© Getty ImagesSprint King Max fourth on the grid, Yuki in P7 Max Verstappen took a brilliant Sprint win at Spa-Francorchamps and then claimed a fourth place start for tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix.
OnacomplexSaturday,theChampionmadethemostofalowerdownforcesettingintheSprintRacetokeeptheMcLarensatbaybeforemovingtoagreaterlevelofdownforceforqualifyinginpreparationforawetSundayintheArdennes.Yuki,meanwhile,issetforhisfirsttop10startsincetheMiamiGrandPrixaftertheJapanesedriverputinastrongseriesoflapstotakeP7inqualifyingaftertakingP11intheSprint.
Max’s Sprint win was set up within moments of the lights going out for the start. After getting away well from the front row, the Dutchman immediately went on the offensive, attacking polesitter Oscar Piastri around the outside of the La Source hairpin.
The Australian was able to fend off the assault, but Max tucked in behind the McLaren and on the long run through Eau Rouge, Raidillon and along the Kemmel straight, he closed in before sweeping around the outside into Les Combes to steal the lead.
Behind the leaders, Lando Norris, in the second McLaren, was also passed around the outside by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The McLaren driver had more overall pace, however, and when DRS was enabled, Lando used the boost in speed to out-drag Charles on the run to Les Combes.
Ahead of them, there was no way for Oscar to repeat that trick. Aided by a lower downforce set-up and through careful use of energy harvesting and deployment, Max was able to draw enough through the first sector to keep the McLarens at bay through the more aero sensitive second sector, and after putting in what he later called ’15 qualifying laps’, Max took his first Sprint win of the season, and his 12th overall.
Yuki, meanwhile, started the Sprint in P12. However, with the order behind the top four drivers remaining static throughout and with a long DRS train stretching out ahead of him, there were few opportunities to overtake, and Yuki crossed the line in P11, gaining a spot after Alpine’s Pierre Gasly suffered a pre-race water leak and failed to take the start.
Max's Special Edition Helmet© Getty Images
Q1
The McLarens set the pace early in Q1 with Oscar taking top spot on 1:41.998, with Lando just under eight hundredths behind his team-mate. Max then took to the track, just ahead of Yuki whose RB21 had been fitted with the new floor that had only been available to Max until Qualifying. Max’s first flyer of 1:42.066, achieved with a degree more wing on his RB21, split the McLarens and Yuki took fourth place, three tenths off his team-mate.
The times were tumbling quickly and Charles jumped to the top of the order with a time of 1:41.635 and Williams’ Carlos Sainz took second place, four hundredths of a second off the Monegasque driver. Lando then went for a second attempt, and the McLaren driver jumped six tenths clear of Charles thanks to a lap of 1:41.010. Oscar also put in another lap, and he moved back to P2, 0.191s off his team-mate.
Some Good Braking© Getty Images
Max also stayed out for a second attempt, and after falling down the timesheet, the Dutchman jumped back to third place with a time of 1:41.334.
Yuki returned to the garage for a new set of softs and in the final moments of the session the Japanese driver vaulted out of the drop zone with a lap of 1:41.840 that eventually saw him make it into Q2 in 12thplace.
There was no escape for Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, however. The seven-time champion’s final lap put him seventh but almost immediately his lap time was deleted for going over the track limits at Raidillon, and he slumped to 16th and out of the session. He was joined at the exit by Alpine’s 17th-place Franco Colapinto, Mercedes’ surprise faller Kimi Antonelli, and the twin Aston Martin cars of Fernado Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Q2
In trademark fashion, Max was first on track at the start of Q2 and he put in a strong lap of 1:40.951. Yuki was just behind his team-mate on track and aided by the new floor he too put in a good lap to take P2 just three tenths of a second behind his teammate.
The McLaren pair were finding more pace, however, and Oscar soon took top spot, three tenths clear of Max with a lap of 1:40.626. Lando slotted into second, nine hundredths off his team-mate, and Charles then delivered a lap of 1:41.084 to split the Bulls and drop Yuki to fifth place ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.
And our Japanese driver’s opening time was good enough to keep him there. While Max stayed in the garage and comfortably made it in third behind the McLarens, Yuki headed out on track to guard against the threats from around him. In the end, however, none materialised and as the clock ran down, Yuki was able to back out of the lap and ease through to his first top-10 shootout since the Miami Grand Prix.
Ready To Roll© Getty Images
Eliminated at the end of Q2 in P11 and P12 were Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman, and the Haas pair were followed by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and Williams’ Carlos Sainz who dropped out in P15.
Q3
At the start of the final session, with just one set of new softs available, both Bulls headed out on used tyres. That allowed the McLarens to take the top two spots, with Lando banking a time of 1:40.562 to take provisional pole just under two tenths clear of Oscar. Max slotted into third with a lap of 1:41.078, but the Dutchman was complaining that he had struggled for grip throughout.
Yuki also found grip hard to come by but although his opener of 1:42.019 was considerably slower than his Q2 best, he still took fifth place, ahead of VCARB’s Liam Lawson and Williams’ Alex Albon.
And in the final runs it soon became clear that it was not just the Bulls who were struggling with the increasing track temperatures. Max’s final flyer, on new softs, got away from him almost immediately as he lost the rear slightly on the exit of La Source and there was no way back after that as time slipped away across the lap. There was no improvement for Lando or Oscar either, and the McLaren pair held station on the front row.
One of the few to find time was Charles and with Max missing out, the Ferrari driver was able to barge his way through to the front of row ahead of the Champion.
Yuki was also bypassed in the final runs as Alex put in a strong final lap to claim P5 and George edged his way into sixth just over two hundredths clear.
Yuki will start the race ahead of the VCARB cars of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, and the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto.
