Max will start from P6 at Spa: 'It was very close'

Published on 28 July 2023 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen will start the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday from P6. The reigning World Champion set the fastest time in qualifying, but has a five place grid penalty and will therefore start sixth. Charles Leclerc was second fastest, just ahead of Max’ teammate at Oracle Red Bull Racing Sergio Perez, who qualified P3. Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes and Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari completed the top five of the qualifying session.

“It was very tight,” Max says after the session. “The conditions were very tricky, the track was drying very quickly. On my final lap I didn’t have the confidence in Q2 to push more, and I was very lucky to be in P10.”

Max continues: “In Q3 you have two tyre sets, so you can push a little bit more, risk a little bit more, and that’s what we did on that final lap. And to be on pole again, I know that I have to drop back on Sunday with the penalty I have, but it was the best I could do today.”

Looking ahead at the race on Sunday, Max says: “Last year I had more penalties and we could still win the race, so that’s still the target on Sunday. But let’s also see tomorrow what the weather will do and what kind of racing we will have.”

Before the start of the qualifying session in Belgium it has stopped raining, but the track is still very wet. Race control decides to postpone the start of the session by ten minutes. Both Mercedes cars line up very early at the end of the pitlane, waiting for the light green light. Both cars are on the intermediate tyres. There is still rain in the air around the circuit, and the question is if these rain clouds will pass by, or if it will start to rain again on the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps. 

When the light at the end of the pitlane finally turns green, it turns out that the track is still very wet and that slicks are not an option for now. Max and both Ferraris are still inside their garages at that moment. However, they do not stay there for long, and within a few minutes everyone except Logan Sargeant is on the track.

George Russell is the first to set a time, which immediately is improved by his teammate Lewis Hamilton, and a little later by Lando Norris. On his first flying lap, Max puts his RB19 on P2, right behind Russell, who has taken over P1 from Norris. With ten minutes to go, Daniel Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly and Logan Sargeant are the drivers at risk. 

With four minutes to go, Max sets the fastest time, which is narrowly improved by Lewis Hamilton a few moments later. At the end of the first qualifying session it is Leclerc who has the fastest time, Verstappen is on P2, followed by Hamilton on P3. Knocked out in this phase are Alexander Albon, Guanyu Zhou, Logan Sargeant, Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg. Ricciardo did climb to P6, but his time was deleted after running slightly wide off track.

At the start of Q2, everybody goes immediately out on track, except for Lando Norris. The track is starting to dry up, and a dry line is forming in a few places. It’s a matter of time before the first driver switches to slicks. When the majority of the drivers has set a time, Max is in P1, ahead of Perez and Leclerc. Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Lance Stroll and Lando Norris are the drivers at risk at this moment. 

With just seven minutes on the clock, everybody switches to slicks. The first to set a time on the slick tyres is Valtteri Bottas. However he does not immediately improve his own time. In the final phase of Q2, Oscar Piastri surprisingly jumps to P1, while Verstappen is on P10 and barely makes it to the next round. Knocked out in Q2 are Tsunoda, Gasly, Magnussen, Bottas and Ocon. 

Meanwhile, the FIA has officially announced that Max Verstappen will receive a five-place grid penalty for the race on Sunday, due to a gearbox change.

Q3 starts with both Mercedes cars going immediately out on track. After the first run, Leclerc is in P1, ahead of Max and Carlos Sainz. Perez’ time is good for P8 at the moment. The final, all-decisive run is started by the Ferraris with the rest of the field following in their wake. Leclerc improves his time and so does Sainz. But Max is still on a flying lap, and it is an impressive one. When he crosses the line, he is more than eight tenths ahead of Leclerc. Max is the fastest overall, followed by Leclerc in P2, and Perez in P3. 

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Results qualifying Belgium: