Max Verstappen "super happy" to master "very challenging" Belgian GP qualifying

Max Verstappen in the rain at Spa in Belgium — Photo: © LAT Images

Belgian Grand Prix

Verstappen "super happy" to master "very challenging" Belgian GP qualifying

Verstappen will start the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position with championship-rival Hamilton third

Sam Hall

Saturday 28 August 2021 17:22 Updated: 17:42

Max Verstappen declared himself "super happy" to have secured pole position in the "very challenging" Spa-Francorchamps conditions.

After surrendering the championship lead ahead of the summer shutdown in Hungary, Verstappen bounced back to score pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix from surprise contender George Russell in his Williams, with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton third.

The session took place in wet conditions with the circuit initially drying throughout the first two phases before rain fell heavily before Q3, and with that session punctuated by a nasty crash for McLaren's Lando Norris.

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After securing his ninth career pole and first for the team in a decade at the track, Verstappen said: “It was a really tricky qualifying.

"It was hard to keep the car on the track and switch the tyres on at the right time.

“Also the long break between Q2 and Q3, it is not easy then to settle in and learn the track conditions again but at the end, we were first and that is, of course, most important.

“It’s an amazing track to drive in the dry but very challenging in the wet.”

In the early stages of qualifying, choosing between the intermediate and full-wet tyres appeared difficult.

Explaining the decision making, Verstappen explained: “As you could see in Q1, a lot of people, including myself, went out on the extreme but it was just very slow. It was really a lot of seconds off of the pace.

“Then naturally you switch to the intermediate but of course that tyre cannot handle a lot of standing water so then also it becomes quite tricky.

“Overall, I’m super happy to have a qualifying like this after the break, to have a pole position again.

"We just need to make sure tomorrow we have a clean first lap and then we'll see. With the changing conditions, a lot of things can happen."