Despite Max Verstappen securing an outstanding pole position at the rain-drenched Spa-Francorchamps, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari will lead the line-up for the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday. Verstappen outperformed during the qualifying rounds, however, due to his 10-place grid penalty caused by an engine change, he will kick off from merely the 11th position.
Leclerc’s advancement to the front line is aided by Verstappen’s descent, with Sergio Perez securing the second spot, closely followed by Lewis Hamilton, while Lando Norris will be the fourth to launch in his McLaren. Verstappen’s demotion is consequence of him claiming his fifth internal combustion engine for the season, which exceeds the permissible limit of four.
Nonetheless, Verstappen’s competitors will undoubtedly be wary of his presence in Sunday’s 44-lap race, considering he’s been triumphant in the last three Ardennes contests and consistently exhibited superior performance. Despite the slippery condition of the track, Verstappen outperformed by 1.4 seconds than any other drivers and maintained a two-second lead over Perez from Red Bull after their introductory trials.
Though by the end his lead over Leclerc was reduced to a mere 0.595 sec, Verstappen confirmed his prowess and is undoubtedly a tough competitor for Sunday’s race. Reflecting on his performance, he optimisticly anticipates a warmer, dry race day and hopes to advance steadily.
Leclerc was pleasantly surprised by his performance, attributing it to the challenging weather condition which led to a better than expected result. He alluded to a shift in strategy for a dry track, anticipating a fifth position otherwise. Regardless of the fortunate day for the team, Leclerc stressed the importance of preparing for the rain-free race day.
Norris, who could have potentially triumphed in the previous five races if not for blunders made by himself and his team, would have anticipated leveraging Verstappen’s penalty to his benefit. However, the Brit did not give any attention to Saturday’s races, and he may wish he’d opted for a new batch of intermediate tyres, akin to what Leclerc did, during the final phase of Q3. Just a week prior, McLaren boasted a one-two finish at the Hungaroring, but Oscar Piastri, earning his very first victory there, only managed to secure a sixth-place qualification, trailing by nearly nine-tenths. Notwithstanding, with the prediction of dry weather conditions on the race day, Norris, currently trailing by 76 points as Formula One heads into its final round before the summer hiatus, remains hopeful of advancing up the ranks.