Max takes pole at Belgian GP in rainy qualifying: 'Very happy'

Published on 28 August 2021 by Mike Motilall

Max Verstappen took the pole home on a soaking wet Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix. The Dutchman was the only one to do a lap time under the two minute mark during the closing stages of the third part of qualifying. This means that for the ninth time now in his Formula 1-career he will be starting a race at the very front. George Russell was surprisingly second fastest and barely managed to fend off Mercedes-driver Lewis Hamilton.

“It was a really tricky qualifying”, says a happy Max after qualifying. “It was hard to keep the car on track and switching the tyres on at the right time as well. The long breaks in Q2 and Q3 were not easy to settle in to the track conditions, but at the end we were first.”

The 7,004 meter long Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps has been known to surprise, as the Red Bull Racing-driver is all too aware of: “It is an amazing track to drive on but very challenging in the wet. So then it becomes quite tricky and it’s pretty extreme when you know that you need to push and find the limit in the rain. I have driven here with other cars as well but driving here in a Formula 1-car again with little fuel in it, is really great.”

The choice of tyres were not always obvious: “In Q1 a lot of drivers, including myself, went out on the extremes but they were a few seconds off the pace. Then you switch to the intermediates but that tyre cannot handle a lot of standing water. Despite everyting Verstappen looks back quite contently at today: “I am very happy to have a qualifying like this after the break and to be on pole position again.”

The start of qualifying is delayed because of the standing water on track due to the heavy rainfall. After well over ten minutes, Race Control decides to clear the track after which the drivers trickle to the track one by one. Apart from the Williams-drivers, all the drivers have mounted the extremes, also known as the full wets.

Max Verstappen does a 2:07.574 on his first timed lap, but it quickly becomes apparant that it’s time for the intermediates as George Russell and Nicholas Latifi are bettering the lap times by a great margin. Max heads back to the pits for a set of the inters and subsequently does a 1:59.606 on them, which puts him second fastest. The Red Bull Racing-driver manages to improve his time to a 1:58.717 during the closing stages of qualifying and makes it to the next part of qualifying in second place. Lando Norris is with a 1:58.301 the quickest. Antonio Giovinazzi, Yuki Tsunoda, Mick Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen and Nikita Mazepin don’t make the cut and are sent to the showers.

After the first runs in the second part of qualifying the top six is formed by Lando Norris (1:57.235), Max Verstappen (+0.136), Sebastian Vettel (+0.631), Pierre Gasly (+0.701), Sergio Pérez (+0.883) and Charles Leclerc (+1.531). Verstappen shaves a bit off of his time on a second run and does a 1:56.559, giving him the lead.

Towards the end of Q2, the track seems to be drying up which causes the lap times to come down. Max does not opt for a third run but makes it to the third and final part of qualifying after the flag drops. Lando Norris is once more the quickest while Charles Leclerc, Nicholas Latifi, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll have to leave the battlefield.

Right before the start of Q3, the Heavens open up once more and it starts pouring down, causing the full wets to be put into action. Lando Norris is on his way for his first timed lap when the Briton loses control of his McLaren in Raidillon. He shunts the tyre barriers very hard and spins around numerous times but is able to walk away shaken but unscathed from his MCL35M. The session is stopped for an additional nine minutes. A very unhappy Sebastian Vettel vents his dismay on the radio to his team indicating that he had told them that the session should have been red flagged earlier, even before the crash.

At 16:45 the track has been dried up enough for the session to be resumed. Esteban Ocon and George Russell are the only ones on the full wets, but the duo quickly switch to the intermediates. Lewis Hamilton is the first one to get a timed lap with a 2:01.552. Max Verstappen follows in second place with a 2:02.525, as Valtteri Bottas, Sebastian Vettel, Pierre Gasly and Sergio Pérez are the provisional top six.

In the closing stages of the session, Verstappen has another go at it. The Dutchman has a good lap and is the only one to dive under the 2:00 mark and with a 1:59.765, he takes the pole. Against all odds George Russell manages to take second place ahead of Lewis Hamilton with a 2:00.086. Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly round out the top six. Sergio Pérez finishes seventh fastest. Valtteri Bottas crosses the line in eighth but will be dropped five places due to a grid penalty he was handed at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

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Results qualifying Belgium: