Verstappen Tops Qualifying Whilst Leclerc Inherits Pole For 2023 Belgian Grand Prix

Roundup of Practice and Qualifying as Max Verstappen topped the timesheets but Charles Leclerc inherits pole position for 2023 Belgian Grand Prix.

Wet weather greeted teams at the start of this Sprint weekend with Practice heavily disrupted but the rain moved away just prior to Qualifying, which led to a dramatic session across which the track dried out amidst track evolution.

As the checkered flag fell, Verstappen snatched pole but a grid penalty meant that he wouldn’t start on pole, which was inherited by Leclerc despite finishing almost one second behind the two-time champion.

Now, here is a roundup of Practice and Qualifying for 2023 Belgian Grand Prix.

 

Practice

Amidst heavy rainfall which necessitated the use of wet tyres, Williams’ Alex Albon was first out on track and proceeded to set the benchmark time of 2m 08.394 just five minutes into the session, which none of the other ten drivers who ventured out managed to better.

Worsening conditions however forced everyone to retreat to the pits in the 11th minute, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz the first driver to head back out five minutes later and proceeded to go second quickest – albeit 0.687 seconds slower than Albon.

McLaren’s Lando Norris meanwhile led a small group of drivers who gambled on intermediate tyres whilst Leclerc posted 2m 08.148 in the 24th minute to go fastest, although his time was soon beaten as Norris went 3.664s quicker.

Norris however was displaced quickly by his teammate – Oscar Piastri who went 0.692s faster, but it was Sainz who set a 2m 03.207 in the 27th minute to put himself fastest at the halfway mark of the session.

Williams’ Logan Sargeant however caused the only practice session to be red flagged after he lost control on the Kemmel Straight into Les Combes, which caused him to slide into the barriers and grind to a halt.

Red flags were withdrawn ten minutes later but track conditions had worsened during the red flag, which kept everyone in the garage until Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen bravely ventured out on the intermediate tyres in torriential conditions only to pit at end of their outlap.

Nobody managed to attempt a flying lap in the closing stages which meant that Sainz topped the session from Piastri and Norris, whilst Sargeant, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon and Verstappen failed to set a lap time.

Sainz, Piastri, Norris, Albon and Valtteri Bottas were the only runners to set their fastest lap times on the intermediate tyre.

Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	2m 03.207
2	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+ 0.585
3	Lando Norris	McLaren	+ 1.277
4	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+ 4.941
5	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	+ 5.033
6	Alex Albon	Williams	+ 5.187
7	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	+ 5.860
8	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+ 6.022
9	Daniel Ricciardo	AlphaTauri	+ 6.112
10	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	+ 6.835
11	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+ 7.076
12	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+ 7.092
13	George Russell	Mercedes	+ 7.268
14	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	+ 8.878
15	Guanyu Zhou	Alfa Romeo	+ 10.795
16	Logan Sargeant	Williams	No Time
17	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	No Time
18	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	No Time
19	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	No Time
20	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	No Time

 

Qualifying

Q1

After a ten-minute delay to allow the track to drain following a torrential rain shower, Russell and Hamilton led the field out on track after opting to wait almost seven minutes at the pit exit, in order to ensure that they had track position in case the rain returned.

Once out on track, Russell proceeded to set the benchmark time of  2m 02.360 but Hamilton and Norris quickly displaced him, whilst Piastri posted 2m 01.438 to go fastest in the eighth minute.

Down at the foot of the timing tower at the halfway point, the bottom five compromised of; Zhou, Stroll, Ricciardo, Tsunoda and Sargeant who had not gone straight out due to an ongoing gearbox change, but joined the action in the 10th minute.

Track evolution meanwhile continued to ramp up and as the checkered flag fell, Hulkenberg missed out on a final lap due to a hydraulic issue stalling him in the pits which meant that he qualified last.

Ricciardo meanwhile was second-slowest after his final lap time was deleted due to exceeding track limits at Raidillon, meaning that he and Hulkenberg would share the last row in the Grand Prix.

Albon, Zhou and Sargeant meanwhile rounded out the Q1 eliminations in 16, 17 and 18th positions respectively, whilst Leclerc topped the session with 1m 58.300 despite having briefly flirted with elimination at the end of Q1.

 

Q2

Hamilton and Russell were first out on track like in Q1 with many drivers quickly reporting that the track could be ready for a slick tyre final run towards end of the session.

Hamilton meanwhile set the benchmark lap time of 1m 58.024 but Magnussen and Bottas  quickly displaced him, before Piastri delivered 1m 56.370 to go fastest from Ocon by 0.002s until Leclerc, Perez then Verstappen displaced him as the two-time champion went quickest with 1m 55.535.

Once everyone had completed their opening runs, the elimination zone compromised of; Sainz, Hamilton, Russell, Stroll and Norris, although Norris hadn’t set a time after he aborted his flier to pit for soft tyres after Bottas became the first driver to make the gamble to get onto slick tyres.

Several drivers however aborted their first flying laps on the soft tyre due to damp track conditions, whilst Ocon slid wide upon the exit of Bruxelles and broke his front wing which forced him to pit from fifth position and risk his Q3 spot.

The switch to soft tyres consequently meanta tense finish as the track evolution ramped up even further as the checkered flag fell, with Tsunoda ultimately missing out in 11th position to Verstappen by 0.364s.

Gasly and Magnussen who were the last two drivers to start their last flying laps only managed 12 and 13th fastest ahead of Bottas and Ocon to join Tsunoda on the list of Q2 eliminations.

Piastri meanwhile topped Q2 with 1m 51.534 ahead of Sainz and Leclerc with Stroll and Norris rounding out the top five.

 

Q3

Stewards delayed the start of Q3 after several drivers dispersed gravel across various parts of the circuit at the end of Q2, but Alonso and Stroll were first out on track once the pit exit light went green.

Alonso proceeded to set the benchmark time of 1m 49.164 but was quickly displaced by several drivers, as Leclerc topped the opening runs with 1m 47.931 ahead of; Verstappen, Sainz, Piastri, Norris, Alonso, Perez, Hamilton, Stroll and Russell.

Hamilton and Russell however opted for a second flier in their opening runs which lifted them to sixth and ninth respectively ahead of final runs, which commenced in the ninth minute with Leclerc leading everyone back out onto the track.

As the checkered flag fell, Verstappen delivered 1m 46.168 to snatch pole from Leclerc by 0.820s as Perez, Hamilton, Sainz, Piastri, Norris, Russell, Alonso and Stroll rounded out the top ten.

A five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change however meant that Verstappen would start the Grand Prix from sixth, promoting Leclerc onto pole alongside Perez as Hamilton, Sainz and Piastri inherit third, fourth and fifth on the grid.

Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1m 46.168
2	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+ 0.820
3	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	+ 0.877
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+ 0.919
5	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	+ 0.984
6	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+ 1.197
7	Lando Norris	McLaren	+ 1.501
8	George Russell	Mercedes	+ 1.637
9	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+ 1.675
10	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+ 2.673
11	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	1m 53.148
12	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+ 0.523
13	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+ 1.012
14	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	+ 1.546
15	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	+ 3.224
16	Alex Albon	Williams	2m 00.314
17	Guanyu Zhou	Alfa Romeo	+ 0.518
18	Logan Sargeant	Wiilliams	+ 1.221
19	Daniel Ricciardo	AlphaTauri	+ 1.845
20	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	+ 2.852