The Belgian Grand Prix polesitter has not retired since 2005, all of the top 14 positions have provided top three finishes and wins from the second row are rare. Here’s everything you need to know about the history of each grid slot at Spa Francorchamps!
BELGIAN GRAND PRIX GRID STATS IN BRIEF
- Polesitter has finished on the podium every year since 2007
- 3rd, 6th and 14th won in last three years
- 16th has furthest back win
- 20th has never scored
- Furthest back podium finish from 21st
BELGIAN GRAND PRIX RESULTS: GRID OVERVIEW
| Grid Slot | Last Win | Last Podium | Last Points | Last Non Finish | Best Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 | 2024 | 2024 | 2005 | 1st |
| 2 | 2018 | 2023 | 2024 | 2014 | 1st |
| 3 | 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2008 | 1st |
| 4 | - | 2019 | 2024 | 2023 | 2nd |
| 5 | 2014 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 1st |
| 6 | 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2018 | 1st |
| 7 | - | 2018 | 2024 | 2020 (DNS) | 2nd |
| 8 | 1963 | 2009 | 2024 | 2018 | 1st |
| 9 | - | 2015 | 2024 | 2016 | 2nd |
| 10 | 2004 | 2012 | 2023 | 2017 | 1st |
| 11 | - | 1986 | 2024 | 2019 | 3rd |
| 12 | 1962 | 1962 | 2020 | 2018 | 1st |
| 13 | - | 2011 | 2024 | 2022 | 3rd |
| 14 | 2022 | 2022 | 2023 | 2018 | 1st |
| 15 | - | - | 2022 | 2020 | 5th |
| 16 | 1995 | 1995 | 2022 | 2014 | 1st |
| 17 | - | - | 2019 | 2014 | 4th |
| 18 | - | - | 2015 | 2020 | 6th |
| 19 | - | - | 2019 | 2024 | 7th |
| 20 | - | - | - | 2016 | 11th |
- 6 of last 10 races won from pole
- Polesitter not won since 2021
- Longest streak without a DNF
- Podiums every race since 2006
The polesitter has gone on to win the Belgian Grand Prix at 21 of the 57 events which have been held at Spa.
Six of the last ten Spa races have been won from pole – but the polesitter has not won the Belgian Grand Prix since 2021. Instead, the polesitter has finished third in all of the last three seasons.
Pole position is the grid slot which has gone the longest without a DNF, with Juan Pablo Montoya being the last polesitter to have retired at this track back in 2005. Since then, the polesitter has finished on the podium in every race at the circuit.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM POLE POSITION AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
- One win in last 11 years
- Points in 10 of last 11 races
In recent years, we’ve seen the driver in second being likely to lead by the fourth corner thanks to the layout of the track. After the cars have gone through Eau Rouge and up the Raidillon section of track, they come to the Kemmel Straight, where slipstreaming can be highly effective.
Despite that, in the last 11 seasons, only one win has been taken by the driver starting second. That was for Sebastian Vettel in 2018.
Max Verstappen’s 11th place in 2016 is the only time in the last nine years that the driver starting here has failed to score. The driver starting second finished second at four Belgian Grand Prix weekends in a row between 2020 and 2023 but Sergio Perez’s seventh place in 2024 ended that streak.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 2ND ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| DNF | 2 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
- 2024 was first win since 1998
- No DNFs since 2008
In 2024 Lewis Hamilton inherited victory at the Belgian Grand Prix from team-mate George Russell, who was disqualified from the race. It was the first win for the driver starting third at Spa since 1998, when Damon Hill took a famous first win for the Jordan team.
Between 2013 and 2018, the driver starting third failed to finish on the podium at the Belgian Grand Prix. Since then, there have been four podium finishes in the last six years. In addiition to the 2024 win, Hamilton finished as runner-up in 2019, while Max Verstappen and Hamilton finished in third place in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
No retirements have been recorded from this position since 2008.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 3RD ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 5 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
- No wins in 57 races
- 10 podium finishes
- DNFs in two of last three seasons
In the 57 races at Spa, the driver starting from fourth has never recorded a victory. There have been just ten podium finishes from this position, including six runner-up finishes, but never a win.
In 2019, Valtteri Bottas became the first driver to record a podium finish from this grid slot since Fernando Alonso, who finished second in 2005.
Lewis Hamilton’s retirement from fourth on the grid at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix brought to an end a streak of nine consecutive points-scoring races for the driver starting fourth. Carlos Sainz also retired having started here in 2023, recording the grid slot’s first successive retirements since the early 1990s.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 4TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | DNF | DNF |
- More DNFs than any other grid slot
- Last win in 2014
- 4 DNFs in last 10 races
The fifth grid position at Spa has suffered more DNFs than any other. There have been a total of 27 DNFs from fifth on the grid – the most recent of which was for Oscar Piastri on the first lap in 2023 – plus a disqualification for Mika Hakkinen following a fuel irregularity in 1997, costing him a podium finish.
The recent history of this grid slot is very inconsistent. While Romain Grosjean, Alex Albon. Sebastian Vettel and George Russell have secured top seven results in the last seven seasons, before that the grid slot saw four DNFs in six seasons, interspersed by two top three finishes for Daniel Ricciardo, including a win in 2014. Last year, Piastri finished as runner-up having started there – the position’s first podium result since 2016.
In the 11 races at the track between 1968 and 1992, Nigel Mansell in 1986 was the only driver not to record a DNF having started here – and he won the race!
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 5TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 1 | DNF | 2 | DNF | 7 | DNF | 6 | 5 | 4 | DNF |
- Won in 2023, sixth win in total
- Three podiums in last 11 years
Max Verstappen won the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix from sixth on the grid. The grid slot would have won in each of the last two seasons, had George Russell not been disqualified post-race for his car being underweight.
Sixth on the grid has supplied six wins in total at Spa Francorchamps – more than either of the grid slots immediately ahead of it, and more than any behind it.
Verstappen’s victory was the first for a driver starting sixth at Spa since Kimi Raikkonen in 2009. In the interim, the position had two podium finishes, both third places, for Valtteri Bottas in 2014 and Daniel Ricciardo in 2017.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 6TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | DNF | 16 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 1 |
- 2023 was first points score since 2019
- Last podium in 2018
- Fewest podiums of any top nine grid slot
Lando Norris’ seventh place finish in the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix marked the first time that the driver starting seventh scored a point at Spa Francorchamps since 2019.
The seventh grid slot was left clear in both 2020 and 2021. Carlos Sainz failed to start the race in 2020, while Sergio Perez was relegated to the back of the pack after crashing on his way to the grid in 2021. Daniel Ricciardo finished only 15th having started here in 2022.
Before 2020, the driver starting here had finished no lower than sixth in all of the previous four seasons, and Max Verstappen recorded a podium finish from here in 2018. His was the first podium result from this grid slot since the turn of the millennium, and only the fourth from here overall. Seventh has had the fewest podium finishes of any grid slot in the top nine.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 7TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 12 | DNF | 4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | DNS | – | 15 | 7 |
- 2023 was best result since 2014
- DNF in five of the last 14 races
- High top ten finish rate
In 2020, Sergio Perez became the first driver to score points from eighth on the grid at the Belgian Grand Prix since 2016. In 2023, George Russell finished sixth, recording the grid slot’s best result since 2014.
The driver starting here has retired from two of the last eight races at the track, and has suffered five DNFs in the last 14 races.
However, in better news, only pole position and third on the grid have had more points-scoring races at the track, while only pole and fourth have finished in the top ten more times than this grid slot.
There have been ten occasions on which the driver starting here has finished on the podium; the most recent driver to do so was Sebastian Vettel in 2009.
Following a pre-race electronics issue for Pierre Gasly in 2022, the eighth grid slot was left empty for the first time in Spa’s tenure on the F1 calendar.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 8TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 4 | DNF | 8 | DNF | DNF | 12 | 10 | 7 | – | 6 |
- Two podiums in last 12 years
- 13 points finishes in last 20 races
In the last 12 years, two podium finishes have come from ninth on the grid at the Belgian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso recorded the grid position’s best ever result with a second place finish in 2013, while Romain Grosjean finished third in 2015.
Fernando Alonso’s fifth place finish in the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix marked the best result for this grid slot since Grosjean’s 2015 podium.
The position has provided points scoring finishes more often than not in recent seasons, with 13 points finishes from the last 20 races.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 9TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 13 | 3 | DNF | 9 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 5 |
- A single win, in 2004
- Last podium in 2012
- 29 top ten finishes in total
Kimi Raikkonen won the Belgian Grand Prix from tenth on the grid in 2004, marking the only time that this grid slot has provided a win at Spa. Since then, Sebastian Vettel finished on the podium having started tenth in 2012.
Tenth on the grid has had 29 top ten finishes as well as 25 non-classified results. The driver starting here has scored points seven times in the last nine seasons, with Alex Albon’s 12th place finish in 2024 marking the first time that the driver starting tenth failed to score since 2019.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 10TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 6 | DNF | 10 | DNF | 9 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
- 4 points finishes in last 10 seasons
- 3 podium finishes, last in 1986
In the last ten seasons, four points-scoring finishes have come from 11th on the grid at the Belgian Grand Prix. Those were for Romain Grosjean, who finished seventh in 2017, Carlos Sainz, who finished tenth in 2021, Yuki Tsunoda, who finished tenth in 2023 and Max Verstappen, who finished fourth in 2024.
Verstappen’s fourth place in 2024 was the first top four result for the driver starting 11th at Spa since 2012. The driver starting here has finished on the podium three times, all three times being third place finishes; the most recent of which was for Stefan Johansson in 1986.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 11TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 9 | DNS | 13 | 7 | 14 | DNF | 11 | 10 | 18 | 10 |
- Won once, in 1962
- Last points in 2020
In the last 18 years, the driver starting 12th at the Belgian Grand Prix has scored six times, including a second-best-ever result of fourth for Daniil Kvyat in 2015.
The only result better than that was Jim Clark’s win in 1962, making this the third furthest back grid slot from which a victory has been secured at Spa.
The driver starting 12th finished eighth in both 2019 and 2020, which are the most recent points-scoring races for this grid slot.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 12TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 11 | 4 | DNF | 15 | DNF | 8 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 11 |
- 8 points finishes in last 14 races
- Last podium in 2011
The driver starting from 13th at Spa has scored eight times in the last 14 races, and Jenson Button took a podium finish having started from here in 2011.
Charles Leclerc’s 14th place in 2020 marked the first time the driver starting 13th failed to score at Spa since 2016. In 2024, Daniel Ricciardo’s tenth place finish marked the first points scored from this position since 2019.
The position has given three podium finishes in total, additionally providing third place finishes for Andrea de Cesaris in 1987 and for Martin Brundle in 1995.
At the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas recorded this grid slot’s first DNF since 2009.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 13TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 8 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 12 | DNF | 12 |
- Won in 2022
- Win was first points since 2012
- Also scored in 2023
Max Verstappen became the first driver to win from 14th on the grid at Spa at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix. His win was the first points finish for a driver starting here since Felipe Massa’s fifth place in 2012.
More points followed in 2023, with Esteban Ocon finishing eighth having started 14th. It was the first time this grid position has scored at successive races in Spa’s history.
In addition to Verstappen’s 2022 win, 14th on the grid has supplied two further podium finishes at Spa: second place for Bruce McLaren in 1960 and third for Ivan Capelli in 1988.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 14TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 14 | 11 | DNF | 13 | DNF | 15 | 13 | 13 | 1 | 8 |
- Never finished above fifth
- Last top five finish in 1987
- 2022 is only points finish since 2012
The driver starting 15th at Spa has never finished above fifth at the Belgian Grand Prix. Two drivers have finished in the top five from this grid slot: Jackie Oliver in 1968 and Satoru Nakajima in 1987.
In 2022, Charles Leclerc finished sixth, becoming the first driver to score from 15th on the grid at Spa since 2012. Four of the last 11 Spa races have resulted in retirements for the driver starting here.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 15TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| DNF | 16 | DNF | 11 | 12 | DNF | DNF | 14 | 6 | 14 |
- Furthest back win at the track, in 1995
- Six points finishes since win – four in the last 10 races
The 16th grid slot is the one which holds the record for the furthest back win at Spa. Michael Schumacher took victory for Benetton from this position back in 1995.
The grid slot may have only scored in the Belgian Grand Prix six times since then, but four of those occasions have been in the last ten races.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 16TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| DNF | 7 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 15 |
- Top five finishes in 2018 and 2019
- One DNF in the last 15 races
- 3 top ten finishes in the last 26 races
The driver starting 17th at Spa scored top five finishes in both 2018 and 2019. Valtteri Bottas finished fourth in 2018 – the grid slot’s best ever finishing position – while Alex Albon finished fifth in 2019.
In the last 15 years, the grid slot has had only one retirement. In total, there have been 13 top ten finishes from 17th on the grid at Spa – but only three in the last 26 races.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 17TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| DNF | 15 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 13 |
- Three DNFs in last eight seasons
- Only points finishes since 1963 in 2014 & 2015
The driver starting from 18th at the Belgian Grand Prix has retired three times in the last eight years.
In the last 39 races at the track, Nico Hulkenberg and Max Verstappen are the only drivers to have scored from this position, having done so in consecutive years (2014 and 2015).
Before them, Carel Godin de Beaufort was the only other driver to have scored from 18th on the grid at Spa, taking a sixth place finish for Porsche in the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 18TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 10 | 8 | 12 | DNF | DNF | 18 | DNF | 17 | 14 | 17 |
- Three points finishes; last in 2019
- Best result of 7th, in 2001
The driver starting 19th at the Belgian Grand Prix has scored only three times, with all three of those occasions being in the last 19 races at Spa.
The best result from this grid slot is seventh, recorded by Ralf Schumacher in 2001, before the position offered points, and by Daniil Kvyat in 2019.
Romain Grosjean’s retirement in 2009 was the only time since 2005 that the driver starting here failed to finish until 2024, when Zhou Gunayu recorded this position’s first DNF in 15 years.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 19TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 16 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 20 | 17 | 16 |
- Never scored a point nor a top ten finish
- Best result of 11th in 2005
Of the top 20 grid slots at the Spa Francorchamps circuit, 20th is the only one to have never scored a point at the track; nor has it ever recorded a top ten finish.
Top ten finishes have come from 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th on the grid, but never from 20th. The best finish from this grid slot was 11th place for Narain Karthikeyan in the 2005 race.
Due to pit lane starts, this grid slot has been left empty at four of the last six Belgian Grand Prix weekends.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 20TH ON THE GRID AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 15 | 13 | DNF | 14 | 15 | – | 17 | – | – | – |
In 2022, Pierre Gasly became the first driver to score points from the pit lane at Spa, finishing in ninth place. His was the fifth pit lane start at the track – but none of those before resulted in a better finishing position than 13th.
At least one driver has started from the pit lane in three of the last four Belgian Grands Prix. Nico Hulkenberg started from the pit lane in 2023 but could finish no higher than 18th.
