Max Verstappen fastest but Charles Leclerc takes Belgian GP pole
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start from the front of the pack for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix despite Max Verstappen taking a hugely impressive pole position at a rain-hit Spa-Francorchamps. Verstappen reigned supreme throughout qualifying but the Dutchman’s 10-place grid penalty for an engine change means he will line up from only 11th on the grid.
His demotion elevates Leclerc to the sharp end with Sergio Perez second, one place ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Lando Norris will start fourth in his McLaren. Verstappen has been bumped down the order for taking on his fifth internal combustion engine of the season here, one more than the four he is allowed.
But the field will be looking over their shoulder during Sunday’s 44-lap race with the world champion, a winner of the last three races staged in the Ardennes, on a different level to his peers. Verstappen was 1.4 seconds faster than any other driver – and two seconds clear of Perez in the other Red Bull – after the 20 drivers had completed their opening efforts on a damp surface.
And although Verstappen’s advantage by the end wasn’t quite as emphatic, with Leclerc 0.595sec adrift, the Dutch driver proved just why he should not be written off ahead of Sunday’s race.
“It was a nice qualifying session,” said Verstappen. “The car worked well in the wet. I know tomorrow will be warmer, and with no rain. This was the best I could do today with the penalty. I hope we can be in the mix to try and move forward.”
Ferrari’s Leclerc said; “I did not expect this today. With the tricky conditions we could do something above our expectation. Without the rain, we would have been looking at fifth position.
“It is a good day for the team but we need to focus on what happens tomorrow when the rain has gone.”
Norris, who might have won the last five races but for mistakes by driver and team, would have expected to take greater advantage of Verstappen’s sanction. But the Englishman never looked at the races on Saturday, and he might regret not pitting for a fresh set of intermediate tyres – just as Leclerc did – in the closing stages of Q3.
McLaren completed a one-two finish six days ago at the Hungaroring but Oscar Piastri, who claimed his maiden win there, qualified only sixth, almost nine tenths adrift. However, with dry conditions forecast for race day, Norris, who heads into Formula One’s concluding round prior to the summer break 76 points behind, will still hold hope of progressing up the grid.
Verstappen fastest but Leclerc takes pole in Belgium, as it happened
04:22 PM BST
Verstappen speaks after his qualifying
"We're not making it easy for ourselves, with a bit of luck maybe we can" 🤞
Max Verstappen on the challenge of coming from P11 to win the race tomorrow 💪 pic.twitter.com/K0Rt3XlyJ0— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 27, 2024
04:22 PM BST
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur speaks to Sky Sports F1
Yeah, we have to appreciate this journey and to enjoy it. I would prefer to start P1 than P3 or P4 but let’s see what happens tomorrow. First Charles did a great lap... I think we made choices today and it worked perfectly.
Sainz, Leclerc’s team-mate, is down in eighth but will start seventh tomorrow. After a promising start to the season Ferrari have been reeled in by McLaren and Mercedes.
04:20 PM BST
Leclerc reacts to his pole
"Without the rain, P5 was probably the position we was fighting for" 👀
Charles Leclerc on starting pole for the Belgium Grand Prix 🙌 pic.twitter.com/8umRHxJfSE— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 27, 2024
I am never sure it feels right for a driver to lose the achievement of a statistical pole position because of an engine penalty. For an infringement that was their fault, yes, but it feels a bit wrong to be in the record books for this to be a Leclerc pole, despite being nearly 0.595sec slower than Verstappen.
04:17 PM BST
History repeating
Three times Verstappen has been fastest in qualifying in Belgium. Three times now he has taken a grid penalty and three times Ferrari have inherited pole – two for Leclerc and once for Sainz. The last two years Verstappen won, though.
04:15 PM BST
So tomorrow’s grid top 10 will be this
1. LEC 2. PER
3. HAM 4. NOR
5. PIA 6. RUS
7. SAI 8. ALO
9. OCO 10. ALB
Four different cars starting in the top four. Who will be leading at the end of lap one?
Hard to really say what we can expect from tomorrow. Not a great deal of dry running today which does affect the teams’ knowledge of dry running tomorrow. I think Verstappen could win, though. It should be dry tomorrow, by the way.
04:06 PM BST
Verstappen was comfortably fastest
Leclerc and Ferrari probably needed that performance, mind you. As did Sergio Perez, after some awful qualifying performances in recent rounds.
04:04 PM BST
Q3 - Classification
VER 1:53.159
LEC +0.595
PER +0.606
HAM +0.676
NOR +0.822
PIA +0.868
RUS +1.025
SAI +1.318
ALO +1.606
OCO +1.651
04:03 PM BST
CHARLES LECLERC TAKES POLE FOR THE 2024 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
Verstappen fastest but will start 11th tomorrow. He could well win the race from there but let’s see.
04:02 PM BST
Q3 - Verstappen does not improve
But he does set the fastest final sector. He will be fastest in the session but will not claim pole position because of his grid drop. Perez abandons his lap so it will be pole for Charles Leclerc, ahead of Sergio Perez.
04:02 PM BST
Q3 - Leclerc goes second!
Unless Perez improves then it will be pole for Leclerc!
04:01 PM BST
Q3 - Sainz does not improve after one sector
Leclerc is there or thereabouts but the rain that is now falling in parts of the circuit, might well hamper those setting lap times now. That said, Verstappen sets his fastest first sector time...
03:59 PM BST
Q3 - Verstappen looking hard to dislodge from fastest
He will take a grid penalty of 10 spots this weekend so will not start tomorrow’s race on pole. Doesn’t mean he won’t win the race, though.
What. A. Lap!
Verstappen is masterful in the rain - he's sixth tenths ahead of everyone after the first push laps #F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/DtVxNxIVwG— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2024
03:58 PM BST
Q3 - Norris has improved in sector one
Hamilton is 0.454sec off Verstappen after two sectors so you’d think pole is not a possibility here but the front row might be if he aces the final sector. Does he? Not quite, but moves third.
Piastri stays fourth. Russell stays fifth. Norris is improving and goes fourth, ahead of Piastri.
03:56 PM BST
Q3 - Seems like a bit more rain is falling
Will this mean the order will stay the same? Not necessarily. Lewis Hamilton begins another hot lap but it’s not a brilliant first sector but it’s the next two that matter more.
03:56 PM BST
Q3 - Order and gaps after the first runs
VER 1:53.159
PER +0.606
HAM +0.852
PIA +0.868
RUS +1.084
NOR +1.086
SAI +1.328
LEC +1.359
ALO +1.606
OCO +1.651
03:55 PM BST
Q3 - Sainz into fifth
Dislodging Alonso. Verstappen is flying, it seems. He will have to beat his team-mate Sergio Perez, who crosses the line with a 1:53.765 to go fastest of all.
Verstappen does exactly that to go fastest by 0.6sec. That is a big margin the Red Bulls have. And he had a twitchy moment in it too.
Piastri lost at least a few tenths by putting a rear-right tyre into the gravel again.
03:53 PM BST
Q3 - Hamilton crosses the line with a 1:54.011
Russell cannot beat that and is 0.232sec off. Piastri with a decent middle sector but crosses the line slower than Hamilton by 0.016sec
What can Lando Norris do? He’s fastest in the final sector but only fourth 0.234sec off Hamilton.
03:52 PM BST
Q3 - First flying laps under way
Hamilton with a 32.140 in sector one, beaten by Russell and then Ocon, who is fastest of everyone so far in S1 with Verstappen just to come.
03:49 PM BST
Q3 begins!
Hamilton on the radio at the front of the queue: “Is it good that I’m ahead of everyone or?”
“Depends what this rain does,” comes the response.
03:44 PM BST
Q2 - Classification
VER 1:53.837
HAM +0.200
RUS +0.258
SAI +0.275
PIA +0.299
LEC +0.356
ALO +0.421
NOR +0.521
OCO +0.623
PER +0.633
ELIMINATED:ALB
GAS
RIC
NOT
STR
03:44 PM BST
Q2 ends - Verstappen fastest
Hamilton and Russell in second and third.
Albon, Gasly, Ricciardo, Bottas and Stroll eliminated.
03:43 PM BST
Q2 - Hamilton into second
0.2sec off Verstappen. Alonso into fifth, Albon ninth with Leclerc and Sainz on their way... Sainz currently in the drop zone.
Will Perez get booted out here? He does not. The number of drivers who can dislodge him was not high enough so the Mexican makes it through. Phew.
03:42 PM BST
Q2 - Ocon improves to fourth
And Alpine team-mate Gasly into seventh. That means both Mercedes drivers are into the drop-zone. But not for long: Russell is second and Hamilton in danger of moving fastest of all. Does this mean Sainz is vulnerable? It means Ricciardo is unlikely to get into Q3 here.
03:40 PM BST
Q2 - Perez improving
Assuming no errors then he should make it comfortably into Q3, which is exactly what he needs right now.
Indeed he does, moving to fourth, albeit 0.633sec off his team-mate’s fastest time.
03:39 PM BST
Q2 - Piastri goes second fastest
And with the fastest final sector of anyone and a 1:54.136 just 0.299sec off Verstappen. Perez drops down into 11th as Ricciardo improves.
DR INTO P6 WITH 2 MINUTES TO GO
— Visa Cash App RB F1 Team (@visacashapprb) July 27, 2024
03:38 PM BST
Q2 - Hamilton improves to go fifth
Leclerc into third, what can team-mate Sainz do? Fourth, which pushes Perez down into 10th. Piastri in eighth here. But he loses the rear end slightly and dips and rear-left into the gravel... will that cost him?
03:37 PM BST
Q2 - Verstappen improves by 0.020sec
Not a great improvement, of course. Russell goes fourth, 0.896sec off Verstappen.
Both Ferraris in the drop zone as it stands. Hamilton on the cusp in 10th.
03:36 PM BST
Q2 - Into the final few minutes
And Sergio Perez says it’s raining heavier now. It certainly looks a bit wetter out there as Russell heads into the middle sector having set the fastest first sector time. He gets sideways but keeps it going forward. It looks fairly dry in the middle sector but can he find time?
03:34 PM BST
Q2 - Order after the first runs
VER 1:53.857
NOR +0.602
ALB +0.867
PIA +0.882
OCO +0.928
PER +0.934
RIC +0.943
ALO +0.968
HAM +1.029
SAI +1.062
DROP ZONE:RUS
GAS
LEC
BOT
STR
03:32 PM BST
Q2 - Verstappen absolutely rapid
Norris beats Albon’s time by a couple of tenths but, even with a twitchy moment towards the end of the lap, goes 0.6sec faster than the McLaren man. It would all be a bit ominous were he not taking a 10-place grid penalty.
03:31 PM BST
Q2 - Albon fastest so far
But only four drivers to have set a time in this mini-session. He’s ahead of Ocon, Russell and Gasly currently.
03:29 PM BST
Q2 - Verstappen thinks it’s raining a bit
The track is pretty dry in a lot of parts but not so much in others. I don’t think we will see anyone try slicks in this session but perhaps in Q3. Assuming it doesn’t rain any more.
03:26 PM BST
Q2 begins - 15 minutes remain
No sign of much further rain, despite what the McLaren team seem to think.
03:26 PM BST
There was an incident with Sargeant and Verstappen at turn one
The pair came close at La Source but I do not think it will be a problem. Verstappen took the inside line, Sargeant the wide one and, yes, they nearly collided but it all looked fair to me. What was Verstappen supposed to do, assuming they were on hot laps? Follow Sargeant taking the widest line?! No.
A close moment in Q1 between Max and Logan 😲📻 pic.twitter.com/3rDFZoe3TH
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 27, 2024
03:21 PM BST
Q1 ends - Classification
PIA 1:54.835
GAS +0.076
VER +0.103
PER +0.304
SAI +0.334
LEC +0.514
RUS +0.518
OCO +0.582
RIC +0.616
ALO +0.654
BOT +0.696
NOR +0.747
HAM +0.857
ALB +0.887
STR +1.237
ELIMINATED:HUL
MAG
TSU
SAR
ZHO
03:21 PM BST
Q1 - Perez in danger and needs to find a lap...
...he does and makes it through. Norris is in 13th and you wonder if he’s safe. He improves to 12th which should see him through...
03:19 PM BST
Q1 - Russell attempting to make it into Q2
He needs to string together a final sector and he does to move third. The rain doesn’t appear to be falling especially hard right now. Verstappen gets blocked again in the high-speed final sector and is not happy about it. Understandably, though I don’t think he lost much time.
03:18 PM BST
Q1 - Drivers in the drop zone
Sargeant, Russell, Bottas, Zhou and Hulkenberg...
03:16 PM BST
Q1 - Lap times not improving massively
I would assume that is because the rain falling has affected grip. Verstappen moves top again, 0.611sec off Piastri’s time. Alonso into fourth but is then displaced as Hamilton gets into fourth and Norris fifth. Verstappen in the early stages looks to be the class of the field.
03:14 PM BST
Q1 - Five minutes remain
Carlos Sainz, currently 13th, is improving as the clouds get darker at La Source. Sainz fourth, behind Leclerc and 0.970sec off Verstappen who is improving.
03:12 PM BST
Q1 - Ricciardo second
Piastri fastest in the first two sectors and could be the first man to beat Verstappen’s early time. Indeed he does, going fastest of all by 0.454sec. Ricciardo down to fourth as Leclerc is up into third.
03:11 PM BST
Q1 - What can Perez do?
He’s currently in 11th. Alonso on the radio to say his intermediate tyres are well worn. Perez could be troubling the top two here with a god final sector as he goes fastest in sector two.
He crosses the line and improves to second but still 0.653sec off leader Verstappen.
Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Sargeant, Zhou and Stroll in the drop zone.
03:09 PM BST
Q1 - Gasly moves into second
He’s 0.754sec off Verstappen. Norris is improving on his second flying lap. He’s down in 17th as the track improves, though there is some rain on the way.
Not a brilliant lap from Norris, he’s fourth but a whopping 1.3sec off Verstappen who seems to have mastered the conditions here very early.
03:08 PM BST
Q1 - Verstappen goes fastest
Faster than Piastri by 1.4sec. He’s very good in the wet, isn’t he? Hamilton up into third, Russell fifth. Piastri improves again but stays second and is still nearly a second slower than Verstappen.
03:06 PM BST
Q1 - Norris with a 1:58.894
That’s a decent lap, I think but Norris is soon beaten by Hulkenberg and then Piastri, by 1.4sec. Verstappen is up in sector one. Qualifying times could be all over the place here, especially if the rain comes.
03:04 PM BST
Q1 - A good effort, this
Stroll is out there on the track after his crash in FP3.
A true team effort. 💚
Shoutout to our entire crew for pulling together to repair Lance's #AMR24 ready for Qualifying after his incident in FP3.#BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/1y3b0ew8ky— Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) July 27, 2024
03:04 PM BST
Q1 - Rain expected in just over two minutes time
It’s currently pretty damp out in the early part of the lap and nothing but intermediates will suffice.
15 minutes remain.
03:02 PM BST
Q1 begins!
18 minutes long is the session and McLaren say that “class two” rain will come eight minutes into the session so these opening laps are crucial. Long laps here, of course, so that makes it even more critical.
03:01 PM BST
Piastri not happy with the Haas cars
A mad rush to get out of the pit lane, naturally. Not sure anything will happen. All the cars queuing at the end of the pit lane are on intermediates.
02:58 PM BST
Right, nearly time to get going
I don’t think the track will be dry enough for slicks just yet, but let’s see. Certainly you feel like it would be a risk. Air temperature is only 18c so it will not dry all that quickly. 80 per cent chance of rain for qualifying, according to the FIA.
02:52 PM BST
It is a big weekend for Sergio Perez
He only signed a new Red Bull contract a few months ago but he appears to be in danger of losing his seat, even as early as now. What will give him a chance of retaining his seat after the summer break? Well, first thing would be not to crash in qualifying or indeed the race. Make it out of Q1. And if he cannot finish ahead of Max Verstappen, despite the Dutchman’s penalty, then finish close to him. It’s doable. He just needs a solid, error-free weekend.
02:42 PM BST
Weather update...
#F1 #BBCF1 #BELGIANGP 🇧🇪 QUALIFYING: It's 25 mins to Q1, with air temp 18.2C & track 22.3C. After earlier rain, there's an effectively dry lull currently. However, radar (👇) shows further rain developing from SW. FIA forecasters advise teams of increasing risk by ~1600 local. pic.twitter.com/KX2Md7697T
— Ian Fergusson (@fergieweather) July 27, 2024
This could be fun.
02:40 PM BST
Looks like the rain has stopped at Spa
Whether that means the track is dry or not, I am not sure. It does not take too long for modern F1 tracks to dry but Spa has been resurfaced recently and it does cover a huge area, so it is not always the case that all of the track is dry at once.
02:38 PM BST
Should the Belgian Grand Prix always be run in wet conditions?
OK, that is a not an entirely serious question. But the point is that this once-fearsome track has been outgrown by the modern F1 cars. Of course, it is still a fantastic track and in many ways a challenge but it becomes an entirely different beast in the wet and is the challenge it was for so long. And it certainly adds jeopardy.
Of course, the downside is the risk of high-speed crashes and there have been a couple of fatal accidents in the last few years. The track is much safer than it was, but there is always going to be a risk in motorsport.
02:32 PM BST
Carlos Sainz also had an excursion into the gravel
Carlos Sainz finds the gravel! 🔴
Not an ideal final lap in FP3 for Ferrari... 🫣 pic.twitter.com/2Ag1SbNshq— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 27, 2024
02:19 PM BST
Current constructor standings
02:19 PM BST
Current F1 driver standings - Top 10
02:10 PM BST
Watch: Lance Stroll crashes in FP3
RED FLAG! 🟥
Lance Stroll crashes at Eau Rouge in the heavy rain, but is safely out of the car 👇 pic.twitter.com/IqGvSE3zTo— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 27, 2024
01:59 PM BST
Final times after third practice
Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 2mins 01.565secs
Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 2:02.998
Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 2:03.175
Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 2:03.372
Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 2:05.250
Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 2:06.033
Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 2:06.037
Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Kick Sauber 2:06.492
Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 2:06.751
Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 2:07.103
Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 2:07.443
Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Haas F1 2:08.040
Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 2:08.071
Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) RB 2:08.410
Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) RB 2:09.444
Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Kick Sauber 2:11.109
Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams 2:11.220
George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP No Time Set
Carlos Sainz Jr (Spa) Ferrari No Time Set
Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 No Time Set
01:53 PM BST
Good afternoon F1 fans
Welcome to our live coverage for qualifying for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, from Spa-Francorchamps. This is the final race before the summer break and, for the first time in a few years, the break feels like it is coming at a bad time. Last year it was nice to put a pause on Max Verstappen’s week-in, week-out winning, but the season has almost turned on its head since the Miami Grand Prix a few months ago.
After winning four of the first five grands prix (taking pole in all of them), Verstappen has won just three of the last eight. Of course, his championship lead in that time has increased to a healthy 76 points after 13 rounds. But the Hungarian Grand Prix last week, in which he finished fifth, had several flashpoints. Many of them were him bickering and swearing at his race engineer but he also clashed with Lewis Hamilton, colliding with him in the race.
What of this weekend, then? You would imagine that his advantage over Lando Norris is enough given the Red Bull have been reeled in but in Verstappen’s hands the Red Bull is probably still the second fastest car. The complicating factor is that the Dutchman takes a 10-place grid penalty. It is fairly easy to come through the field in Spa and many are expecting the Red Bull to be quick this weekend. A win is not off the cards, in other words.
What can we expect from qualifying? FP3 earlier today was wet, being red flagged twice. First for Lance Stroll’s crash and secondly because conditions were too poor. There is a good chance that the rain, heavy or light, will continue through until qualifying though perhaps easing off as we get onto the track. That could mix things up but usually it means Verstappen finishes quite near the top...
Qualifying is scheduled to get going at 3pm BST and we will be here for all the build-up, live updates and reaction from Spa-Francorchamps.