August 28, (THEWILL) – Red Bull’s challenge of Mercedes in the racing calendar was back on track at the rain-drenched Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday, where Max Verstappen dramatically snatched pole position late in the session to notch up another victory in the Formula 1 race.
The Williams F1 racing team was set to claim a shocking pole finish as their race driver George Russell went out towards the end of the session on a fresh pair of intermediate tyres. However, Verstappen found pace to cross the line in 1:59.765 – the only driver to dip under two minutes at Spa-Francorchamps under the wet conditions.
The massive Lando Norris’ crash at the beginning of the session forced Q3 to be delayed for well over half an hour. At some point, it seemed the organisers were going to call off Q3 for the day as rain belted down. Then, the downpour settled long enough for race control to get the session underway again.
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team driver sir Lewis Hamilton, the Championship leader, who set the fastest time at the start of the session, at 2:01.552, was in good enough shape to extend his leadership at the standings by finishing in pole.
Instead, it was Russell, who started to pump in purple sectors and crossed the line in 2:00.086 – pushing Hamilton down to third as Verstappen took pole.
In post-race remarks, Russell was full of praise for the team as his intermediate tyres gave him the confidence to go at it even in the wet weather. He said: “I don’t know what to say. I thought we would do a good job to get out of Q1 after what the car felt like yesterday, so to be on the front row is amazing. The team did an amazing job.
“We just had to go for it. Tomorrow is the important one and we need to go and get some points tomorrow.”
For Verstappen, the quality of his driving was brilliant on the day and under those conditions. He found the pace he needed in the dying seconds to claim pole, leaving title rival Hamilton and Russell short.
The Red Bull driver said: “It has been a tricky qualifying. At the end we are first and that is the most important. It is an amazing track to drive, and challenging in the wet.“
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
