2024 F1 Round 14, Belgian GP qualifying: Verstappen fastest in the wet with 1m53.159s but takes a 10-place penalty, Leclerc inherits pole

Qualifying for Round 14 of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the Belgian Grand Prix, took place at Spa-Francorchamps at 22:00 China time (UTC+8) on 27 July. The wet surface after the rain kept the field on intermediate tyres throughout. Max Verstappen was fastest with 1m53.159s, but a 10-place grid penalty for taking his fifth internal combustion engine of the season meant that Charles Leclerc, 0.595s slower, inherited pole. Sergio Perez was third and would share Sunday’s front row with Leclerc. RB’s Yuki Tsunoda qualified 18th.

Perez, whose seat was under threat, had no fresh intermediate tyres available in Q3 but still set the third-fastest time, just 0.606s off the pace. With Verstappen’s penalty applied, the Mexican would start second on the front row. After a sustained run of poor results, Perez was rumoured to be at risk of losing his Red Bull seat after this event, with his future set to be discussed following the Belgian Grand Prix.

Verstappen, the only driver to save two fresh sets of intermediates for Q3, was in a class of his own in the final segment. His 1m53.159s lap was almost six tenths quicker than Leclerc’s. “It really was a great day, well done everyone,” the Dutchman said over the radio afterwards. “A special thank you to the mechanics who worked through the night.” Red Bull also had a curfew infringement recorded after making overnight changes following the opening day’s running. Both RB20s were fitted with higher-downforce rear wings before qualifying.

Leclerc admitted that inheriting pole was unexpected: “I really didn’t expect this result.” The Ferrari driver said he would have been behind Mercedes without the rain. The Silver Arrows qualified fourth with Lewis Hamilton and seventh with George Russell, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri between them in fifth and sixth. McLaren had looked quick in dry practice, but its lower-downforce setup prevented it from reproducing that competitiveness in wet qualifying.

In Q1, Tsunoda, already set to start from the back because of a full power-unit change exceeding his allocation, had little incentive to chase a time. On his first set of tyres he twice gave team-mate Daniel Ricciardo a tow, then slid at Turn 1 after fitting his second set and finished 18th. Both Haas drivers were eliminated, Nico Hulkenberg in 16th and Kevin Magnussen in 17th. Zhou Guanyu, who qualified 20th, received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Verstappen. Q2 brought an even tighter fight. Still in the elimination zone as their final laps began, the Mercedes drivers struck back: Russell and Hamilton set the third- and second-fastest times respectively, pushing Ricciardo out in 13th, 0.212s short of Q3. Perez scraped through ahead of Alex Albon by just 0.003s. Lance Stroll finished 15th after repairs following his FP3 crash covered the left-front suspension, power unit, gearbox, steering system, front wing and floor. In Q3, Fernando Alonso edged Esteban Ocon by 0.045s, leaving them ninth and 10th.

The race was scheduled to start at 21:00 China time (UTC+8) on 28 July, with the drivers set to complete 44 laps of the 7.004km Spa circuit.