01:09 PM

Q1 - Verstappen goes quickest

A 1.43.408 as Norris goes a tenth behind and Gasly goes within a tenth of Verstappen. Leclerc posts a 1.44.228 which is quicker only than the Haas cars. 


01:08 PM

Q1 - Verstappen has a clear track, though

Gets a bit twitchy at the rear out of turn one, which could cost him on the long, long, long, run down the Kemmel straight. It's a 31.091 which isn't especially quick as a first sector time, in fact some time behind the rapid Gasly, who is currently quickest in that bit of the track. Bit of a tow from his team-mate Kvyat, though. 

What can Verstappen do in the rest of the lap?


01:06 PM

Q1 - Pretty busy out on track now

Grosjean and Magnussen had the track to themselves, but the remaining 18 cars are all out together. Which could be problematic as the end of the lap comes into view. Ah, it's silly. The tow is worth a lot, in fairness, but still...


01:04 PM

Q1 - Magnussen has a messy first sector

Grosjean, with the tow behind, is three tenths ahead after sector one. Magnussen sawing at the steering wheel through the trickier second sector, though he's a tenth up on his team-mate this time. 

As they cross the line Grosjean is the quicker man by three-tenths. 


01:02 PM

Q1 - 17 minutes left

Both Haas cars out. They had pretty rotten Fridays, Magnussen being restricted with how much he could run. Chance of one of them to sneak out of this session and into Q2, though. 


01:00 PM

Right, here we go

Q1 begins. Will Ferrari make it through? Either of them? Both of them? Neither?


12:56 PM

Sky Sports F1 highlighting the problem of traffic in the final sector

In practice earlier today there was a lot of backing up towards the final chicane, which has a very high speed lead up. This is the longest track of the season yet somehow the drivers and teams can't get it all worked out to have enough space in front and behind them. Suspect the effect of the tow has something to do with it, but still. We could see a couple of penalties for blocking today. 


12:53 PM

Raw pace ranking throughout the year

This is calculated by taking a team's fastest single lap time over the course of the weekend and working out the remainder as a percentage. So 100.000% means that team set the fastest lap of the weekend. The list below is the averages of them so far in 2019. 

  1. Mercedes 100.000%
  2. Red Bull 101.085%
  3. Racing Point 101.528%
  4. McLaren 101.555%
  5. Ferrari 101.740%
  6. Renault 101.896%
  7. AlphaTauri 101.966%
  8. Williams 102.948%
  9. Haas 103.077%
  10. Alfa Romeo 103.651%

It's pretty tight from third to seventh, with Mercedes out on their own, Red Bull similar and Williams, Haas and Alfa Romeo out the back on their own, Alfa particularly far adrift. With Renault looking in decent shape and Ferrari frankly not, the Scuderia could slip to sixth after today. 


12:48 PM

12 or so minutes to go until Q1 begins

It's not really possible to look beyond Mercedes... again.  But will it be Bottas or Hamilton? The conditions out there are not the most summery but there is little chance of rain for the session. 


12:43 PM

Remembering Anthoine Hubert

Hubert, an F2 driver, passed away following a crash at this track a year ago. 


12:41 PM

A week now since the sale of Williams was announced

In some ways sad, in other ways encouraging. The team's immediate future has been secured. Oliver Brown wrote about the news last week:

On the surface, it was a victory for deputy team principal Claire Williams, in that the company, built by her father from scratch, has been allowed to preserve both its name and its Oxfordshire base. But at a deeper level, the sale offered a grim reflection on an operation that has slipped from third to last on the grid in just five years and whose financial model has been rendered unsustainable by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Their 2020 season is a hell of a lot better than their 2019 season, but they are still firmly at the back and are the only team not to score a point this year. 


12:39 PM

Ferrari's pain could get a lot worse

Monza next, a true power circuit for a car with no power, and then the Tuscan Grand Prix, currently billed as a celebration of Ferrari 1000th world championship Grand Prix. Plenty of pain ahead for Mattia Binotto and the boys...

Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto walks in the Paddock before final practice for the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on August 15, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain -  Getty Images Europe

12:21 PM

Current driver standings after six rounds

 Hamilton to win by...Imola?


12:18 PM

In case you missed it earlier this week

F1 has confirmed a revised and likely (hopefully) final 17-race schedule for 2020. That is quite remarkable given where we were in March and April and a lot of credit has to go to all those involved. It wasn't that long ago that 17-race seasons were the norm. 

With six races done so far this year that leaves the following races.

  • Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps August 30
  • Italian Grand Prix, Monza, September 6
  • Tuscan Grand Prix, Mugello, September 13
  • Russian Grand Prix, Sochi, September 27
  • Eifel Grand Prix, Nurburgring, October 11
  • Portuguese Grand Prix, Algarve, October 25
  • Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Imola, November 14
  • Turkish Grand Prix, Istanbul Park, November 15
  • Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir, November 29
  • Sakhir Grand Prix, Bahrain, December 6
  • Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina, December 13

As you can see it's pretty well packed with new or returning tracks, six of them in total if you count the new outer layout that will run for the Sakhir Grand Prix. That will be an interesting one...


12:10 PM

This is a lot of love for a Sports Utility Vehicle...


11:59 AM

FP3 times and classification

  1. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 43.255secs
  2. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Renault 1:43.485
  3. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:43.641
  4. Alexander Albon (Tha) Red Bull 1:43.731
  5. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:43.813
  6. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:43.896
  7. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:43.973
  8. Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:43.988
  9. Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:44.006
  10. Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:44.180
  11. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:44.508
  12. Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:44.543
  13. Nicholas Latifi (Can) Williams 1:44.771
  14. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:44.841
  15. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:44.844
  16. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:44.932
  17. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:45.147
  18. George Russell (Gbr) Williams 1:45.157
  19. Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:45.190
  20. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:45.420

11:32 AM

Welcome back F1 fans

I cannot say it is ever not a pleasure to have F1 cars ragging it around this 7km track in the heart of the Belgian Ardennes, whatever the outcome, however boring the race. The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is approximately a hundred times the track that hosted the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago, so let us hope for a more interesting weekend. On practice so far we have a hint that it may be but initial appearances can be deceptive and the chance of Mercedes running off into the distance without so much a whiff of competition is never that far away, is it?

Certainly, the running order in final practice this morning suggested that qualifying could throw up some more unusual results. Lewis Hamilton was quickest for Mercedes, but Esteban Ocon in the Renault was second, just over a couple of tenths behind. Lando Norris was a further two tenths back for McLaren whilst Valtteri Bottas failed to show his true pace, down in fifth, six-tenths away from his team-mate. 

Monaco's Formula One driver Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari in action during the first practice session at the Spa-Francorchamps race track in Stavelot, Belgium, 28 August 2020. The 2020 Formula One Grand Prix of Belgium will take place on 30 August 2020. Formula One Grand Prix of Belgium, Stavelot - 28 Aug 2020 -  Francisco Seco/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

I expect that we will end up with a more familiar order in qualifying but it is difficult to overstate how badly Ferrari are struggling. If Friday was poor then this morning was close to embarrassing for the Italian outfit. Sebastian Vettel was slowest of all and Charles Leclerc was barely any better, three tenths quicker but only in 17th place, behind three other Ferrari-powered cars – both Haas drivers and Kimi Raikkonen's Alfa Romeo.

Remember that this was the track last year where Ferrari and Leclerc won their first race of the year, kickstarting their best run of form of 2019. This year there is a big question mark as to whether both cars will make it through to Q2. Their engine problems have been exposed here – although you have to question how both Haas cars are ahead. You wonder how bad it will be in a week's time at Monza...