Belgian Grand Prix: Verstappen takes pole, but he will not start there Sunday

As dawn breaks at the historic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the sun rises on the final Friday ahead of Formula 1’s summer shutdown.

And what a critical Friday it is.

The final race ahead of the summer break, this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, is the third F1 Sprint race of the 2023 calendar. As a result, the teams get just one hour of practice ahead of qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix. Making matters perhaps more complicated, weather could be an issue, as it often is at Spa. Forecasts are calling for rain during that solitary practice session, as well as during qualifying itself.

So it might be a very interesting day indeed.

We will have it covered for you with live analysis of Friday’s qualifying session as it unfolds. Qualifying for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix gets underway just before 11:00 a.m. Eastern, but check back before then for analysis of Friday’s practice session and more.

Note: All updates are in Eastern time.

Update 12:26: Verstappen talks trackside about nearly being out in Q2. “It was very tight ... my final lap I just didn’t have that confidence in Q2 to push more.”

“I know that I have to drop back on Sunday because of the penalty I have, but it was the best that I could do today.”

“Last year I had more penalties and I could still win the race,” said Verstappen, reminding us all that starting sixth is not that big of a hurdle for him.

Update 12:24: “Not a bad qualifying for us,” says Leclerc. “We have a great starting position for Sunday.”

Update 12:23: Pérez finished in P3, and will start second Sunday. He calls it a “very tricky” qualifying in his track-side interview. “I think in these conditions it was good, and we had a good one.”

Update 12:21: Here is how the top ten finished in Q3:

Update 12:19: Verstappen indeed takes pole, but the penalty will drop him into P6. That means ... Leclerc on pole Sunday, alongside Pérez in P2.

Update 12:18: Piastri put together a tremendous second sector, but he comes in P3 behind the two Ferrari drivers. Same for Norris.

Verstappen jumps to P1, but remember he is facing the penalty.

Update 12:14: Hamilton and Russell come around to make one final set of changes. All ten drivers are out on the track with now under two minutes to go. That will give each of them time for their out lap, and a final push.

Update 12:13: Eight of the ten drivers left are in the pits, leaving only the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Russell on the grid.

Update 12:10: First set of times are coming in, and it is Leclerc up top ahead of Verstappen, followed by Sainz. The McLaren duo of Piastri and Norris are in P4 and P5, respectively.

Update 12:07: Should Piastri go on and win pole, he would be the first rookie to qualify on pole since?

Nico Hülkenberg at the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix.

So, yeah.

Update 12:05: Green light as Spa as the third and final qualifying session gets underway.

Update 12:04: Could this be McLaren’s day?

Update 12:01: Some spicy radio from Verstappen to his engineer. “I don’t give a **** about P10.” It seemed that Verstappen wanted to do three fast laps, but was given the order to go fast-slow-fast to make sure they had conserved energy for that second push lap.

Update 11:56: Here is the classification for Q2:

Concerns for Red Bull?

Update 11:55: A yellow flag is out for some gravel on the track. Q3 has been delayed according to F1.

Update 11:52: Verstappen survives. He was sitting in P10 with both Gasly and Magnussen left to finish, but neither jumped ahead of him. Verstappen advances to Q3, but just barely.

Tsunoda, Gasly, Magnussen, Bottas, and Ocon are the five drivers eliminated. That gives you a clear picture of how fast the times came down, as. Tsunoda was sitting P1 with just seconds remaining in Q2.

Update 11:51: Norris delivers, jumping up to P1. Bottas jumps up tp P3 as well. Times are cratering.

Tsunoda then jumps to P1 for seconds, who is then nipped by Piastri. Hamilton into P2 ahead of Tsunoda. Stroll then jumps both. The driver at risk at the moment? Verstappen who is in P10.

Update 11:50: Hamilton gets up to P4.

All the drivers but for Ocon are on the track, and on the softs.

Pérez jumps up to P1.

Update 11:48: Ocon slides off the track and into the wall coming into Turn 9, and takes some damage to his front wing. He makes it back into the pits and the team will look to switch out his front wing.

Verstappen had a time deleted for exceeding track limits.

Update 11:46: Five minutes remaining in Q2, and the current bottom five: Sainz, Hamilton, Russell, Stroll, and Norris.

Update 11:44: Norris bails on his out lap to come into the pits, making the switch to slicks.

Update 11:43: The first to make the move to slicks? Valtteri Bottas, who pitted and is coming out on a set of soft tyres.

Update 11:42: Norris has left the garage and is on an out lap.

Red Bull currently has the top two times, with Pérez in P2 behind Verstappen. But remember that Verstappen is facing a five-place grid penalty as the team is using his fifth gearbox of the season this weekend, one more than the allotment of four the teams are given for a season.

Update 11:41: The first set of times are in and your current top three? Piastri, Magnussen, and Bottas.

You do not see that every weekend.

Update 11:40: 14 of the 15 cars are on the track. The only car still in the garage is that of Norris, as the team must be worried about something on his MCL60 after sliding into the gravel during Q1.

Update 11:38: Piastri tells his team over the radio that it will be time for slicks soon.

Update 11:37: Green light for Q2. Mercedes tells Hamilton that they do not expect rain anytime soon, and that they also expect the track to start drying out shortly.

F1TV predicts that by the end of Q2 the teams will make the move to the slick compounds.

Update 11:35: So as is tradition, Leclerc gets the photo of honor for Q2 following his performance in Q1. But this photo with Stroll was just too good to pass up.

Might we see some teams switch to slicks in Q2 with the surface drying at Spa? We’ll know in a few moments.

Update 11:33: Here is the classification from Q1:

Hope for Ferrari?

Update 11:30: Ricciardo jumps up to P6 with his final lap, but his time gets deleted due to exceeding track limits. Heart-breaking moment for him as he will be eliminated as a result.

Charles Leclerc jumps into P1 with a lap that he dearly needed.

The five drivers eliminated, at least for the moment: Albon, Zhou, Sargeant, Ricciardo, and Hülkenberg.

Update 11:29: Under a minute to go in Q1 and things are getting tight. Magnussen posts a very strong lap — including the fastest third sector yet — to jump into P9.

Lance Stroll is currently in the bottom five.

Update 11:27: Hamilton jumps to the top of the time sheets, followed by Verstappen, Piastri, Russell, and Ocon in the top five. The track conditions seem to be improving and the times are coming down.

Update 11:24: Bottas immediately posts a banger of a lap and jumps up to P6.

Update 11:23: Just over five minutes remaining in Q1 and the current bottom five consists of: Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hülkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant. Sargeant has yet to set a time as Williams is changing out a gearbox on his FW45.

Update 11:19: Norris slides off the track at Turn 15 and into the gravel, and McLaren is worried about some front wing damage to his MCL60.

Update 11:15: Hamilton and Russell post the first two times of the session, with Hamilton in P1 and Russell in P2. Both drivers had to navigate some traffic at the end of their lap.

However, Norris immediately nips them for P1. He might be someone to watch given his ability in wet conditions.

Update 11:11: Green light at Spa, which means as is tradition around here ... Opening Titles! Now with Ricciardo:

Update 11:05: George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have already lined up at the start to await the green flag, with the Alfa Romeo duo of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu behind them.

Gives us a chance to highlight the incredible helmet Bottas has this week.

Update 11:04: Important F1 content:

Update 10:57: Thanks to his P1 in the single practice session, Carlos Sainz Jr. gets our photo of honor for Q1.

As noted below, Q1 has been delayed by ten minutes.

Update 10:54: Word from Spa that qualifying has been delayed by ten minutes. Perhaps F1 officials are hoping for more improved conditions with a few more minutes, as they work on clearing water from the track:

Update 10:49: Blue skies are visible at Spa on the F1TV pre-qualifying show. So, maybe the conditions improve?

Update 10:40: During the pre-qualifying show on F1TV a clip of Interim Team Principal Bruno Famin at Alpine is played, which Will Buxton perfectly describes as a “waffle of banality and nothingness.”

Incredible.

Update 9:05: While we wait for qualifying some shocking news from Alpine. After reports surfaced, the team confirmed the dismissals of Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer and Sporting Director Alan Permane.

Both will depart the team following the Belgian Grand Prix.

Update 8:39: See, I was not kidding. P20 for Verstappen:

Update 8:34: Practice has concluded, and the top three from the session are Sainz, Oscar Piastri, and Lando Norris.

Five drivers failed to set a time during the session: Sargeant, Lance Stroll, the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, and Verstappen.

So ... technically ... Verstappen finished last. I’m fighting the urge to update the headline for this story with “Shocking last-place finish from Max Verstappen.”

Update 8:20: Practice has resumed, and the only two drivers on the track are Verstappen and Pérez.

Update 8:10: Practice is still under the red flag.

Here is how things stand on the time sheets:

Update 8:04: The red flag is out as Logan Sargeant slides off at Les Combes and into the wall:

Update 8:00: According to F1 journalist Albert Fabrega, should F1 be unable to hold a qualifying session for the Grand Prix, the starting order will be determined by the driver’s standings.

Update 7:50: According to RaceFans, the teams have been informed that practice times will not be used to set the grid for the Grand Prix. F1 is prepared to cancel sessions on Saturday to make sure a full qualifying session for the Grand Prix takes place.

Meanwhile Carlos Sainz Jr. is the only driver on the track.

Update 7:44: All 20 cars are in their respective garages at the moment due to the conditions.

Of the times that have been posted, here is the leaderboard:

For comparison’s sake, Verstappen qualified on pole at Spa a season ago with a lap time of 1:43.665.

Update 7:37: Will Buxton on F1TV describes the conditions along pit lane as an “absolute downpour.”

Update 7:36: Albon slides off the track, as it seems the intermediates are not offering enough grip in these conditions. He brings his Williams back to the pits.

Update 7:34: The only practice session of the week is underway, and the rain is falling. Alex Albon and Lewis Hamilton are the first two drivers on the circuit, Hamilton on the full wet compound while Albon is on the intermediates.

Update 6:17: The other big story to watch at Spa? The weather. Rain is often a factor at the Belgian Grand Prix, and this weekend looks to be no different.

Weather — and visibility — was a big topic of discussion during Thursday’s media day. Mercedes driver George Russell, who serves as the director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, floated the idea of the race being canceled because of rain and/or poor visibility.

“Obviously to have a race cancelled is not perfect for anybody, but we don’t want to see another huge incident that we have just seen,” said Russell. “The conditions are safe and suitable enough to drive for one Formula One car. But when you have got 20 cars on track at once, anybody from third position backwards literally cannot see 20, 30, 40 meters ahead of them.”

Earlier this month 18-year-old driver Dilano Van‘t Hoff tragically passed away after a crash in a Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) event at Spa that was held in rainy conditions.

“We have no visibility whatsoever. To give it some perspective, it is like driving down the motorway in pouring rain, and turning your windscreen wipers off. That is how it feels in the cockpit,” added Russell.

“It was only a matter of time before the incident in the FRECA race happened. Drivers do not go flat out on the straight because they cannot see, someone gets rear-ended, and then there is a car in the middle of the track.”

Update 6:05: The first big news of the day? Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is facing a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s Grand Prix. According to multiple outlets, Red Bull has fitted his RB19 with a new gearbox, the fifth of the season. That exceeds the allotment of four for each team, and thus the penalty.

However, it is likely not going to cause a problem for Verstappen. First off, the RB19 is suited well for Spa, given the track’s long straights. Second, there is a bit of history at work. At last year’s Belgian Grand Prix Verstappen qualified on pole, but faced a number of grid penalties, dropping him to 14th at the start of the race.

He was into the points by the end of the first lap, and was leading by Lap 12. He would go on to win the race, finishing 17 seconds ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez.