Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who was 0.632 seconds slower than Verstappen, inherited first place on the grid for the race on Sunday (3 p.m./live ServusTV and Sky) in Spa.
The Spaniard is at the front for the second time. Next to him, the Mexican Sergio Perez (+0.797) will start in the Red Bull. Charles Leclerc (+0.888), Verstappen’s biggest rival in the World Championship fight, will also start at the end of the field despite the fourth fastest time. The Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso form the second row of the grid, followed by the Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Seven drivers fined
Due to various penalties, a total of seven drivers will start the race from further back in the field. Also penalized were Lando Norris (McLaren), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu (both Alfa Romeo) and Mick Schumacher (Haas). On the traditional track in Belgium, overtaking maneuvers are easier than on other tracks due to several high-speed passages, so a penalty transfer is easier to cope with. Verstappen will start the race from 14th place, Leclerc from 15th grid position.
“You can overtake here and we have coordinated it so that we can have a really good top speed in connection with DRS, and that should at least bring you close to the podium,” said Red Bulls motorsport advisor Helmut Marko on Sky. Before the 14th of 22 races of the season, Verstappen has a clear lead of 80 points over Leclerc in the overall standings.
Qualifying started 25 minutes late after a track barrier had to be repaired due to an accident in the Porsche Supercup.
Source: Nachrichten
