F1 champion Max Verstappen grateful for Red Bull sacrifice at Belgian Grand Prix

Verstappen in blue Red Bull tee and orange cap holding FIA and F1 mic looking smug — Photo: © IMAGO

Belgian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen grateful for Red Bull sacrifice at Belgian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen will start on the front row at Spa

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 19 July 2026 14:07

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Four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen expressed his gratitude to Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar following qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli put his Mercedes car on pole once again, and had a huge gap to second after putting in a fantastic lap in Q3.

But, surprisingly, that second place went to Red Bull's Verstappen, rather than George Russell driving the other dominant Mercedes car.

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Verstappen has looked fast all weekend long, but his ability to get himself on to the front row was certainly helped by his team-mate Hadjar, who sacrificed his Q3 running to help Verstappen.

Hadjar will start from 21st for the Belgian GP regardless, having been ordered to start from the back of the pack after Red Bull changed three elements on his power unit, all of which he had already exceeded his allowed quota for this season.

Therefore, Hadjar got himself through Q1 and Q2 so that he could help his Dutch team-mate Verstappen in Q3.

That involved giving Verstappen a tow throughout his last qualifying lap, tucked up behind Hadjar in the final sector when power deployment was not optimal.

Hadjar then pulled out of the way at just the right time to ensure he didn't hamper his team-mate, and the overall effect resulted in Verstappen being on the front row. Now, Verstappen has expressed his gratitude to Hadjar.

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Verstappen admits team-mate gave him second place

"It was definitely helping me, otherwise I would not be standing here," Verstappen said of the tow. "Otherwise I think I would be like P6, or something.

"So, I think Isack today, knowing that has to start at the back of the grid, he did a really good job giving me a tow in the final sector, and that’s why we’re standing right here.

"For sure, tomorrow I think I’ll be looking in my mirrors at the people around me, but at least today we had a really good result.

"I think the car has been quite decent the whole weekend, not on the level maybe that Kimi was doing. But we’re happy to be on the front row with how we executed as a team.

"It’s always tough around here with the tyres and the long runs. I’ll just do my best and see if we can hang in there or not."