It had been absolutely hosing it down with rain at Spa Francorchamps and so we were facing a delayed start to qualifying session for the 2023 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix getting under way, if the session would able to happen at all.
The rain arrived midway through the Formula 2 qualifying – that session was never red flagged due to the rain but no driver ventured out once the downpour came with lap times already on the board. The FIA confirmed earlier today that the grid for Sunday’s race will be set by championship order in the event qualifying is unable to take place over the weekend.
The governing body says having a qualifying session for Sunday’s race will be a priority and other sessions of this Sprint weekend will be cancelled or rescheduled in order to try and ensure main qualifying can take place.
The FIA says: “We can confirm that the teams have been informed that Free Practice will not be used to set the grid for either the Sprint or the Grand Prix this weekend. This has been done to ensure that teams do not treat the first session of the weekend as a competitive session. While the situation regarding the weather is constantly evolving, the priority will be to run a qualifying session for the Grand Prix. Other sessions may be cancelled or rescheduled to facilitate this, and if it is impossible to run a qualifying then the grid will be set by championship order.”
We then received confirmation that the start of Qualifying was pushed back by 10 minutes after that slightly late finish to the F2 Qualifying that preceded it. That means we the start was moved to 4:10pm.
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It was looking pretty bleak with 20 or so minutes before the start as a heavy downpour fell around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, but the skies cleared at what appeared to be the perfect moment. As things stood, we were in for a thrilling session on a drying circuit, where just about every driver – even world championship leader Max Verstappen – was likely to be at risk of a Q1 exit. After plenty of waiting around under umbrellas, the thousands of fans who braved the conditions here in Belgium looked set to get a much deserved treat.
Here we went then, Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix was go! These were critical laps if more rain arrived. If there was no more wet weather, there was a good chance to get a dry track in Q2 or Q3. Spa-Francorchamps is the longest lap on the calendar, so we will probably have laps over two minutes initially.
Hamilton and Russell will set the first flying laps, with Verstappen at the back of the queue. Spa-Francorchamps is the longest lap on the calendar, so we initially had laps over two minutes initially. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell set the first flying laps, with Max Verstappen at the back of the queue. It was a 2:02.280 from Hamilton, which was 0.080s faster than teammate Russell. Lando Norris beat the two Mercedes though with his first effort. The McLaren put a 2:01.874 to go fastest by four tenths of a second. Carlos Sainz meanwhile was having his first lap time deleted for track limits.
With 8 minutes before the end of Q1, Oscar Piastri went fastest by 0.047s as the top times continued to swap around. And then Carlos Sainz went top with a 2:00.536 for Scuderia Ferrari, and Max Verstappen slot in just behind the Spaniard. Lando Norris went wide through Turn 16 and ran into the gravel. He carried on but his engineer thought the British driver may have had front wing damage. That corner was normally flat out in the dry, but not in the wet as Norris found out.
Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz went under the two-minute barrier, with the Red Bull driver setting a 1:58.932, which was nearly one second faster than anyone else. Charles Leclerc was also bumped down to 16th but went fastest with his final lap. The Spa lap is so long that we had to wait a while after the chequered flag to see who is in and out. A flurry of lap times saw the times tumble and Fernando Alonso was in the drop zone at one point but jumped up to third. Alex Albon, Zhou Guanyu, Logan Sargeant, Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg were out in Q1.
Quick turnaround for the drivers who were last across the line in Q1 as Q2 was under way! The Mercedes were at the front of the train again. Kevin Magnussen went fastest from Valtteri Bottas. Meanwhile, Hamilton and Russell struggled on used intermediates. Max Verstappen went fastest by nearly half a second as the track continued to ramp up.
A 1:55.535 from the championship leader put him ahead of Sergio Perez, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Valtteri Bottas was the first man to put dry tyres on. Oscar Piastri also followed for McLaren and Esteban Ocon for Alpine. Lando Norris then aborted his latest intermediate lap to bolt on slick tyres. Lance Stroll was going out on fresh inters. Soon everyone was on slicks but they were struggling to fire up. George Russell went wide at Turn 1 and Turn 8, with no greens sectors from any of the 15 drivers, just as Esteban Ocon hit the wall at the corner with no name and has front wing damage. Carlos Sainz went second while Charles Leclerc smartly backed off to be the last driver across the line. The Monegasque was eighth right but was relying on his final flying lap. Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon were out in Q2.
The start of Q3 was delayed while gravel was swept off the track after Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen went wide in the gravel during those final laps.
A brief scare for Lando Norris as he got out of shape on his out lap in Q3. But the McLaren remained on the road and the Briton continued on his way. Oscar Piastri was enjoying these conditions at Spa Francorchamps and he went fastest from team-mate Lando Norris by a couple of tenths of a second. It was a great lap from Charles Leclerc as he did a 1:47.931 to beat Max Verstappen by 0.128s. Carlos Sainz was fastest in the first and last sectors but could only go third.
All 10 cars were trundling out onto the track for their final Q3 laps. Lance Stroll was at the front of the queue with Sergio Perez at the back. It was very tight for the Mexican to get across the line in time here. The track conditions improved so much on a drying circuit, so it was highly likely to be all about this final lap. Chequered flag: everyone got across the line in time to do a flying lap. George Russell was last across the home straight.
Charles Leclerc went even faster with a 1:46.988, but Max Verstappen was able to easily beat that. He may not have been happy at the end of Q2 but Max Verstappen was fastest by 0.820s from the Ferrari man. Max Verstappen will start sixth remember due to his five-grid place penalty for a gearbox change, which means Charles Leclerc starts the Belgian Grand Prix from P1! Carlos Sainz ended qualifying in P6, behind Lewis Hamilton.
1. Max Verstappen
2. Charles Leclerc
3. Sergio Perez
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Carlos Sainz
6. Oscar Piastri
7. Lando Norris
8. George Russell
9. Fernando Alonso
10. Lance Stroll
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