Sainz promoted to post-penalty pole for 2022 Belgian GP qualifying

Max Verstappen dominated qualifying with a searing pace – 0.65sec clear of the field – but due to a wide number of engine penalties applied through the field, it will be Carlos Sainz who starts on pole tomorrow.

The Spaniard will be joined by Sergio Perez on the front row, with Charles Leclerc – who was fourth-fastest on Sunday – also sent to the back of the grid tomorrow for a power unit change.

The demotions means that outgoing Alpine driver Fernando Alonso, sixth quickest on the day, lines up third on the grid tomorrow with Lewis Hamilton alongside him.

George Russell will be fifth, and an impressive Alex Albon sixth.

Daniel Ricciardo continued his miserable McLaren tenure to be eliminated from Q2, Valtteri Bottas was the most surprising exit from Q3 as he was slowest of all, whilst Sebastian Vettel was knocked out in first qualifying for yet another time this season.

Here’s the 2022 Belgian GP qualifying as it happened:

Q1

Williams’s Nicholas Latifi ventured out first on track using a set of mediums, but the Canadian came back in before setting a quick lap.

Mick Schumacher posted a 1min 47.929sec to go top before anyone else had put in a time, before Lewis Hamilton went a second faster.

The real early show of strength came from Max Verstappen, half a second clear of Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc.

A number of midfield runners posted times to push the Mercedes pair towards the drop zone – Esteban Ocon clocked a lap 1.5sec off Verstappen, with Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris all within 0.2sec of the Frenchman.

Surprisingly rooted to the bottom was Valtteri Bottas, 0.2sec slower than his team-mate Zhou Guanyu, after the Alfa Romeo team had appeared strong in practice.

Hamilton and Russell both went out again in a bid to better their times, but the Silver Arrows still languished down in 11th and 10th respectively.

After a tense few minutes while the field waited to attempt the second round of runs, all but the top four headed out with 4min left on the clock.

Russell reported that it was “spitting through Eau Rouge,” though the Mercedes driver showed full commitment to lift himself to fifth, with a 1min 45.650sec.

Hamilton was less than tenth off his countryman, but slotted between the Mercs was Alex Albon, with a commendable sixth-fastest time.

At the other end of the field, the most surprising exit was Bottas. The Finn went out in Q1 for the first time since Monaco 2015, qualifying dead-last.

Vettel continued to struggle in the Aston Martin as he missed the cut by 0.002 sec to his friend Schumacher, followed by Nicholas Latifi, Kevin Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda.

Q2

Hamilton hared out the pits first for the second part of qualifying to put up a time, but he was quickly shuffled down the timesheet.

Verstappen was quickest of all on 1min 44.723sec; the only driver able to get close was his team-mate Perez – 0.07sec away.

Sainz was third but 0.8sec slower than the Dutchman, with an impressive Ocon fourth and Norris fifth.

Leclerc had gone out last and his 1min 45.637 lap was good enough for sixth, a lurid slide undoing the good work of a tow from Sainz round Blanchimont.

Once all the first runs had come in, Hamilton was teetering on the edge of the dropout zone, with a determined Albon menacingly just 0.2sec behind him.

The two Alpines wheeled out of the garage for the second attempts before anyone else, with Ocon told: “Norris is on scrubbed tyres, looks like he’s towing Ricciardo.”

“Ok, same plan – let’s beat them,” was the Frenchman’s reply as the teams continued their duel for fourth in the constructors’ championship.

It worked for Alpine, Alonso getting up to fifth on a 1min 45.552sec, while Norris pulled along Ricciardo for eighth – temporarily.

Hamilton leapt to fifth, almost a second off new fastest man Leclerc, who filed a 1min 44.551sec.

The standout performer of Q2 though was Albon, who managed to drag his FW44 to 10th place securing the final spot in Q3 – “Yes, yes, yes!” he said when informed of his position. As a result of the engine penalties coming into force tomorrow, that would be at least sixth.

The flurry of times meant Ricciardo ended up 11th and 0.06sec off the final phase of qualifying, but that will translate into seventh after the penalties are applied.

Gasly was left disappointed to be knocked out in 12th, as were Zhou, a frustrated Stroll – “no grip” – and Mick Schumacher.

Q3

Albon went out first and put in a 1min 46.369sec, but he was inevitably overcome by the both Red Bulls, with Verstappen setting a 1min 43.665sec.

Meanwhile there was confusion at Ferrari, as Leclerc queried the tyres he was on – his team admitted it had put on the wrong set, giving him new Pirellis when his only job was to tow along team-mate Sainz.

Sainz inserted himself into the Milton Keynes sandwich as he came in six tenths off Verstappen, whilst Ocon was best of the no Ferrari/Red Bull teams, albeit 1.5sec off the pace.

The Mercedes cars were still unable to find much speed, Russell and Hamilton being seventh and ninth respectively, well adrift of the pace.

Cars headed out for final attempts with 2 and half minutes left to run, but Verstappen elected not to run and give his team-mate a tow.

Alonso nearly tripped over Sainz as cars squabbled for track position. Leclerc managed to get out just in time to give the Spaniard a slipstream.

It was a scruffy opening sector though, before he kicked up gravel halfway round. The Ferrari driver couldn’t improve his time, but neither could the remaining Red Bull.

That meant that the Spaniard took pole after all the penalties, with Perez next to him on the grid tomorrow.

Alonso came in fifth (third on Sunday), impressively ahead of Hamilton and Russell, who will start fourth and fifth tomorrow

A valiant effort from Alex Albon – a 1min 45.837sec – got him into ninth (sixth tomorrow) with Norris 10th fastest on the Saturday.

2022 Belgian Grand Prix qualifying results

2022 Belgian Grand Prix, provisional starting grid