Qualifying Highlights | 2022 Belgian Grand Prix

Stroll will be next to cross the line, and he makes his way out of the bottom five into the top ten. Is that going to be enough for him, I wonder? Mick Schumacher, only 13th fastest. He's got penalties to come, of course. Don't forget that. Valtteri Bottas makes his way back into the pits. He's out of qualifying. Joe Guanyu goes into the top seven, crossing the line now. Kevin Magnussen stays 18th. We're on board with Sebastian Vettel, who's in the bottom five, but it's in his own hands to try and get out of it, and he does. Getting that all wrong, I'm afraid. The Alfa Tauri of Yuki Tsunoda, Lewis Hamilton, was 13th, crosses the line, goes fifth fastest, still over a second off the pace. George Russell just goes ahead of him at fifth fastest now. Ricciardo down to 13th, as Albon goes sixth fastest. Sebastian Vettel in the bottom five, former pole sitter here on numerous occasions, has been knocked out by two one thousandths of a second. Valtteri Bottas knocked out in Q1. Disappointment for him. Max Verstappen, half a second clear of Carlos Sainz out in front. 30.5 for Alex Albon during the course of the first sector. That is the fastest first sector we've had so far in this Q2 session. Fernando Alonso goes fifth fastest. A 1.455 should be enough, if the cut-off predictions are right. Pierre Gasly, eighth fastest, might be on the cusp a little bit there and a bit in trouble, as Joe Guanyeu goes ninth fastest. Hamilton and Russell now very much at risk. Russell stays in the top ten because Lance Stroll is out of qualifying, only 11th fastest for him. Fastest middle sector has gone to Charles Leclerc, who goes quickest overall. 1.445 and ahead of Max Verstappen by nearly two tenths of a second. Here's Ricciardo. Gets into Q3 so far. Eighth fastest for Daniel Ricciardo. What can the two Mercedes drivers do to Ricciardo's position? Fifth fastest for Hamilton. He's picked up the pace a little bit. George Russell behind him goes sixth fastest. Much better for the Mercedes. Alex Albon, tenth fastest. Daniel Ricciardo is out and he's out in Q2 as Alex Albon, for the first time this season, puts him and his Williams into Q3. Ricciardo, along with Gasly and Joe and Stroll and Schumacher, all making their exits. Leclerc, fastest. Through the first sector then. A clear advantage for Verstappen, a clear advantage for Perez and for Sainz, too, with that slipstream. Alex Albon with a 1.463 has the first time on the board for them all to aim at. For the time being, Alex Albon on provisional pole because he's the only one that's set a time here in Q3. But the next ones across the line will be Sergio Perez who will be looking a more realistic bet for pole position if he can put the time in on this lap. 1.444 for Sergio Perez. Very nice indeed. Verstappen, two purple sectors. Make that three purple sectors. Let me know what do I do with these tyres. Copy, copy. So we will do the lap? So we do the lap? Yes, confirmed. We do the lap. So carry on with it, Charles. Carlos Sainz splits the two red bulls. Sainz on a net pole at the moment as Esteban Ocon goes fourth fastest in the Alpine. Hamilton, fifth fastest behind Alex Albon. Lando Norris goes ahead of Alex Albon as George Russell then goes ahead of the Williams too. So as it stands with the top ten, take out Verstappen, take out Ocon and Norris and Leclerc because they're being sent to the back of the grid. Carlos Sainz finds himself in a net pole position. Carlos Sainz then wanted a bit of a slipstream. Might still get a slipstream because Charles Leclerc has now appeared, appeared in the nick of time. There's the slipstream. Yes, that was literally just in time, wasn't it? That's the one thing Ferrari have got right there. But Sainz, 30.8 in the first sector. Well, his tyres would have been not up to temperature because of that really extra slow outlap. I think he had to lift at the bottom of the hill slightly off the throttle. Oh dear. This has not been a perfectly executed qualifying for Ferrari, but they still find themselves in a net pole position at the moment unless others can beat him. Sergio Perez, by the way, two tenths faster than Carlos Sainz through the first sector. Eighth gear, top gear into Pouhon and barely a lift at the throttle. That's beyond belief. Fernando Alonso, a tenth up on Carlos Sainz through the first sector. Oh, kicking up an awful lot there. And that's going to cause a little bit of vision impairment for those following on behind. Lots of dust and gravel being kicked up into the sky. It's a scruffy old lap for young Carlos, this one, for one reason and another. And it's just not working out in the sector times. No, it's not. Crucially, though, Fernando Alonso still going faster than Carlos Sainz on this particular lap. Is that going to be enough, I wonder, to get ahead of the Ferrari? Come the final parts of Q3, the chequered flag is out. Carlos Sainz takes to the line now and can't improve. He's still on provisional pole, but here comes Fernando Alonso. Sixth fastest for Fernando Alonso, but ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Only seventh fastest. Sergio Perez behind Carlos Sainz. George Russell crosses the line eighth fastest in qualifying. Alex Albon is ninth fastest, and that is a qualifying win for Red Bull. Max Verstappen goes to the back of the grid, along with many others. So it's Carlos Sainz Jr. who will take pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, with Sergio Perez lining up alongside him on the front row. Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton on row two. George Russell and Alex Albon on row three.