Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) took pole position in the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Saturday at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, ahead of Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull).
Dutch World Championship leader Max Verstappen (Red Bull) set the fastest time in qualifying, but will only start 15th on the grid on Sunday due to a penalty for over-quota mechanical parts changes allowed.
His pursuer Charles Leclerc, who has 80 points less before this 14th round (out of 22), set the 4th fastest time in qualifying.
But, penalized for the same reasons, he will start just behind him in 16th place.
Hamilton and Alonso on the second row
"I'm happy to start on pole but I'm not so happy when I see the gap we have with Max", relativized Sainz, who signed the 2nd pole position of his career but finished 632/1000th behind Verstappen.
“We have to understand why they are so fast on this circuit”.
Behind Sainz, 5th in the championship, Pérez also has a card to play: he is 3rd overall, just 5 points behind Leclerc.
In the second row, we will find two former world champions: Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), looking for their first victory this season.