F1 | Red Bull, Max Verstappen wins pole: "It wasn't easy, but I'm happy"

All the forecasters hoped for an intense, no-holds-barred qualifying, but in the end it was Max Verstappen who came out on top. The Dutchman has already demonstrated his skills in the wet several times in the past, but the outcome of the Spa qualifying was certainly not at all a given. Between track evolutions, clearings, intermediates and full wets, Verstappen had to challenge Lewis Hamilton, who only began to appear threatening in Q2, but also Lando Norris, who unfortunately abandoned the race for pole after a frightening accident in Q3. Max certainly didn't expect to have to deal with an outsider like George Russell, incredible with his Williams, who will join him tomorrow while waiting for the green light on the front row. The Briton took pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix by a few seconds, until Verstappen showed his strength, taking pole three-tenths ahead of Russell. A pole that for the Dutchman - Belgian on his mother's side - was missing from the weekend at Silverstone, where he finished ahead of everyone in the Sprint Race Qualifying. The conditions are expected to be similar to today's also for the race, and therefore unpredictable and chaotic: there are eight points that separate the Red Bull driver from Lewis Hamilton, currently ahead in the drivers' standings. A championship that Verstappen commanded for almost the entire first part of the season and which he will now forcefully want to recover.

"I'm very happy to have achieved pole position here at home, but it wasn't easy on the track. Being able to do a clean lap was really complicated, I was trying to find the right trajectories at the right moments, and understand how fast to go in corners after a long red flag period – explained the pole man – it was really important to get the tires up to temperature, because this could give you a few seconds per lap on a track as long as this one. Tomorrow we don't know if the track will be dry or wet at the start, and if it is wet I don't mind starting from first position, I will have a clear view, but I hope there are no problems.

"I also hope that Lando is well and that he has not suffered any problems, because the impact did not look good at all, he is a good friend and I hope he can race tomorrow” concluded Max.