Penalties result in multiple reassignments for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.
SPA-FRANCHORCHAMPS, Belgium—Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the quickest time (1:43:665) in qualifying for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, but he won’t be the pole sitter. Penalized for an engine change, he’ll start the race at the back of the grid.
Carlos Sainz Jr., in his Ferrari, and Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, who took second and third, will line up on the front row for the race. While the Spaniard is happy with that position, he also realizes that the Red Bulls are quicker. “The lap was OK; happy to be starting on pole,” he said, “but not so happy to see the gap to Max this weekend and Red Bull’s gap on us.” Verstappen, despite his penalty, agrees.
Max Verstappen: The car has been working well, and it all came together in qualifying. Especially (with) a car like this, it will be a shame not to be on the podium.
The front row continued to change, with more drivers taking penalties, including Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, and McLaren’s British driver Lando Norris. The outcome gave the second row a veteran type of feel, with Ocon’s teammate Fernando Alonso and Mercedes Lewis Hamilton occupying those positions. George Russell in the second Mercedes and the surprise of the day, William’s Alex Albon, are on the third row for Sunday’s race.
An accident in the morning’s Porsche Supercup race at Fagnes corner damaged the barriers, resulting in a 20-minute delay before the F1 drivers could begin qualifying. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was eliminated from the first session, along with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, Williams’s Nicholas Latifi, Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen, and Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda. Daniel Ricciardo in the McLaren, already with many things on his mind, did not fare any better, eliminated from the second round. Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher, and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll were also on that list.
The longest race on the calendar should make Sunday race day very different, especially because of the penalty situations. Many top drivers will have to battle for a podium, while others will have an opportunity to achieve great results if things go their way.
