The stage is set for the 2022 Belgian GP as qualifying as given us the fastest times from all 20 drivers. However, the grid is not all set yet as 7 drivers are receiving engine related grid penalties and will subsequently start from the back of the grid. These 7 drivers include the championship protagonists Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, as well as Mick Schumacher, Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Lando Norris. All the drivers have varying grid penalties applied at different points of time during the race weekend, which proved to be confusing for many.
Max Verstappen will start in P15 despite being comfortably the fastest in qualifying.
Qualifying got underway a few minutes after the official start time, as the marshals had to fix the armco barriers that were damaged in a Porsche GT Cup race earlier. With the weather conditions remaining dry despite the threat of rain posed earlier in the weekend, Max Verstappen set the fastest lap of qualifying in his first and only Q3 attempt. Verstappen will now start in P15 tomorrow ahead of Leclerc in P16, as the Monegasque qualified fourth. Scuderia Ferrari attempted to have Leclerc give Sainz a tow, but the team sent Leclerc out on the wrong set of tyres in his first lap, and sent him out on cold tyres while Sainz was on a hot lap, and both the times the Italian outfit couldn't orchestrate a tow. However, the Spaniard did enough to put his car up in P2 on his first run, and he will inherit the pole position from Verstappen once the penalties are applied.
Carlos Sainz Jr. inherits the pole position for tomorrow's Belgian GP despite a scrappy Q3 effort.
Perez finished in P3 showing strong pace from Red Bull, but a mistake on his final run meant he couldn't finish ahead of Sainz. He will start tomorrow's race on the front row. Esteban Ocon qualified fifth for Alpine, and with his penalties he will be starting in P17. Alonso, Hamilton, Russel, Albon and Norris rounded up the top 10, but Norris will drop behind the field as well and will start in P18, ahead of Zhou Guanyu Mick Schumacher on the last row. Strangely enough, Valtteri Bottas qualified in P20 and has a 30 place grid penalty, but will start in P14 as his penalties were applied before the other 6.
Pos. | Car No. | Driver | Team | Lap |
1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:43.665 |
2 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:44.297 |
3 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:44.462 |
4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:44.553 |
5 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 1:45.180 |
6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine Renault | 1:45.368 |
7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:45.503 |
8 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:45.776 |
9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:45.837 |
10 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:46.178 |
11 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 1:45.767 |
12 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 1:45.827 |
13 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 1:46.085 |
14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:46.611 |
15 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | 1:47.718 |
16 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 1:46.344 |
17 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 1:46.401 |
18 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:46.557 |
19 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:46.692 |
20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:47.866 |
Pos. | Driver |
1 | Carlos Sainz |
2 | Sergio Perez |
3 | Fernando Alonso |
4 | Lewis Hamilton |
5 | George Russell |
6 | Alexander Albon |
7 | Daniel Ricciardo |
8 | Pierre Gasly |
9 | Lance Stroll |
10 | Sebastian Vettel |
11 | Nicholas Latifi |
12 | Kevin Magnussen |
13 | Yuki Tsunoda |
14 | Valtteri Bottas |
15 | Max Verstappen |
16 | Charles Leclerc |
17 | Esteban Ocon |
18 | Lando Norris |
19 | Zhou Guanyu |
20 | Mick Schumacher |
