The Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) will start from pole position at the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday, on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, ahead of the Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull).
The Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull), world championship leader, set the best time in Friday’s qualifying but will start from sixth position, having received a five-position penalty for having changed the gearbox above the quota allowed per season.
Last year and on the same track, the Dutchman starred in a great comeback, starting from 14th position due to a similar penalty, due to an engine change above the allowed quota and an unauthorized gearbox element.
“I know I’m going to lose grid positions but today it was all about feeling confident, we know the car is fast,” Verstappen said after qualifying. “Last year I had a bigger penalty (15 positions in total) and we still won the race, so that’s the goal.”
On a track that was drying up and under a finally blue sky after hours of heavy rain until a few minutes before qualifying, Hamilton achieved the fourth fastest time.
He will start 3rd, once the sanction has been applied to Verstappen, ahead of Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari. The McLarens of the Australian Oscar Piastri and the British Lando Norris, who were expected at the top after the great performance in the last two Grands Prix, will start 5th and 7th.
The Belgian Grand Prix, the 12th round of the season, is the third after Azerbaijan in April and Austria in early July to propose the sprint format, which modifies the normal course of the weekend.
The drivers only held a free practice session on Friday, followed by a first qualifying, which determined the starting grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Saturday’s day is thus fully dedicated to sprinting: the drivers will take to the track at 10:00 GMT for a second qualifying session, called the Sprint Shootout, with the same format as Friday’s but shorter, which determines the starting order. of the sprint race, scheduled at 14:30 GMT.
Verstappen’s penalty does not affect the start in the sprint race in any way.