Belgian GP: Sainz on pole after Verstappen penalty
27th August 2022Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz will inherit pole position after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was the fastest in qualifying, will be demoted to the back of the grid when his engine penalty is served.
Q1
After a 25 minute delay, as track marshals worked to repair the Armco barriers where a Porsche Supercup driver crashed, qualifying was finally able to get underway.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was the first driver to venture out onto the Belgian Spa-Francorchamps circuit as the pit exit light turned green. However, the Canadian was out on the track with the yellow-ringed medium compound tyres strapped to his car for a reconnaissance lap.
Haas’ Mick Schumacher quickly joined Latifi out on track, equipped with the red-ringed soft compounds, and set the first lap time on the board with a 1:47.929. It wasn’t long until the rest of the field ventured out onto the Belgian track.
After the first set of runs, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the timing board with a 1:44.581, 0.469 seconds faster than second-placed Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and the Dutchman’s teammate, Sergio Perez (0.796) who was third.
In the final set of runs, Bottas looked to be on his way to secure another Q2 appearance but as he approached the final chicane, the Finn peeled back into the pit lane to abandon his run. While, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel missed out on Q2 by 0.002 seconds.
Eliminated:
20. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
19.Yuki Tsuonda, Alpha Tauri
18.Kevin Magnussen, Haas
17. Nicholas Latifi, Williams
16. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
Belgian Sprint Race: Bearman secures win after red flag stop
Q2
As the pit exit light went green, Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton was the first driver to venture onto the circuit – albeit on used soft tyres. The former world champion was quickly followed by the likes of both Red Bull drivers and Sainz.
Due to being the first driver out on track, Hamilton was the first driver to set the benchmark – to progress into Q3. The seven-time world champion was soon beaten by the likes of his teammate, George Russell, Verstappen and Perez.
When the pack returned to the pit lane, after their first set of qualifying laps, Verstappen remained out on top with a 1:44.723 which was 0.071 seconds faster than Perez, in second place.
When the drivers returned to the circuit, McLaren’s Lando Norris – despite being relatively safe – went out on scrubbed tyres to help tow his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo along as the Australian was P15 without a lap time on the board. Even with the help, the tow wasn’t enough to drag the Aussie out of the elimination zone at the end of Q2.
On Leclerc’s final lap, the Monegasque managed to jump Verstappen in the timing board by 0.172 seconds. Although, both drivers were set to start the race at the back of the grid.
Eliminated:
15. Mick Schumacher, Haas
14. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
13. Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo
12. Pierre Gasly, Alpha Tauri
11. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren
Q3
When the pit exit light went green, to start the final third of qualifying, Williams’ last surviving driver, Albon, was the first driver to venture out onto the circuit. Naturally, the #23 Williams was the first driver to set a lap time on the board with a 1:46.369.
This time was soon, and easily, beaten by; both Red Bulls, Sainz, Norris, Russell and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, to drop the Williams driver down to seventh.
Despite a scrappy final lap, Sainz still managed to maintain provisional pole position ahead of Perez, who will now start P2 when Verstappen’s penalty is served.
Top 10:
10. Lando Norris, McLaren
9. Alexander Albon, Williams
8. George Russell, Mercedes
7. Sir Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
6. Fernando Alonso, Alpine
5. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
2. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
That’s it for the article: Belgian GP: Sainz on pole after Verstappen penalty? Following all of the grid penalties, Who do you think will secure the race win tomorrow? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula 1 here!
- Belgian GP: Perez sets fastest time at end of FP3
- Belgium GP FP1: Sainz heads Ferrari 1-2 in Spa
- F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Verstappen and Leclerc to start at the back of grid
- Alfa Romeo set to terminate partnership with Sauber
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
