Max Verstappen has no reason to complain. The world champion is the fastest in the Formula 1 qualifying in Belgium. But a penalty costs him pole position. Charles Leclerc benefits again.
Max Verstappen was in a good mood again on the pit radio. Despite his grid penalty, the Formula 1 World Champion from Red Bull was rightly pleased with his strong qualification in Belgium. “Can we call that pole?” Verstappen said jokingly in the light rain towards the command post after he had clearly distanced himself (+0.595 seconds) from Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari as the first pursuer in the last grid spot hunt before the summer break.
An unauthorized engine change earned the three-time world champion a ten-place penalty, which is why he has to start a comeback in Spa-Francorchamps, as he has done in the past. “I’m very happy. The car worked pretty well in the wet. I was able to just do my laps and try to set clean lap times in the wet,” said Verstappen, who recently complained about his own team over the radio in Hungary.
“We had some intensive discussions between Budapest and Spa,” said Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko on the TV channel Sky about his superstar, who was still constantly complaining at the previous Grand Prix. However, Verstappen did not complete a “etiquette course”.
As was the case last year, Leclerc benefited from the penalty against Verstappen in the Ardennes. The Monegasque will start his 25th career pole on Sunday (3 p.m./RTL and Sky) ahead of Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez, who is under great pressure. After poor performances in recent weeks, the Mexican is fighting for his regular cockpit for the coming season despite his current contract. “I hope that this will lead to a lasting high,” said Marko about Pérez.
Hülkenberg is dissatisfied
Record world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes is third in the Belgian Grand Prix, which, according to weather forecasts, will take place in dry conditions. Haas veteran Nico Hülkenberg did not get past 16th place in qualifying. “I had the feeling yesterday that things weren’t really going well in terms of harmony and balance. Unfortunately, that continued today,” complained Hülkenberg.
Red Bull, on the other hand, was extremely satisfied. “We are overjoyed with this starting grid, because the McLarens were not so strong in the rain. We can already set our sights on the podium,” said Marko. Lando Norris and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, who won the first race in Hungary last week, will start from fourth and fifth place.
But Verstappen doesn’t just want to overtake this duo quickly in order to end his mini-slump of three consecutive Grand Prix without a win. “I see it as a race to limit the damage,” said the 26-year-old, who has won in Belgium, where he was born, for the past three years. In 2022 and 2023, Verstappen was even given a penalty before racing to the top of the podium. But in those two years, his Red Bull was significantly more powerful than the competition’s cars.
Verstappen also needs luck
“We’re not making it easy for ourselves at the moment,” said Verstappen, who leads the World Championship standings by 76 points over Norris. “Today was a great day, but that was in the wet. We have to be fast in the dry tomorrow.”
Verstappen is preparing for a tough competition. “We will try to do our best. Hopefully we can beat Ferrari and Mercedes in front of us,” he said. “If we are lucky, we might be able to challenge McLaren too.”
Source: Stern
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