Charles Leclerc takes pole position at F1 Belgian GP

Charles Leclerc timed his fastest lap perfectly in qualifying to claim pole position for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen was fastest at a very wet Spa-Francorchamps circuit but must take a 10-place grid penalty after exceeding his allotted number of engine replacements for the season. That means Leclerc, who set the second-fastest time, took pole by default, just as he did last year due to another penalty from Verstappen.

Sergio Perez, who managed to qualify for Q3 by just three thousandths of a second, will start from second on the grid. The Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are separated by the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Leclerc takes 2nd place with his last lap! #F1 #BelgianGrandPrix pic.twitter.com/JINvg3TOqs

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2024

Verstappen looked to have something to prove in Saturday’s session, which was disrupted by torrential rain early in the session, leading to Lance Stroll having a big crash in a halted and restarted Free Practice 3. The Dutchman has been described as “angry” in recent races after seeing his lead in the drivers’ standings cut to 76 points ahead of this weekend’s race. Although he will start in 11th, he looks quite capable of at least a podium finish if he continues to handle the changeable conditions well.

The last Rally of Hungary saw a huge twist, with McLaren driver Piastri winning for the first time in his career, ahead of team-mate Norris, who unfortunately allowed the Australian to overtake him under team orders. The team will be disappointed to have only managed fifth and sixth places despite much being expected of them this weekend.

But it was Leclerc who came out of nowhere to win at the right time. After winning in Monaco last May, he now has the chance to claim another victory at one of Formula 1’s most famous circuits.

F1 grid, qualifying times for the Belgian Grand Prix

Position	Driver	Team	Qual time.
1.	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:53:754
2.	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	1:53:765
3.	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:53:835
4.	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:53:981
5.	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:54:027
6.	George Russell	Mercedes	1:54:095
7.	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1:54:112
8.	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:54:258
9.	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1:54:460
10.	Alexandre Albon	Williams	1:54:473
11.*	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:53:159
12.	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:54:635
13.	Daniel Ricciardo	RB	1:54:682
14.	Valtteri Bottas	Sauber Kick	1:54:764
15.	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:55:716
16.	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	1:56:308
17.	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:56:500
18.	Logan Sergeant	Williams	1:57:230
19.	Zhou Guanyu	Sauber Kick	1:57:775
20.**	Yuki Tsunoda	RB	1:56:593

** Verstappen was given a 10-place grid penalty due to engine changes
**Tsunoda forced to start from back of grid due to penalty

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Belgian F1 calendar: what time is the Grand Prix?

	UNITED KINGDOM	USA	Canada	Australia	India
Date	Sunday July 28	Sunday July 28	Sunday July 28	Sunday July 28	Sunday July 28
Time	2:00 p.m. BST	9:00 AM ET	9:00 AM ET	11:00 AEST	6:30 PM IST

Live updates from Belgian F1 qualifying

End of the 3rd quarter

CHARLES LECLERC TAKES POLE POSITION! What a fast final lap from the Ferrari! He is over half a second slower than Verstappen, but the Dutchman’s grid penalty will allow Leclerc to take pole, as was the case here last year! Incredible.

2 minutes left: The Red Bulls are still in the lead and second. Carlos Sainz is on new tyres and will try his luck with a final fast lap.

7 minutes left: Hamilton and Piastri have the front row, but Perez takes a good part of Hamilton’s time! But then Verstappen comes storming into the middle sector. He crossed the finish line more than half a second ahead of the others..

Start of the 3rd quarter

Who will emerge victorious?

? GREEN LIGHT FOR THE 3RD QUARTER ?

Hamilton leads the dance and the penalty shootout for the top 10 is underway! #F1 #GrandPrixofBelgium pic.twitter.com/sykdib4290

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2024

End of the second quarter

Sergio Perez just qualifies for Q3, with a lead of three thousandths of a second! Relief for Red Bull. Verstappen is the fastest, ahead of the two Mercedes.

Eliminated drivers:

Lance Stroll
Valtteri Bottas
Daniel Ricciardo
Pierre Gasly
Alexandre Albon

7 minutes left: Russell stops and fits intermediate tyres, after complaining about rear grip. Verstappen sets a new best time of 1:53:857. The rain looks to be getting a bit heavier, so it’s time for a quicker lap.

11 minutes left: It’s raining a bit, but the conditions are not comparable to those at the start of the season. George Russell looks in good shape on the penultimate straight, but Alexander Albon is temporarily fastest. What a race from the Williams!

Start of Q2

Let’s see if anyone can get close to Verstappen’s time. Whoever does will be on pole.

End of the first quarter

Verstappen is four-tenths quicker than everyone else, and the stewards are looking into an incident where Zhou Guanyu didn’t appear to move out of his way on a flying lap. Remember, though, that he has a 10-place grid penalty coming up. Perez saves himself from another elimination thanks to a strong final lap.

Eliminated drivers:

Zhou Guanyu
Logan Sergeant
Yuki Tsunoda
Kevin Magnussen
Nico Hulkenberg

5 minutes left: Fernando Alonso is in the danger zone and needs a good lap to reach P2. Lewis Hamilton has set the third fastest time… and Alonso is one place behind him. That could be enough.

11 minutes left: Was McLaren too cautious about the rain threat? It seems to be holding for now. Piastri was the first driver to go under 1:58:000, although Sergio Perez came very close. Max Verstappen then set a time of 1:56:003, which is a fantastic time given the conditions.

15 minutes left: Lando Norris got his splashes on as he took his first flying lap. He had a great second practice session, but in the dry. The rain is expected to start again within a minute…

The queue in the pit lane is long!

Everyone wants to take a spin in the sack before the rain comes #F1 #GrandPrixofBelgium pic.twitter.com/bT91HdB3lF

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2024

Start of the first quarter

Here we go! The rain has stopped long enough for marshals and ground crew to prepare the circuit. It is a long and winding track that will likely have different sections of dry and wet asphalt. The aim is to adapt as quickly as possible to the changing conditions.

15 minutes before departure: Lance Stroll had a big crash in the third practice session and the Aston Martin mechanics worked hard to get him ready for the first session. It was an incredible effort, even if it ended in failure.

Teamwork at its best! What an amazing team we have ??? Minutes before QF starts and everyone is working flat out on Lance’s car. They’re changing everything except the survival cell. If we don’t get there in time, no one will ???@AstonMartinF1 pic.twitter.com/e2vEEKCtE1

– Pedro de la Rosa (@PedrodelaRosa1) July 27, 2024

30 minutes before departure: Update on conditions: The rain has stopped, at least for now, and there is likely to be a window of opportunity for qualifying to go ahead. Sky Sports’ Nigel Chiu reports from the track: “The marshals are sweeping up the standing water and there are machines sucking up the water as well. If we don’t have any more rain, I think qualifying can go ahead as planned.”

45 minutes before departure: Max Verstappen has been the best at handling the conditions so far, having been fastest in FP3 in a session that was repeatedly postponed due to wet weather. Verstappen will be keen to set a good time even though he risks a 10-place grid penalty for having too many engine spares.

1 hour before departure: Welcome to the live coverage of today’s qualifying session at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Those who watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony yesterday will not be surprised to hear that it’s raining here, and it’s raining hard.

Thinking outside the box ?#F1 #GrandPrixofBelgium pic.twitter.com/s7pMnhkchC

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2024

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