Max Verstappen fastest, but Carlos Sainz secures pole position at Spa

Carlos Sainz has claimed pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, despite Max Verstappen finishing with the fastest lap in qualifying. Due to penalties for a number of drivers, the Ferrari driver will start from the front of the grid for tomorrow's race ahead of Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso in second and third respectively.

Verstappen claimed the top spot, with Sainz and Perez behind. Charles Leclerc claimed the fourth position, followed closely by Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso. The Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished in seventh and eighth, with Alex Albon and Lando Norris closing out the top 10.

Although claiming the fastest lap in qualifying, Verstappen will have to start from the back of the grid but will have an advantage over his title rival Leclerc, who found himself in the same situation. Joining the title contenders at the back of the grid will be Ocon, Norris, Guanyu Zhou and Mick Schumacher. Valtteri Bottas also holds penalties ahead of the race tomorrow, but due to having a 20-place grid penalty rather than a back-of-the-grid penalty, the Finn will start in 14th place.

Start of qualifying delayed by 25 minutes

There was a delay at the start of qualifying due to a damaged barrier. The incident occurred during the qualifying for Sunday's Porche Supercup race and after 25 minutes, the F1 action was finally able to get underway, with only Nicholas Latifi coming out onto the circuit straight away. An expected flurry of drivers never came, and only Schumacher and Hamilton ventured out the pits within the first four minutes.

Soon after, the track was as busy as expected and cars were flying around the 4.3-mile-long track, trying to time each fastest lap to the exact second. The current World Champion came storming around the track, putting in a fast lap of 1:44.581, almost half a second faster than Sainz in second place. The battle for pole was soon noted to be between the Spaniard and Verstappen's teammate Perez, due to the penalties handed out to the Dutchman and Leclerc.

Mercedes have been struggling throughout the practice sessions so far this weekend, despite many thinking that this could be their best chance this season to claim their first victory. That struggling continued in Q1, with both Russell and Hamilton finding it hard to find pace and drive with the car rather than against it.

As the session crept towards its end, Russell stated that it was spitting on team radio but that didn't affect any of the final flying laps. The Brit was able to move up to fifth, Hamilton was behind his teammate but the duo were soon split by Alex Albon. Yuki Tsunoda ruined his final flying lap by finding the run-off zone at the final chicane. Daniel Ricciardo had his lap time deleted due to track limits but was still able to claim a spot in Q2.

OUT IN Q1 - Vettel, Latifi, Magnussen, Tsunoda, Bottas

Albon and Leclerc highlight Q2 with final flying laps

Leclerc and Ricciardo were the only two drivers to not come onto the track as soon as the light went green for Q2. The Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Perez was seen at the top of the timing chart, as expected, but it wasn't Leclerc trailing behind. After the first set of flying laps, Sainz was 0.695 seconds down in third, followed closely by Ocon and Norris.

Leclerc had a shaky lap and was only able to best sixth, as the Monegasque dipped his rear left into the dirt and caused his car to be 'slippery in the apex of corners.' Ricciardo was the only driver not to set a time within the first 10 minutes of the session, whilst Russell and Hamilton struggled to find pace on used tyres and found themselves needing to gain time in order to move away from the elimination zone.

Heading into the final laps of Q2, the spotlight was on Albon, as he was looking to find a spot in Q3 for the first time this season. Only Verstappen and Perez stayed in the pits, with all the other drivers fearing a potential elimination. Norris was reported to be on used tyres in order to help give Ricciardo a tow, a move which was copied by Alpine with Ocon and Alonso.

Leclerc turned heads as he claimed the fastest lap of the session before Hamilton and Russell moved out of the elimination zone. Albon claimed the final spot of Q3, his first of the season, but only by 0.092 seconds, ahead of Ricciardo.

OUT IN Q2 - Ricciardo, Gasly, Zhou, Stroll, Schumacher

Verstappen fastest in Q3

Ferrari were being questioned by their own drivers at the start of Q3, as Leclerc was put onto new tyres, something he didn't agree with. After the first set of flying laps and penalty takers being removed, Sainz was on provisional pole, ahead of Perez, Russell and Albon.

On the final flying laps, Sainz couldn't find his groove and was scruffy throughout compared to his drivers behind.