Charles Leclerc will start the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position after setting the second fastest time in qualifying, behind Max Verstappen, who will start from 11th due to a 10-place grid penalty.
Verstappen was fastest on Saturday in his Red Bull, but he will start from further back because Red Bull used more power units than allowed by putting a new engine in his car.
Leclerc’s Ferrari was the next quickest, with Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez taking second place on the grid. Lewis Hamilton will start from third, and McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will start fourth and fifth, respectively.
Despite not winning any of the last three races, Verstappen still leads the standings by 76 points over Norris. Verstappen has previously shown he can make up ground, having won in Belgium from 14th in 2022 and from sixth last year.
“I knew that I would have to start from 10 places back, so this was the best I could do today,” Verstappen said.
“We are not making it easy on ourselves, in the battle we are in. Today was a great day, but it was in wet and tomorrow will be dry. Hopefully we can battle with the Mercedes and Ferrari ahead, and hopefully, with a little bit of luck we can challenge the McLaren.”
His competitors expect him to move up quickly. Norris was the fastest in dry conditions during Friday’s practice, but he now thinks Red Bull has the upper hand.
“The Red Bull was on another level to us in the rain,” Norris said. “It will be tough. Max is going to come through quite quickly still, and most likely we will be fighting with him for the win.”
Hamilton agreed, saying his main goal would be to fend off his competitors and aim for a podium finish.
“Max will make his way through pretty quickly. I think that car is the fastest here this week, at least tied with McLaren,” Hamilton said.
Heavy rain during the final practice session kept the cars in the garages for a long time and caused officials to postpone the F2 sprint race. A light drizzle fell during qualifying, and the cars created spray as they raced on the longest track in F1, which is seven kilometers (4.3 miles) long.
Leclerc had a familiar experience from last year’s race, as he also inherited the pole from Verstappen after the Dutchman received a five-place penalty.
“Exactly the same,” Leclerc said. “I think that without this rain probably P5 (fifth place) was the position we were fighting for, but I can’t complain.”
The top 10 cars in qualifying included eight from Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari.
Pérez performed well and was close to taking pole position, but Leclerc’s final lap kept him from achieving it. Pérez had struggled in recent qualifiers and has faced speculation about whether Red Bull might replace him midseason.
“It was good to finally put it together,” Pérez said. “Like I’ve always said, every weekend is a new opportunity to do better.”
Yuki Tsunoda from RB will start from the back of the grid after also exceeding his number of new engines and adding other new parts.
