Red Bull’s Max Verstappen mastered the treacherous conditions at a rain-soaked Spa-Francorchamps track to seize pole position from surprise star George Russell in a crash-interrupted qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Dutchman lapped the track in 1min59.765sec.
Russell briefly looked like he would seize a shock pole in his Williams, with even Mercedes’s championship leader Lewis Hamilton unable to beat him, but was ultimately pipped by Verstappen with a lap that was 0.321 seconds quicker.
Hoping to join Hamilton at the champion team next season, Russell inadvertently ends up being a buffer between the seven-time champion, who will start third, and his Red Bull title rival.
“That was so difficult out there,” whooped Verstappen, who heads into Sunday’s race eight points behind Hamilton in the overall standings after having had a 33-point lead overturned in just two races. “We needed that.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris walked away from a heavy shunt during the final phase of qualifying that forced a 40-minute halt to the session.
The Briton, who had led the opening two parts of the qualifying hour, was the first driver out on track in the pole-position shootout when his car snapped out of control and smashed into the barriers at the fast Eau Rouge corner.
He was taken to the medical centre for checks.
“Should have had a good one there. I let you down; my bad,” Norris told his team over the radio.
Reuters
Belgian Grand Prix, qualifying times and positions
-
Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1min 59.765secs
-
George Russell (Gbr) Williams 2:00.086
-
Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 2:00.099
-
Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) McLaren 2:00.864
-
Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Aston Martin 2:00.935
-
Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia AlphaTauri 2:01.164
-
Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 2:02.112
-
Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 2:02.502
-
Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 2:03.513
-
Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren No Time Set
-
Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:57.721
-
Nicholas Latifi (Can) Williams 1:58.056
-
Carlos Sainz Jr (Spa) Ferrari 1:58.137
-
Fernando Alonso (Spa) Alpine 1:58.205
-
Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:58.231
-
Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing 2:02.306
-
Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Scuderia AlphaTauri 2:02.413
-
Mick Schumacher (Ger) Haas F1 2:03.973
-
Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 2:04.452
-
Nikita Mazepin (Raf) Haas F1 2:04.939
Belgian Grand Prix qualifying, as it happened
03:27 PM
That’s it from me today
What a riveting session in such tricky conditions. Plenty more action expected tomorrow in similar conditions. I cannot wait. We’ll be back on the live blog from around 12.30pm BST for all the build-up to the race, which begins at 2pm BST.
One final update on Lando Norris before we leave, in this statement from the FIA.
The FIA advises that, following an incident during Qualifying for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix today, 28/08/21, the driver of car #4, Lando Norris, has been taken to a local hospital for precautionary checks.
03:21 PM
Bottas will take a five-place penalty on the grid tomorrow
So that will demote him to 13th, depending on what happens with Lando Norris after his heavy shunt. Championship-wise, that’s Red Bull first and seventh and Mercedes third and 13th. Think both teams would have wanted their second drivers a bit further up…
03:14 PM
Strange to see these two up top together
Wonder what the start will be like tomorrow. The forecast is more of the same.
03:08 PM
Can I just say…
This 2021 F1 season is superb. Every single moment of it. Almost.
03:07 PM
Russell reacts to a front row start
He’s been there before… but not in a Williams.
03:05 PM
Hamilton speaks to Mark Webber
The rain is very heavy now. He shelters under an umbrella. He says he struggled a bit on his second lap. High standards he has but third isn’t too bad. He’s in the mix and was only a few tenths off Verstappen. Very nearly second, too. Despite being beaten by a Williams…
03:04 PM
Verstappen reacts to pole
It’s been a really tricky qualifying. It was hard to keep the car on track. Also the long break between Q2 and Q3 it’s not easy to settle in and learn the track conditions again. It’s an amazing track to drive but very challenging in the wet.
03:01 PM
George Russell is freakishly talented
03:00 PM
Belgian GP – Qualifying positions
-
VER 1:59.765
-
RUS (Yes, George Russell in a Williams) +0.321
-
HAM +0.334
-
RIC +1.099
-
VET +1.170
-
GAS +1.399
-
PER +2.347
-
BOT +2.797
-
OCO +3.478
-
NOR (no time)
02:58 PM
MAX VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE POSITION FOR THE 2021 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
Well done him, but I’m not sure that’s the story of the day…
George Russell! What a driver! What a statement. A front row start for Williams. I’m so pleased.
Hamilton third, Ricciardo fourth and Vettel fifth.
02:57 PM
Q3 – Can Verstappen do it!
Yes he does! By three tenths of a second! My word! What a lap from Verstappen but Russell’s lap in that Williams was astonishing…
A front row start for George Russell…! He nearly had pole!
02:56 PM
Q3 – Russell goes quickest!
By 1.466s… but for how long?
Verstappen is up…
Hamilton can’t beat Russell’s time!!!!!
Can Verstappen? Perez hasn’t…
Verstappen going well…
02:55 PM
Q3 – Final runs under way
Where is Russell at sector two? Still up on Hamilton? Yes! By 1.7s! Woooow.
Could Russell get pole here?!
Hamilton has improved by 1.3s in the middle sector, too…
Don’t forget Verstappen…
02:54 PM
Q3 – Pérez improves to go second
But still 0.560s off Hamilton.
Russell sets the fastest first sector half a second up in sector one!
Hamilton improves on his sector one time…
02:54 PM
Q3 – Current order and laps
Looks like Verstappen is doing the same as Hamilton in backing off on his next lap.
-
HAM
-
VER +0.973
-
BOT +1.541
-
VET +1.769
-
GAS +2.249
-
PER +2.461
-
RIC +2.518
-
OCO +3.521
-
NOR (no time)
-
RUS (no time)
Intermediates look fine as it is, though. Nobody with any real dangerous moments.
Pérez crossing the line soon… can he improve from sixth?
02:52 PM
Q3 – Hamilton had a mighty middle sector there
He backs off on his next lap, so he will probably only get one more lap. Verstappen may get three hot laps compared to Hamilton’s two…
02:51 PM
Q3 – Hamilton sets a 56.1 in the middle sector
Verstappen a 56.9…
Hamilton posts a 2:01.552… Bottas 1.5s off his time.
What about Verstappen? I think Hamilton has this one? He does… by nearly a second.
02:50 PM
Q3 – Hamilton starts his hot lap
Holding my breath a bit watching this. So supremely skilled, though. Hamilton sets a 34.0 in sector one. Bottas a couple of tenths off. Verstappen? Even quicker than both of them. Hamilton makes a bit of a mess at Pouhon which will lose him a fair bit of time…
Pérez a fair way off Verstappen in sector one alone…
02:48 PM
Q3 – Not much margin for error on the intermdiates
Keep it on the racing line…
I am not sure about this to be honest. Ocon is, though, he comes in to change onto the intermediates! They should know, in fairness. Still a lot of spray.
02:47 PM
Q3 – Some drivers even going out on intermediates
So strange when that happens. But there we are. In fact, most cars out on the intermediates. This could be interesting indeed. Hamilton told to come straight back in if he’s not comfortable.
02:46 PM
Q3 resumes
Nine minutes or so on the clock. Ocon out on full wets.
02:44 PM
SESSION TO RESUME AT 1543 BST
Okay, there we go. There is still some standing water out there but hopefully we can get throughout without any more red flags.
02:38 PM
Hamilton and Verstappen still in their cars
The session was red flagged 30 minutes ago and I have no idea when it will restart. When it does there will be 8:59 left on the clock, whether that is today or tomorrow morning.
It is of course very wet but not as wet as it was a few months ago…
02:35 PM
A few more pics of Norris’s wrecked McLaren
He was definitely in with a shout of pole position today. Definitely. Maybe even favourite.
02:33 PM
Weather update Pt 75
Nope. It’s heavy rain again in the pit lane. Ahhhh, classic Spa.
02:30 PM
Weather update Pt 74
It looks to have stopped raining quite as hard and there are a few pockets of blue sky at La Source, above the pit lane. The Safety Car is doing a couple of exploratory laps out there.
02:25 PM
Weather update
The rain is heavier than ever, I’m afraid.
02:22 PM
A couple of opinions from drivers/ex-drivers/pundits on how to tweak the track
02:21 PM
The rain is still falling
Though not especially heavily. Steady enough. No word on when the session might resume. Think it is likely to be a pit lane start for Norris tomorrow. So much concrete dust scattered across the track at the top of Raidillon to absorb all the oil. This could be quite the clean-up effort.
02:17 PM
Vettel stops as Norris crashes
We have had an awful lot of heavy crashes there in the last couple of years. It is such a memorable and challenging corner, especially in damp conditions, but is it time for it to change?
Carlos Sainz says it shows that the corner needs a bit of fine tuning as he speaks to Sky Sports F1. He was eliminated in Q2 and was 13th.
02:14 PM
As I said at the start of the session…
In those situations we just wait for someone to spin or crash before red flagging. Could it have been avoided? Or was it inevitable that someone was going to crash whether there or somewhere else? It’s hard to say.
02:11 PM
Vettel unhappy with the decision not to red flag that before Norris’s crash
“Yep…. well. What the f— did I say? What did I say?! Red flag! F—. It’s unnecessary – is he okay?” he says on the team radio.
02:08 PM
RED FLAG – Nobody had set a time
And just under nine minutes left on the clock. A fair bit of mess to clear up and barriers to repair on the track. And that’s without paying attention to what the weather does around the rest of the track.
02:07 PM
Norris lost it at the top of Raidillon
He nearly caught it. Actually he lost the rear end first and then it went around the other way as he tried to collect the slide. And ended in a big crash, though he did continue for another few hundred metres rather than coming to a sudden stop.
02:05 PM
RED FLAG
Lando Norris has had a huge crash at Eau Rouge/Raidillon and the McLaren mechanics look on concerned…
Vettel is the first driver at the scene and stops but it seems Norris is okay. He is on the radio and sounds winded. Not sure exactly what happened as the helicopter cam was on and we lost the shot under the tree canopy.
That is the danger, really. It clearly looked too wet to continue but it’s only a spin or a crash that tends to bring out the red flag unless the rain is biblical.
02:03 PM
Q3 – Not sure all the teams have the right tyres on
A bit of a scramble at Mercedes to get the wets on. Six cars currently out on track including Norris, Gasly, Vettel, Russell, Ricciardo, Ocon. Vettel says it should be red flagged.
Norris says there is a bit of aquaplaning. I don’t think it will be red-flagged until someone spins or crashes, though.
Visibilty extremely low and now everyone is out on track.
02:01 PM
Q3 begins – 12 minutes remain
It is TREMENDOUSLY gloomy and the cars are out on the wets again.
02:01 PM
Another impressive performance from Russell
And Lando Norris has been his usual excellent self. He is right in the fight for pole here.
“—-, —-. Ah man that was such —-!”
Lance Stroll not very happy with how his Q2 panned out.
02:00 PM
Guess what, weather fans…
The rain is here again… fairly heavy, too. Fun!
01:59 PM
Hamilton on the radio
“That was way too close, guys.”
It was quite close, but he made it. They may have been at the mercy of yellow flags or any spinners ahead. Mercedes made some questionable calls in that session and ended up using three different set of intermediate tyres, too. Not ideal.
01:57 PM
Q2 – Top 10
These men are through to Q3.
-
NOR 1:56.025
-
HAM +0.204
-
BOT +0.270
-
GAS +0.415
-
VER +0.534
-
VET +0.789
-
PER +0.861
-
RUS +0.925
-
RIC +1.102
-
OCO +1.329
01:55 PM
Q2 – Drivers out
11. LEC
12. LAT
13. SAI
14. ALO
15. STR
01:55 PM
Q2 – Alonso the last man over the line
But it’s only 14th… he’s out.
Ocon sneaks through in 10th. Ricciardo too, in ninth, at the very death. He needed that.
01:54 PM
Q2 – Where do Hamilton and Bottas end up?
Norris goes quickest by half a second.
Hamilton goes second behind him and Bottas follows behind in third. Gasly fourth.
What does that mean for those down the order?
Sainz is out! As is Latifi.
01:53 PM
Q2 – Bottas and Hamilton ON IT
Both set fastest sector times in the first section of the track. Encouraging on their new set of intermediate tyres. They have used a lot of them so far.
01:52 PM
Q2 – Hamilton is usually so good in situations like these
A yellow flag here or a slow car there could cost him. It’s quite twitchy for them from where I am sitting, though.
Vettel going well, quickest of anyone in sector one. He is currently in fifth. Still no real sign of that rain that is supposed to be arriving, mind you…
01:50 PM
Q2 – Sainz goes seventh
That pushes Leclerc into the drop zone. Hamilton and Bottas come in again to go onto fresh intermediates…
They probably need to improve to guarantee staying in. It’s quite tight for them… Leclerc, if he improves, will push Hamilton down into the elimination zone.
He does…
Hamilton AND Bottas now in the bottom five. They will both need to improve on their one remaining hot lap if they are to get into Q3.
01:49 PM
Q2 – Verstappen goes quickest
Pérez third. Here’s the top 10…
-
VER
-
NOR
-
PER
-
VET
-
GAS
-
ROC
-
STR
-
RUS
-
HAM
-
LEC
Hamilton not 100 per cent safe, here.
01:48 PM
Q2 – Drivers in the drop zone
11. BOT
12. SAI
13. LAT
14. OCO
15. ALO
01:48 PM
Q2 – Does Hamilton get into the top 10?
Yes he does… what about Bottas? Ninth…
But that’s not necessarily safe for either of them. Ocon doesn’t improve to get out of the drop zone, can Ricciardo? Or Alonso? Ricciardo will, in fifth. Fernando… No!
Five minutes remain…
01:47 PM
Q2 – How does Hamilton do in his second sector here?
It looks a little tentative, but he’s 0.624s up on where he needs to be to get out. So it’s marginal, but he might… might just be okay here.
01:46 PM
Q2 – Hamilton went quickest in sector one
But he’s three seconds off the pace after sector two. Not sure if he’s abandoned his lap… eventually he does. May have locked up somewhere. Puts himself under a bit of pressure to produce on his next lap, though.
Has the rain started to come in in the second sector? Not sure. Doesn’t look too bad. Bottas didn’t make a good effort on his lap, he is also in the drop zone… in 14th.
01:44 PM
Q2 – Ricciardo fourth…
But still a long way off his team-mate – 1.7s to be precise. Leclerc into third. Norris has his McLaren hooked up, though. So does Vettel with his Aston Martin, as he moves second.
Here’s a quick update on the order as Hamilton starts his lap:
-
NOR
-
VER
-
VET
-
GAS
-
PER
-
LEC
-
STR
-
RUS
-
RIC
-
SAI
DROP ZONE: -
LAT
-
OCO
-
ALO
-
HAM (no time)
-
BOT (no time)
01:43 PM
Q2 – 11 minutes remain
Norris going well but nearly loses it at the start of the final sector. It’s fine, but will have cost him a couple of tenths. It is starting to get very dark at the bottom of the track…
Norris posts a 1:57.235, Latifi 2.1s off that and Russell 1.7s of Norris too. Sainz splits the Williams cars as Gasly goes second behind Norris. 0.7s off the pace.
01:41 PM
Q2 – Looks like the Mercedes are the only team on used inters
That said, they bring Hamilton in again to change for fresh inters. That could be wise, depending on when the rain might come. It could still be costly but if the rain comes in the next four or five minutes he should be okay. Bottas also comes in to change his tyres.
01:39 PM
Q2 begins – 15 minutes remain
Another session of potential danger. Rain in five minutes according to Ferrari. I’ll believe it when I see it.
01:38 PM
Both Williams cars through
Bit of a jam in the pit lane as we wait for Q2 to begin. Doesn’t seem to be raining again, so intermediates definitely the correct tyres again.
01:34 PM
Q1 – Top 15
These drivers are through to Q2. More rain didn’t come in the end.
-
NOR 1:58.301
-
VER +0.416
-
HAM +0.917
-
PER +1.033
-
RUS +1.563
-
BOT +1.569
-
VET +1.874
-
GAS +2.086
-
LEC +2.437
-
LAT +2.665
-
SAI +2.883
-
RIC +3.282
-
STR +3.296
-
ALO +3.352
-
OCO +3.523
01:33 PM
Q1 ends – Norris quickest
Drivers out: GIO, TSU, MSC, RAI, MAZ
01:33 PM
Q1 – Final laps being finished
Pérez into fourth, Ricciardo is safe now and I think Ocon too. Mazepin the only man who could knock him out but that is not going to happen now.
01:32 PM
Q1 – Not good from Ricciardo…
This is his last lap, can he get into the top 15? Yes, but only 12th. I don’t think that will be good enough.
Verstappen moves quickest, Norris then beats it with a time 0.4s quicker. Hamilton says he can’t go any faster because of the car ahead but he should be fine with his time.
Raikkonen and Giovinazzi confirmed out. Ricciardo looking a bit safer here. Ocon now in 15th looking over his shoulder…
01:30 PM
Q1 – Hamilton makes a bit of a mess of the final sector
But manages to get it around and goes second. Vettel in severe danger here. Bottas looking better, going fourth. Sainz moves up to ninth. Would be worried for Alonso and Giovinazzi here.
Vettel goes around again, this looks much better… he moves up to 10th, pushing Ricciardo into the drop zone for now. It will be Ricciardo’s last lap so he needs to nail it here.
01:29 PM
Q1 – Top 15
-
NOR
-
VER
-
RUS
-
PER
-
HAM
-
LAT
-
GAS
-
LEC
-
BOT
-
STR
-
OCO
-
RIC
-
SAI
-
ALO
-
GIO
01:29 PM
Q1 – Two minutes remain
Vettel not going very well, 10 seconds off the pace. Tsunoda there now. Hamilton goes quickest in sector one and looks fairly hooked up.
Norris still leads the way from Verstappen, Russell and Pérez.
01:28 PM
Q1 – Hamilton goes fourth
Drivers in the drop zone:
Schumacher, Stroll, Vettel, Alonso, Mazepin
Bottas has just removed himself but only enough to seventh. Not sure how this is going to pan out…
01:27 PM
Q1 – Russell looking good
He goes top again briefly before Verstappen beats them all and then Norris takes his place, 0.830s quicker than the Dutchman. Hamilton is currently just ahead of the drop zone but looks to be on a decent lap here, so he should be fine if he doesn’t make a mistake.
01:26 PM
Q1 – Pérez goes quickest
He knocks Sainz off the top, Ricciardo then beats them all by a marginal gap.
Then it’s Leclerc’s turn to go top!
01:26 PM
Q1 – Trouble for Hamilton?
He was one of the last to go onto the intermediates so he might struggle to get a lap in before the rain comes… as others go quicker and quicker. It was a slow change for the intermediates which didn’t help but might not be critical.
Pérez looking quick, quickest overall in sector two. This is hard to keep track of. Five minutes remain.
01:24 PM
Q1 – Still a few drivers out there on the wets
Hamilton dives in now. It could be all about timing here. One mistake on your final lap and you don’t get over the line again and that could be it for you. A lot at stake for the top drivers, however good they are.
Bottas told that rain is imminent in the next two minutes…
Ocon on a decent lap here but might not trouble Russell. He goes third, 1.6s behind the two Williams cars.
01:22 PM
Q1 – Pérez coming in for the inters
And I think many others will end up joining him. They’ll all load up on fuel and probably go for three or four quick laps on their intermediates as the lap times tumble.
01:21 PM
Q1 – 10 minutes remain
Here’s the order so far.
-
RUS
-
LAT
-
NOR
-
VER
-
BOT
-
HAM
-
GAS
-
PER
-
LEC
-
TSU
-
GIO
-
RIC
-
ALO
-
STR
-
SAI
DROP ZONE: -
RAI
-
MSC
-
VET
-
MAZ
-
OCO (no time)
01:20 PM
Q1 – Russell going well again on his intermediates as he stayed out
Pérez pops up into being quickest. The track will be drying very quickly here. Intermediates will soon 100 per cent be the best tyres, without doubt.
Verstappen then goes quickest, but Russell smashes it by 5.5 seconds!
01:18 PM
Q1 – Russell sets a time of 2:11.727
That’s quicker than Norris by four seconds and 1.8 from Raikkonen, who both set their times on the wets. I think intermediates are the best tyres despite Russell having to lift.
Gasly then goes quickest and Hamilton goes a tenth behind him…
01:17 PM
Q1 – This is F1’s longest track
So traffic shouldn’t be a problem. A long out lap, especially in conditions like this, can mean that you are at the mercy of yellow and red flags and can easily end up without a time set and out of the session.
George Russell gets going on his hot lap on intermediates. It doesn’t seem to be too bad on those but Russell is quicker in the first sector.
Having said that, Latifi has spun at the bottom of the track and that ends up making a mess of his team-mate’s lap as he has to lift off.
01:13 PM
Q1 – 18 minutes remain
The Williams cars at the front of the pit lane queue are on intermediates, which could be the right decision. Or the wrong one. To state the obvious. It might be marginal soon enough.
01:13 PM
Q1 BEGINS!
18 minutes to go. Just over a 10-minute delay.
01:08 PM
QUALIFYING TO BEGIN AT 1412BST
So in about four minutes’ time.
01:07 PM
Would say that Budkowski is right
I don’t think we’re far off some running here. Teams are starting to dry their pit boxes and making some final adjustments, a slight change to the Mercedes rear wing, it seems.
01:04 PM
Marcin Budkowski of Alpine speaks to Sky Sports
He says it’s pretty close to runnable with full wets in these conditions. Looks like the sun has now come out in the pit lane and paddock… of course it has.
01:02 PM
SC still going around
It’s not absolutely appalling but I think too much standing water to get started now. It won’t take too long for the F1 cars to create a dry line, though, if the rain does stop and ease up.
That said, it can be ready on part of the circuit but not another.
12:59 PM
START OF QUALIFYING DELAYED
Until when? We do not know, but there will be a five-minute warning. It is still raining currently. This is not much of a surprise.
12:53 PM
I think if this does start on time…
…then it will be on full wet tyres… it is looking like a big if, though, especially given the nature of the circuit. The Safety Car is currently circulating.
Quick reminder that, because of the crash he caused at the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas takes a five-place grid penalty for this race. That could be handy for Red Bull if he ends up starting towards the back end of the top 10.
12:50 PM
Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton: Who holds the edge in F1’s gripping title fight
F1 returns from the summer break in Belgium this weekend, and we look at where the land lies heading into the season’s critical period.
12:44 PM
Current conditions at Spa…
Marginal/doubtful whether they would start in this. Poor old Natalie Pinkham on Sky Sports F1 is sheltering in the paddock as she presents her bit to camera.
12:40 PM
Mercedes vs Red Bull in qualifying trim
The chart compares them in qualifying over the season, compared to the quickest overall lap in qualifying. Just 0.007 per cent separates them on average. Almost nothing. But here you can see how they stack up against one another. A score of 100.000 per cent represents the quickest lap of the weekend, 101.000 would be one per cent off, or one second on a theoretical 1:40 lap.
It’s raining fairly steadily again at the circuit. Or at least in the pits, it’s the longest track on the calendar and is in the forest, so a good chance if it’s raining at La Source it won’t be at Pouhon.
12:34 PM
Weather update
Think the rain has slowed or stopped a little, but more likely during the session. Hopefully we’ll be able to get going on time. Nobody likes a lengthy delay.
12:26 PM
Constructor standings after 11 rounds
It’s tight at the top (and for third)…
12:19 PM
Verstappen topped second and third practice
But did end up in the barriers yesterday…
12:13 PM
Driver standings after 11 rounds – Top 12
Not much in it. In fact, eight points is fairly negligible.
12:10 PM
Just as I say that…
The rain has got significantly heavier. The F3 race this morning ran for several formation laps behind the Safety Car and then the start procedure was abandoned before it eventually got going.
12:05 PM
Still pretty damp in Belgium
Rain falling but not at a massive rate. But a little drizzly. Not very warm out there, either. Just under an hour to go. Who doesn’t love F1 in the wet?
12:01 PM
F1 calendar update: 22 race season looks likely, with possible Qatar Grand Prix
F1 have unveiled the provisional remainder of the season, with a few chops and changes since the last edition was published. There’s a chance that we could have the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix in the vacant slot, to end with three races in the middle east. Read more about that from Phil Duncan here.
11:54 AM
Times after final practice
-
Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1min 56.924secs
-
Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 1:57.871
-
Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:57.996
-
Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:58.509
-
Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 1:58.913
-
Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:59.205
-
Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:59.324
-
Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Aston Martin 1:59.436
-
George Russell (Gbr) Williams 1:59.492
-
Fernando Alonso (Spa) Alpine 1:59.613
-
Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:59.808
-
Nicholas Latifi (Can) Williams 1:59.981
-
Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) McLaren 2:00.456
-
Carlos Sainz Jr (Spa) Ferrari 2:00.749
-
Mick Schumacher (Ger) Haas F1 2:01.269
-
Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 2:01.370
-
Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Scuderia AlphaTauri 2:01.510
-
Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing 2:01.512
-
Nikita Mazepin (Raf) Haas F1 2:01.792
-
Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 2:04.382
11:00 AM
Good afternoon F1 fans
And welcome again to Telegraph Sport‘s Formula One coverage as the grid returns after the summer break. It always feels quite long, doesn’t it? Especially in the era of races coming thick and fast as they tend to do these days. Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes lead the way in their respective championships – an outcome that looked unlikely when they trailed heading into the British Grand Prix. Either way, Max Verstappen and Red Bull have some ground to claw back after a couple of near disastrous races, marred by controversy and crashes.
Spa-Francorchamps is often a great place for a race and it is also quite often a place where the weather plays a part. It looks that way this weekend, with rain falling at various points yesterday – though there was a good amount of running in the dry, though Charles Leclerc and Verstappen still managed to crash, however, ending their sessions.
It continued today as final practice began in the damp, got a bit dryer and then a bit more rain fell before stopping in the final 15 minutes. Lando Norris was brave for McLaren, going out on a set of dry tyres with three minutes remaining but came straight back into the pits without setting a time. The forecast for the rest of the day and indeed weekend is for more of the same. That should spice things up a little. That said, the cream rises to the top in difficult conditions, and Verstappen and Hamilton are two of the best in the wet. You never know, we could have Lance Stroll on pole or something wacky.
Verstappen ended it all quickest with a time of 1:56.924, ahead of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez. Not entirely sure how much we should read into all of these times but Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, in the Mercedes cars, were third and 11th, with Lando Norris fourth and Esteban Ocon fifth for McLaren and Alpine respectively.
Qualifying begins at 2pm BST and we will be here for all the build-up, live updates and reaction from what could be another gripping qualifying session.