Lewis Hamilton put in a perfect lap to claim pole position for the sixth time in for the Belgian Grand Prix with a new track record time of 1:41.252s at the Circuit Spa-Francorchamps.
Valtteri Bottas wasn't able to mount a strong challenge to his Mercedes team mate on this occasion but still pulled off second place alongside Hamilton on the front row.
Max Verstappen just managed to pip Daniel Ricciardo to third place, but the session proved a gloomy one for Ferrari with neither Charles Leclerc nor Sebastian Vettel able to survive the cut at the end of Q2 leaving them 13th and 14th respectively.
The weather was far from the high summer we usually expect to find at Spa-Francorchamps in late August. Instead it was cloudy and unusually cool in the Ardennes as the drivers embarked on qualifying, but despite dark clouds looming overhead at least the rain was staying away. All eyes were on Ferrari to see if the team had been keeping something in reserve to make up for a truly dire performance in the earlier practice sessions.
Q1: Hamilton and Bottas quickest as Vettel and Leclerc scrape through
Haas drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen were first in action and had the track to themselves as they sought to use the slipstream to improve their fortunes on the long straights and sweeping corners of Spa. Grosjean got the benefit of the tow first to set an uninspiring opening time of 1:45.073s.
The rest of the field then sprang to life, Max Verstappen going solo to put Red Bull top with a time of 1:43.408s only for that to be quickly bettered by McLaren's Carlos Sainz and then Renault's Daniel Ricciardo. Inevitably the arrival of the Mercedes pair proved a game changer to the times, with Lewis Hamilton immediately pumping in a time of 1:42.323s putting him two tenths ahead of Bottas and almost nine tenths clear of Verstappen's second, improved run.
The situation was still looking fraught for Ferrari; Charles Leclerc's first run had only been good enough for 14th place leaving Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi on the bubble. In the drop zone itself were his team mate Kimi Raikkonen, Williams' Nicholas Latifi, the two Haas drivers - and Sebastian Vettel in 19th. Were the worst fears of the Tifosi about a Ferrari falling short in Q1 about to be realised?
The 7km length of the Spa circuit meant that after pitting for tyres and tweaks, the drivers only had time for one more push. Of the top six, only Bottas felt the need to go out again: Hamilton, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Sainz and Alexander Albon were all happy not to stay put. Bravest of all was Esteban Ocon who also remained in the garage despite being down in ninth place.
The final runs saw improved times for both AlphaTauris with Pierre Gasly up to fourth ahead of Racing Point's Lance Stroll, and his team mate Daniil Kvyat into sixth ahead of Ricciardo and Sainz. Ocon found himself watching from pit lane as he was pushed back to 11th ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris, but still safely through - his gamble having paid off.
Meanwhile Vettel dug deep and managed to propel himself to safety in 13th ahead of Williams' George Russell. That pushed Leclerc back onto the brink of elimination, but he just managed to hold on despite a late effort from Raikkonen who ended up as first of the drivers to be eliminated along with Grosjean, Giovinazzi, Latifi and Magnussen.
Q2: Hamilton remains in charge as Ferrari fails to survive the cut
When Q2 got underway, Lewis Hamilton quickly took charge with a new time of 1:42.014s, a modest tenth of a second this time ahead of Bottas. Both were on medium tyres, as was Verstappen who slipped into third place ahead of Renault pair Ricciardo and Ocon who were on the soft compounds as was Albon in sixth followed by Gasly and McLaren duo Norris and Kvyat. Also provisionally through to the final round was Kvyat in tenth.
That left the two Racing Points of Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll in the drop zone, having been the only drivers outside the top three to try running on medium tyres. They were followed by both Ferraris, who despite being on the faster soft compound were nonetheless seven tenths off making the cut, with just George Russell not having set a time on his first run after opting to pit at the end of his out lap.
With four minutes remaining in the session, and all now fitted with the soft compound, the cars came out to start their final runs - with the exception of Ricciardo, who remained in the garage as the engineers checked out a possible brake-by-wire issue. The soft tyre suited both Racing Points who immediately jumped into the top ten, while Albon put in an impressive lap to out-pace his team mate Verstappen. The Dutchman along with Hamilton and Bottas consciously avoided improve their times, allowing them to keep their medium tyres for the start of Sunday's race.
Sainz shone with his second lap to move up to fifth ahead of Ricciardo, followed by Stroll, Ocon, Perez and Norris. That meant that both AlphaTauris were forced out of Q3, with Kvyat out-qualifying Gasly for the first time this season. But the big news of the round was the elimination of both Ferraris, Leclerc left mired in 13th and Vettel one spot behind in 14th, followed by Russell.
Q3: Hamilton flies to record pole in Spa as Bottas struggles to keep up
All ten cars were soon in action in the final top ten pole shoot-out round, including Ricciardo whose technical hiccups had been successfully resolved. Hamilton once again led the way, setting a new track record with a time of 1:41.451s, almost six tenths quicker than a somewhat below-par lap from Bottas.
Behind the Silver Arrows pair. Ricciardo confirmed his Friday practice pace by pipping Verstappen to third place and only 0.032s slower than Bottas. Albon was next up followed by Sainz, Ocon, Perez, Stroll and Norris as the first runs came to a conclusion and the cars retreated to pit lane in preparation for their final run of the day.
Racing Point opted to sit out the rest of the session, leaving eight cars jockeying for position through the Bus Stop and seeking any chance of a slipstream from the car ahead, team mate or no. Not feeling in any need of an aero assist, Hamilton led the way again and was soon going quicker than his team mate: he shaved his time to 1:41.252s while Bottas was still half a second quicker than the Finn.
Despite getting a tow from Ocon, Ricciardo ended up aborting his final run and was pipped to third place by Verstappen as a result. Albon remained in fifth place while Ocon went ahead of Sainz and the two absentee Racing Points, while Norris remained slowest of those in Q3 and will line up on the grid for tomorrow's race in tenth place.
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