F1: Verstappen storms to pole for Belgian GP Sprint race

World driving champion Max Verstappen was fastest in all three qualifying sessions to take pole position for today’s Belgian GP Sprint Race at Spa-Francorchamps.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

On a track that was still drying, Verstappen just nipped sensational McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri by 0.011s who is beginning to get the better of his British teammate Lando Norris.

The session started off very wet and Intermediate tires were needed for Q1 and Q2.

“It was pretty difficult, quite similar to yesterday. I think we stayed calm, the gap was not as big as yesterday, but there was no need to risk it all.

“I left a little time on the table, let’s see this afternoon if it rains again. I’ll try to have a good start, we’ll have clean, clear vision, which is important if it’s going to be wet,” said Verstappen, who also won the pole for Sunday’s feature race.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was a close third in his #55 Ferrari, just 0.025s behind.

Charles Leclerc was 4th in the #16 Ferrari, 0.333s behind, while Lando Norris rounded out the top-5 in the 2nd Ferrari.

The two Mercedes drivers tripped over each other a couple of times. Hamilton started his lap very close to his teammate, perhaps expecting a slipstream.

Instead, Russell didn’t get out of the way and by the time Hamilton tried to pass him, he’d lost too much time and Hamilton ended up 7th after being 2nd behind Verstappen in Q1 and Q2.

The entire Aston Martin team was screwed in Q2 when Lance Stroll crashed on medium slick tires and teammate Fernando Alonso never got to set a time. Clearly the track was still too wet.

They will start 14th and 15th for the Sprint race.

Rain is forecast to soak the track again ahead of the Sprint Race in a few hours time, and teams will have to decide which tires to start the race on if it appears the track will be drying.

Sprint Race Qualifying Results