F1 2022 results: Belgian Grand Prix – Qualifying

Max Verstappen was comfortably the class of the field in Belgian Grand Prix qualifying, but Carlos Sainz will be on pole position at Spa-Francorchamps.

The start of qualifying was delayed by 25 minutes due to barrier repairs following an impact from a car in a support race, with conditions dry despite the threat of rain.

Seven drivers, including World Championship rivals Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, knew they would be occupying the berths at the back of the grid due to having taken engine penalties – and of those, only one failed to advance to Q2.

That was Valtteri Bottas, who made his first Q1 exit for over seven years, but the Finn is set to start 14th in his Alfa Romeo once all the penalties have been applied. The other four to exit at the first hurdle were Sebastian Vettel, Nicholas Latifi, Kevin Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda.

It was Red Bull and Ferrari at the top of the timesheet, just like so often this season, and that scenario continued in Q2 as the Mercedes duo found themselves under pressure entering the final runs.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both made it through comfortably in the end, however, at the expense of Daniel Ricciardo – who was told this week his services will not be required by McLaren for 2023 – Pierre Gasly, Zhou Guanyu, Lance Stroll and Mick Schumacher. Of that quintet, only Zhou and Schumacher have grid penalties.

In Q3, Verstappen set a 1:43.665 and did not go out for a final run due to his penalty, leaving it to the others to fight it out for net pole position. That went to Sainz who, despite a scruffy last attempt in which he had a brush with the gravel, took P2 on the day which will convert to P1 for Sunday.

The full qualifying timesheet is below and you can read the full report here.

1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:43.665
2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.632
3 Sergio Perez Red Bull +0.797
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.888
5 Esteban Ocon Alpine +1.515
6 Fernando Alonso Alpine +1.703
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +1.838
8 George Russell Mercedes +2.111
9 Alex Albon Williams +2.172
10 Lando Norris McLaren +2.513
11 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +1.216 (Q2)
12 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri +1.276
13 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo +1.534
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +2.060
15 Mick Schumacher Haas +3.167
16 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin +1.763 (Q1)
17 Nicholas Latifi Williams +1.820
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.976
19 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri +2.111
20 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +3.285