**Leclerc Claims Pole Amid Verstappen’s Speed as Grid Penalty Shakes Up Belgian GP Qualifying**

Max Verstappen sets the fastest time, but Charles Leclerc secures pole at the Belgian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc claims pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, even though Max Verstappen led the times in the rain-soaked qualifying session.

Max Verstappen secured the fastest time in a rainy qualifying session at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix, but due to a grid penalty, Charles Leclerc will begin the race from pole position.

For the second consecutive year, Verstappen clocked the quickest time in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps, but an engine change penalty relegated him, promoting Leclerc to the pole position.

The current world champion from Red Bull was over half a second faster than Leclerc, but due to a 10-place grid penalty for surpassing his power unit allowance for the season, he will begin the race in 11th position.

Leclerc commented that he was certainly not anticipating the events of this weekend. He noted that given the challenging conditions, they were able to achieve results that exceeded their expectations.

"It was a positive day for the team, and now we need to concentrate on tomorrow and observe what unfolds once the rain clears."

"Without the rain, we would likely have been competing for fifth place, particularly against the Mercedes team. However, the rain worked in our favor to some extent, so there's no reason for me to complain."

"I’m delighted with my performance in Q3, and it feels great to be starting from the front of the grid again. Now, we need to finish strong tomorrow."

Holding onto first place during the initial lap here isn't straightforward, but we'll see how it goes. Every race start is unique, and once I'm driving through Eau Rouge tomorrow, I'll determine the best course of action.

Sergio Perez came very close to securing his first pole position of 2024, but the Mexican driver, who is currently facing a lot of pressure, will line up next to Leclerc on the front row for Sunday’s grand prix.

Lewis Hamilton secured the third starting position for Mercedes, finishing 0.676 seconds behind Max Verstappen. The seven-time world champion managed to outperform McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

George Russell is set to start from sixth place, followed by Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari, Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin, and Esteban Ocon representing Alpine.

Williams driver Alex Albon narrowly missed qualifying for Q3 by a mere 0.003 seconds, but he will begin the race in 10th position, ahead of his former Red Bull teammate Verstappen.

Pierre Gasly expressed his disappointment after missing out on the top-10 shootout, finishing in 12th place and unable to join his Alpine teammate.

Daniel Ricciardo clocked the 13th-fastest time for Red Bull, while Valtteri Bottas from Sauber secured the 14th spot. Lance Stroll, who experienced a significant crash during the last practice session, managed to achieve the 15th quickest time for Aston Martin.

Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen from Haas will start in the 16th and 17th positions, respectively, ahead of Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda. Logan Sargeant failed to advance to Q2 like his Williams teammate, and Zhou Guanyu recorded the slowest time for Sauber.

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