Charles Leclerc has conceded that Max Verstappen was unbeatable in Belgian Grand Prix qualifying as he inherited pole position. Verstappen clocked the fastest time at Spa-Francorchamps in wet-dry conditions and was 0.820secs clear of Leclerc's Ferrari in Q3 but will be demoted to sixth provisionally once a gearbox penalty is applied. It means Leclerc inherits pole position - the 20th of his F1 career - but couldn't hide the fact that the Red Bull was simply too fast on the day for him to earn pole outright.
Leclerc's Verstappen admission
"It was not a bad Qualifying for us, and especially in these conditions, it is always tricky to put everything together," Leclerc explained after his second pole of the season. "I put in a lot of work in these conditions as I wasn't really comfortable a few races ago and it really seems to have paid off. "We went a bit too early for that last run, but pole was definitely not for us today, as Max was too quick. "We could have been a bit closer, but having said that, we have a great starting position for Sunday, so let's see how it goes. "It was really tricky, and Kevin [Magnussen] went into the wall on front of me, so I didn't put a lap in early and then you've got all the pressure on that last lap that you need to do in those conditions. "It wasn't easy but at the end, everything went well. "Having said that, there's still quite a bit of work to do in order to catch the Red Bulls."
Most read
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
