Max Verstappen sets by far the fastest lap in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. Due to an engine penalty, the Formula 1 world champion still has to start from far behind - a fate shared by six other drivers. Ferrari benefits as Carlos Sainz inherits pole position.
In the chaos of punishment at Spa, Max Verstappen promised his tens of thousands of fans a huge comeback. In qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, the Formula 1 World Champion clearly outperformed the competition, but still had to line up in 15th place at the back of the field at the start of the race. Like six other pilots, the Red Bull Star had illegally changed engine parts on the cars. "We have to go forward. It would be a shame not to finish on the podium with such a car," said Verstappen.
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz inherited first place on the grid. The Spaniard finished second in qualifying ahead of Verstappen colleague Sergio Perez. "I'm happy with pole position, but not so happy with the gap to Red Bull," said Sainz, looking at Verstappen's mega lap, who was more than six tenths of a second faster.
Third starts on Sunday (3 p.m. / Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de) Fernando Alonso in the Alpine, fourth is Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Because, in addition to Verstappen, World Cup runner-up Charles Leclerc from Ferrari, McLaren driver Lando Norris, Haas driver Mick Schumacher, Esteban Ocon from Alpine and the Alfa Romeo duo Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou also received penalties, the field was completely reorganized .
Sebastian Vettel only managed a disappointing 16th place in the hunt for a starting place, but should start on Sunday in tenth place. Schumacher finished qualifying in 15th place but is expected to drop back to last place on the grid. "Qualifying wasn't our primary focus. I gave it my all, but unfortunately didn't hit the last lap," said Schumacher.
Because it is usually easier to overtake in a race at Spa-Francorchamps, several teams decided to accept penalties. This gives them fresher engines for the rest of the season. In Formula 1 there have been restrictions on the use of drives for a long time. If the limit is exceeded, a fixed penalty system takes effect.
The flood of sanctions forced the race stewards to do a tricky arithmetic game when determining the starting grid for the 14th of the 22 races of the season. "We switched on our strategy department because it has become so complicated," said Red Bulls motorsport consultant Helmut Marko on Sky. Defending champion Verstappen also found it easier to decide to change the engine because he is already 80 points ahead of challenger Leclerc in the overall standings.
One of the beneficiaries of the penal transfers is Vettel, who suffered another setback on his farewell tour. Two thousandths of a second were missing for the Aston Martin driver to progress in round one. "Of course it's stupid when it's so little," said the Hessian. So the 35-year-old missed the chance to start the Grand Prix with even better prospects. "I didn't feel so good. It was up and down all weekend," explained Vettel.
