Max Verstappen dominates Belgian Grand Prix qualifying grand prix But engine penalty will put Charles Leclerc on pole back A humid afternoon in Spa-Francorchamps.
Verstappen was unmatched throughout the afternoon in sometimes wet conditions. Heavy rain soaked the track before qualifying. Intermittent rain showers prevented the track surface from really drying out and intermediate tires were used on all three sections.
Dutchman's Red Bull car suffers from downforce For wet weather performance it pays huge dividends through the twisty middle sectiondespite this, he was much faster than any other driver. This was the basis for his final lap time of 1 minute 53 seconds 159 seconds.which proved untouchable from his first lap.
But Verstappen won't be rewarded for his laps. He will receive a 10-place grid penalty due to the addition of a new combustion engine to the power unit pool, which will see him start Sunday's race in 11th place.
“It was a great qualifying session,” he said. “It’s a pleasure. The car works really well in the wet. I can just do my laps and try to get a clean lap time in the wet, which is always trickyy.
“I don't know how fast we're going to [tomorrow]. I hope we can get into it and try to move forward.
Penalties put Leclerc in pole position Monaco inherits top spot from punished Verstappen for second year running 2023 in Belgium.
Leclerc was one of the few drivers to make significant progress on the second lap of Q3, from eighth Ranked second, the gain is More than a quarter of a second behind Verstappen, 0.595 seconds behind.
“I definitely didn't expect this weekend,” Leclerc said. “Obviously, under difficult conditions, we can do things beyond our expectations.
“It was a good day for the team. Now we need to focus on tomorrow and see what happens when the rain stops.“
Sergio Perez will start second – Just like he did last year – Just 0.011 seconds shy of Leclerc's best time. timehe Mexico aims for repeat last year Launched and he took the lead with the help of Leclerc of Powerful wake coming out of the first corner.
“I think P2 is probably the best position you can think of at Spa,” he said. “Last year I was like Charlesso i mg ornn Try doing the same thing tomorrow.
“I have a good feeling about tomorrow, so we look.
Lewis Hamilton will be in best-place mercedes – he is 0.676 seconds slower than Verstappen, but only 0.081 seconds behind Leclerc — alongside McLaren’s Lando Norris.
