Due to grid penalties for power unit changes, the qualifying order doesn’t truly reflect the actual starting grid – as Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu and Mick Schumacher will all start at the back.
So Sainz will start ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
Belgian Grand Prix starting grid, after penalties are applied:
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay [s] |
Delay [%] |
| 1 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1’44.297 | – | – |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull | 1’44.462 | 0.165 | 0.158 |
| 3 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine/Renault | 1’45.368 | 1.071 | 1.027 |
| 4 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’45.503 | 1.206 | 1.156 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’45.776 | 1.479 | 1.418 |
| 6 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1’45.837 | 1.540 | 1.477 |
| 7 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren/Mercedes | 1’45.767 | 1.470 | 1.409 |
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri/Red Bull | 1’45.827 | 1.530 | 1.467 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1’46.611 | 2.314 | 2.219 |
| 10 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1’46.344 | 2.047 | 1.963 |
| 11 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams/Mercedes | 1’46.401 | 2.104 | 2.017 |
| 12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1’46.557 | 2.260 | 2.167 |
| 13 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri/Red Bull | 1’46.692 | 2.395 | 2.296 |
| 14 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1’47.866 | 3.569 | 3.422 |
| 15 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1’43.665 | -0.632 | -0.606 |
| 16 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’44.553 | 0.256 | 0.245 |
| 17 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1’45.180 | 0.883 | 0.847 |
| 18 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1’46.178 | 1.881 | 1.804 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1’46.085 | 1.788 | 1.714 |
| 20 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Haas/Ferrari | 1’47.718 | 3.421 | 3.280 |
What happened in Belgian Grand Prix Q1?
After a 25-minute delay due to barrier repairs following a support race crash, Verstappen set the pace at 1m44.581s, ahead of Sainz on 1m45.050s, 0.469s slower, and Perez a further three tenths back.
Falling at the first hurdle were Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), Nicholas Latifi (Williams), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo). However, due to the grid penalties of drivers ahead, this quintet all move up the grid to fill the spots from 10th on back.
Belgian Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Sainz
What happened…
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