With no driver starting in the position in which they qualified, Bottas was eliminated in Q1 for the first time in over seven years and Albon became the 20th driver to qualify in the top ten this year. Here are the facts and statistics from qualifying at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix!
VERSTAPPEN FASTEST, SAINZ ON POLE
Max Verstappen set the fastest time in qualifying by over six tenths of a second but a grid penalty means that Carlos Sainz will start from pole position at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix. Sainz secured the second pole position of his career, making him the 71st driver to take multiple pole positions in Formula 1.
This was the first time that Sainz has qualified in the top six at the Belgian Grand Prix. His previous best Saturday result at Spa was seventh, recorded with McLaren in 2020.
Sainz took Ferrari’s 11th pole position at Spa, meaning the Scuderia equals McLaren as the team to have started from pole on the most occasions at the circuit.
Ferrari overtook Mercedes as the engine manufacturer with the most pole positions at the Belgian Grand Prix. This was the 15th time that a Ferrari-powered car has taken pole at the event.
This was the first time that a Ferrari driver has reached Q3 at the Belgian Grand Prix since 2019.
IN THE TOP 10
Setting the third fastest time, Sergio Perez recorded his best Belgian Grand Prix qualifying result to date. His third place beats his previous best result of fourth in 2018.
Charles Leclerc made his first Q3 appearance at the Belgian Grand Prix since taking pole in 2019. He set the fourth fastest time and was out-qualified by a team-mate at the circuit for the first time.
Despite carrying a back of the grid penalty, Esteban Ocon recorded his best qualifying result of the 2022 season to date with fifth place.
Fernando Alonso qualified in sixth place, recording his best Spa qualifying result since 2014. He moves up to third on the grid, equalling his best-ever starting slot at the Belgian Grand Prix. He previously lined up third in both 2004 and 2007.
At Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton qualified seventh, while George Russell was eighth fastest. This marked the first time since 2012 that neither Mercedes driver qualified in the top three at the Belgian Grand Prix.
This was the 14th time that Hamilton has qualified in the top 10 at Spa. He overtook Kimi Raikkonen as the driver to have qualified in the top ten on the most occasions at the venue.
For only the second time this year, a Williams driver reached Q3. Alex Albon qualified in the top ten for the first time since the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. With ninth place, he recorded the team’s best qualifying result of the season.
With Albon reaching Q3, all 20 drivers have now qualified in the top ten at some point during the 2022 season.
Lando Norris qualified tenth at the Belgian Grand Prix for a third successive season.
OUT IN Q2
Daniel Ricciardo failed to reach Q3 at the Belgian Grand Prix for the first time since driving with Toro Rosso in 2013.
Lance Stroll was eliminated in Q2, making 2022 the first time since 2014 that neither of the Silverstone-based team’s drivers have reached Q3 at the Belgian Grand Prix.
OUT IN Q1
Sebastian Vettel missed out on reaching Q2 by just 0.002 seconds. He recorded his first Q1 exit at the Belgian Grand Prix since 2007.
Vettel recorded the Silverstone-based team’s first Q1 exit in Belgium since Nico Hulkenberg was eliminated in Q1 with Force India in 2014.
With 18th place, Kevin Magnussen recorded his worst qualifying result of the 2022 season to date.
Magnussen became only the sixth driver to record 50 Q1 exits in Formula 1.
For the first time in his career, Valtteri Bottas set a lap time good enough for only the back row of the grid.
This was the first time in over seven years that Bottas was eliminated in Q1. He was last out in Q1 at the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix, 148 races ago.