George Russell’s Belgian Grand Prix win referred to stewards with investigation under way

George Russell held off Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to win the Belgian Grand Prix following a thrilling finale at Spa-Francorchamps, but the Briton faces an investigation from the FIA for having an underweight car. Hamilton looked set to follow up his victory at Silverstone three weeks ago with another visit to the winner’s enclosure after he assumed the lead of the race on lap three of 44.

Russell’s win was placed in significant doubt after his car was found to be below the minimum weight allowance.

Mercedes have been summoned to the stewards at 18:10 local time (17:10 BST).

A statement from the FIA’s technical delegate Jo Bauer read: “After the race, car number 63 (Russell) was weighed and its weight was 798.0 kg, which is the minimum weight required by TR Article 4.1.

“After this, fuel was drained out of the car and 2.8 litres of fuel were removed. The car was not fully drained according to the draining procedure submitted by the team in their legality documents as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled.

“The car was weighed again on the FIA inside and outside scales and the weight was 796.5 kg. The calibration of the outside and inside scales was confirmed and witnessed by the competitor.

“As this is 1.5 kg below the minimum weight requested in TR Article 4.1, which also has to be respected at all times during the competition, I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration.”

But Russell, who started sixth, had other plans and he adopted a bold one-stop strategy to outfox his rivals and claim just the third victory of his career. Russell crossed the line a mere half a second ahead of Hamilton, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri third and only six tenths behind the runner-up. Ferrari pole-sitter Charles Leclerc took fourth place.

Max Verstappen started 11th following an engine penalty and crossed the line in fifth, one place ahead of a disappointed Lando Norris, to extend his championship lead over the British driver heading into Formula One’s four-week summer shutdown.

Mercedes are a team rejuvenated. Following a painful start to the season for the Silver Arrows, this marked the constructor’s first one-two finish since the penultimate round of the 2022 season in Brazil. Russell claimed his maiden win on that day in Interlagos, and here, seemingly against all the odds, it was his turn again.

For much of this fascinating contest, it looked as though it would be Hamilton who would win after he started third, and blasted past Red Bull’s Sergio Perez on the run up to Eau Rouge on the opening lap before moving clear of Leclerc on lap three. But on lap 26, Hamilton peeled into the pits for his second change of rubber with Russell calling on his team to consider a one-stop strategy.

With a dozen laps remaining, Russell, on ageing rubber, was seven seconds clear of Hamilton. “Am I on target to beat him?” Hamilton asked. “It will be close,” came the reply from his race engineer, Peter Bonnington. With a handful of laps remaining, Hamilton was occupying Russell’s mirrors but he never got close enough to threaten. “I had tyres left, but the team called me in,” Hamilton said. “Unfortunate. But that is what it is.”

A jubilant Russell was lauded as “the tyre whisperer” by team principal Toto Wolff over the radio. “Amazing result,” Russell said. “We did not predict the win this morning but I kept saying we could do the one-stop and the strategy guys did a great job.”

For Norris, he will be feeling this was a missed opportunity to take a chunk out of Verstappen’s championship lead. Norris lined up from fourth on the grid, but a week after a poor getaway at the Hungaroring allowed Piastri to take control of the race and claim his maiden win, the Englishman was left to rue another bad start.

The 24-year-old held his position ahead of the opening La Source corner, but he dipped his rear-left tyre into the gravel which cost him dearly on the 220mph drag through Eau Rouge and into the Kemmel Straight. Suddenly, Norris was seventh and midway through the second lap Verstappen – who had started seven places behind him – was just one position back in eighth.

McLaren’s strategy will also be back in the spotlight after Verstappen undercut Norris at the opening round of stops. Verstappen stopped on lap 10 but Norris was not hauled in for his first of two tyre changes until lap 15. When he left the pits, he was six seconds behind the Dutchman and he did not have the pace to get back past his title rival.

Russell holds of Hamilton to take Belgian GP win – as it happened

04:08 PM BST

McLaren just aren’t there yet, are they?

Whether mistakes from drivers, operationally or strategically, they are not making the most of their opportunities – as good as their car is.

Mercedes have won three races to their two, including a 1-2 today. McLaren talk about taking the positives and that is right. It’s not a disaster but they are just missing that final few per cent that will make the difference in either championship.

04:05 PM BST

Lando Norris speaks after a disappointing day

Another one of them, really. Not a disaster but just didn’t extract the most from the car again. He made a mistake early on which, as he says below, really cost him.

04:03 PM BST

Points scored from Miami GP onwards

1. Verstappen 165pts

2. Norris 139pts

3. Piastri 126pts

4. Hamilton 124pts

5. Russell 108pts

6. Leclerc 98pts

7. Sainz 91pts

8. Perez 44pts

03:58 PM BST

Pole is not what it once was

The 2024 season has become exceptional in the last three months.

03:57 PM BST

Was that the weekend Perez needed?

Is it enough for him to keep his Red Bull seat? In the end he finished eighth, last of the top-four team runners and 34 seconds behind Verstappen, who started nine spots behind him.

Yes, he stopped three times so he could claim the fastest lap point but, regardless he would have been a good chunk of time behind. A good Saturday but a slightly anonymous Sunday, even taking into account him being slightly compromised by being pulled in by his team a little earlier as Verstappen got back.

03:50 PM BST

That said, Red Bull lose ground to McLaren today

Here’s how the teams stand:

1. Red Bull 404pts

2. McLaren 361pts

3. Ferrari 340pts

4. Mercedes 284pts

5. Aston Martin 71pts

6. RB 33pts

7. Haas 27pts

8. Alpine 10pts

9. Williams 4pts

10. Sauber 0pts

03:48 PM BST

He finished fifth… but still Verstappen extends his lead in the standings

That is the thing that works in his favour. Yes, Red Bull have been caught but their rivals Verstappen’s rivals are taking points off one another. Here is how the drivers stand after 14 races

1. Verstappen 275pts

2. Norris 197pts

3. Leclerc 174pts

4. Piastri 164pts

5. Sainz 160pts

6. Hamilton 143pts

7. Russell 141pts

8. Perez 129pts

03:43 PM BST

George Russell speaks after his third grand prix victory

03:40 PM BST

Lewis Hamilton speaks

Did they expect a 1-2?

Can he go for the championship?

Again in the cooldown room he says that he is a little annoyed at the team for bringing him in when he had tyre life.

03:36 PM BST

Oscar Piastri reacts to a podium

03:36 PM BST

It is now four races without a victory in F1 for Verstappen

That has not happened since the 2020 season. At the end of that year he had a total of 10 wins. He now has 61, less than four years later.

I expected him to challenge for the podium today but he just did not have the pace to break through those cars ahead. Russell and Piastri say the same thing in the cooldown room, noting that the medium tyres wre not the correct choice.

03:29 PM BST

Was that another one that slipped away from McLaren?

It was a very good drive from Piastri to third. But had he not overshot his marks and had a 4.4sec stop (costing him at least 1.5sec) then he might have cleared Leclerc and been on the Mercedes cars a lap or three sooner.

Maybe, but it’s not a clear cut error costing a certain victory. Perhaps didn’t slip away but didn’t ultimately nail it.

Norris had a bit of an anonymous afternoon, lacking the pace to overtake Verstappen after a poor start dropped him back.

03:27 PM BST

Belgian Grand Prix – Top 10

1. RUS

2. HAM

3. PIA

4. LEC

5. VER

6. NOR

7. SAI

8. PER

9. ALO

10. OCO

03:26 PM BST

GEORGE RUSSELL WINS THE 2024 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX!

Russell crosses the line ahead of Hamilton and Piastri. A great climax and a 1-2 finish for Mercedes! A great final lap.

Who saw that one coming?! Hamilton caught him rapidly but when he got to the rear wing of his team-mate Russell did not really give him a chance, despite having tyres that were 16 laps older than his team-mate’s. And all with the threat of a charging Piastri behind.

03:25 PM BST

FINAL LAP

Hamilton locks up in the final corner and is that his chance to win the race gone? I think it might be… Piastri is there to pounce should any mistakes be made but I think that is what it will take for this top three to change. There’s still the bus-stop chicane, though.

Hamilton closes up in the final sector but he falls back a bit as they enter the flat-out final sector heading into the chicane…

Russell’s corner exit traction has been excellent and he hasn’t given Hamilton a sniff.

03:23 PM BST

Lap 43 of 44 – Still Russell leads!

Both Mercedes cars go deep into turn one and that allows Piastri to close up further but he is running out of laps…

Russell is driving brilliantly here, defending from his team-mate for the victory. But will it be enough?

Soon Piastri will have DRS on Hamilton on the final lap. But will he be close enough to try a move?!

1.6sec between the top three as they enter the final lap!

03:20 PM BST

Lap 42 of 44 – Piastri is going to be on the back of this fight soon

Hamilton gets DRS on the Kemmel Straight but doesn’t take the opportunity. It would have been risky. Piastri closed up by 1.2sec on this battleand he will be closer, I think, by the end of the lap as the two Silver Arrows fight over the lead.

Russell is presumably using his battery power very wisely here. Hamilton hasn’t really had a sniff to be honest. He’s very, very close but hasn’t really made a mistake. Piastri takes another 1.1sec out of Hamilton as still Russell holds on…

03:19 PM BST

Lap 41 of 44 – Will Russell let Hamilton through?

He doesn’t do it at the bus stop chicane. Hamilton is told “just make sure you give each other plenty of space” which suggests they can race. I don’t think Russell has the pace to hold off Hamilton, though.

Piastri takes another 0.7sec out of Hamilton ahead but that isn’t really quite enough. The gap is still around four seconds with four laps to go. Hmmm.

Leclerc-Verstappen-Norris battling for fourth with just 1.2sec between them.

Hamilton is on the back of Russell in the final sector. Russell’s hard tyres are 16 laps older. The one-stop is going to work for Russell, I think, but I don’t think he can resist Hamilton here…

He still holds him off but Hamilton is going to be very close on the Kemmel Straight next time if he doesn’t mess up turn one…

03:17 PM BST

Lap 40 of 44 – Piastri takes six-tenths out of Hamilton last lap

Is that enough? Well, no – not really. He needs the Mercedes cars to squabble really but I am not sure that will happen. Piastri still 4.7sec behind Hamilton which is a lot of ground to make up in the final four or five laps.

03:15 PM BST

Lap 39 of 44 – A better lap from Piastri

But it’s not quite a tenth faster than Hamilton. Should Russell fight Hamilton it brings Piastri much more into play and also jeopardises a potential second for him.

Sainz gets Perez for seventh at Les Combes. Not a great race from Perez today, though how much did that short second stint hamper his afternoon? A little, but not this much.

1.3sec between leader Russell and Hamilton behind. 

03:14 PM BST

Lap 38 of 44 – I wonder if Piastri’s challenge has failed

He isn’t really making any inroads into Hamilton ahead. 5.6sec the gap as it was a couple of laps ago. Hamilton now within 2.6sec of Russell in the lead. It’s between the three men at the front but Hamilton the clear favourite now, though he will still need to overtake Russell. He has the pace to do that but you do wonder how much resistance Russell puts up.

03:12 PM BST

Lap 37 of 44 – Top six and gaps

1. RUS

2. HAM +3.3

3. PIA +8.8

4. LEC +10.7

5. VER +11.8

6. NOR +12.6

Norris within DRS range of Verstappen but just cannot find a way through. Perez has dropped to nearly 10 seconds behind his team-mate and is in seventh.

03:11 PM BST

Lap 36 of 44 – Piastri closer to Leclerc at La Source, turn one

He gets a better exit too and is right behind him on the Kemmel Straight. Leclerc does not want to yield but Piastri commits around the outside again and gets the move done! Great racing and a great move from the young Australian. A supreme talent he is.

Piastri now Hamilton’s biggest threat, certifiably.

3.8sec the gap between leader Russell and team-mate Hamilton behind. Piastri is 5.5sec behind Hamilton, though, having lost 1.5sec or so overtaking Leclerc and failing.

03:09 PM BST

Lap 35 of 44 – Piastri tries to go around the outside of Leclerc at Les Combes

That’s a tough move. You really want it up the inside or to be ahead a lot earlier than he was there.

Verstappen told to give “10 of his finest”. Hamilton about 0.5sec per lap faster than leader Russell and about 0.2sec or so faster than Leclerc. It could all converge in the final few laps. I don’t think Russell is in contention for victory here but definitely a podium.

03:07 PM BST

Lap 34 of 44 – Hamilton asks how much time he needs

He is told about target lap times and is told “it’s close”. “How much time do I need to beat him?” is what he asks exactly. But who is the “him” he is talking about? Piastri is the bigger threat on lap time as it stands.

03:06 PM BST

Lap 33 of 44 – Russell leads Hamilton by 5.8sec

That gap is coming down at about 0.8sec per lap. Piastri is nearly within DRS range of Leclerc in third. Does he have the pace to win this race? Not sure. Hamilton’s pace looks good but Piastri is slightly faster as it stands. He will need to clear Leclerc sharpish, though.

03:03 PM BST

Lap 32 of 44 – Top 10 as it stands

Norris passed Perez on the last lap and is within DRS range of Verstappen once again but on fresher tyres, slightly.

1. RUS

2. HAM +6.9

3. LEC +9.2

4. PIA +11.8

5. VER +15.7

6. NOR +16.6

7. PER +19.9

8. SAI +24.3

9. ALO +38.3

10. BOT +43.2

Norris and Verstappen have both been given permission to push. Let’s see how this pans out.

03:01 PM BST

Lap 31 of 44 – Russell leads Hamilton

7.1sec in it. Russell says he is happy to stay out, so it looks like a one-stop race from him for now.

03:00 PM BST

Lap 30 of 44 – Norris comes out behind the two Red Bulls

Perez ahead of Verstappen, who undercut his team-mate. Norris ahead of Sainz, at least, who is on 1-lap old hard tyres so will need to stop again. Perez moves out of the way to let Verstappen through. I think fourth is perhaps the limit of Verstappen’s ambitions today.

Piastri is called into the pits which will then put George Russell into the lead, assuming he does not stop too.

Piastri has a very slow stop, going long on his marks. A 4.4sec stop. A two-second loss, really. Will he come out ahead of Perez and Verstappen?! Yes, just about but Verstappen is the fastest man on track currently.

02:58 PM BST

Lap 29 of 44 – Hamilton still the favourite here

He has the net lead. Norris pits to try and cover off Verstappen. A messy-ish afternoon for Norris today. A poor start hampered him and then he has been strategically boxed in so to speak.

02:56 PM BST

Lap 28 of 44 – Piastri sets the fastest lap of the race

He is the race leader. He is told “this looks good, let’s go!”. Are they cranking it up now he has some clean air?

Whilst Piastri has clean air and is setting fastest laps, Hamilton is about to hit the rear wing of Carlos Sainz. Does this bring Piastri into contention for the win? Well, it moves him closer, perhaps. But let’s see what happens in the next few laps.

Piastri sets a 1:47.6, Hamilton was about two tenths faster than that. He will most likely need to charge through on fresher tyres at the end, if that works.

02:54 PM BST

Lap 27 of 44 – Piastri leads Russell and Verstappen

But they may stop again. They don’t need to and Russell wants to consider a one-stop race, possibly because it’s the only thing that might give him the most outside chance of a podium.

02:53 PM BST

Lap 26 of 44 – Hamilton leads Piastri by 4.7sec

What will McLaren do? Piastri is still in contention here, just about. Hamilton comes into the pit lane as team-mate Russell wants his team to consider the one-stop.

It’s a quick stop for Mercedes, which means Hamilton keeps position ahead of Leclerc, though he has the other Ferrari ahead of him on the track, but Sainz is not really in Hamilton’s race.

02:51 PM BST

Lap 25 of 44 – Hamilton driving well here

And he says the tyres – 13 lap-old hards – are still good. Don’t know if anyone has the pace to disrupt him as it stands but Ferrari are going to try the undercut? Or are they protecting from Perez and the undercut? Let’s see. And will Mercedes bring Hamilton in now? It’s a slow-ish stop from Ferrari, though – 3.4sec so that may well seal the deal and keep Hamilton in the lead…

02:48 PM BST

Lap 24 of 44 – Another mistake from Norris

He locks up at the final chicane and loses a bit of time and tyre life for the rest of the race. He’s still within DRS range of Verstappen, though.

Hamilton extends his lead a little to 2.3sec over Leclerc.

02:47 PM BST

Lap 23 of 44 – Norris too far behind to think of a move at Les Combes

Leclerc and Hamilton had just 0.006sec between their most recent lap times. Just two seconds between them.

02:45 PM BST

Lap 22 of 44 – Top 10 at about half distance

1. HAM

2. LEC +1.8

3. PIA +4.7

4. RUS +8.7

5. VER +10.6

6. NOR +11.6

7. SAI +16.3

8. PER +28.9

9. ALB +30.8

10. OCO +31.9

Norris within DRS range of Verstappen. Perez says “we are very slow on the straights”. I don’t know if he thinks it’s a problem somewhere or just generally compared to his rivals. Probably the former.

02:43 PM BST

Lap 21 of 44 – Russell gets Perez for fourth!

Perez now has Verstappen on his rear wing and surely Red Bull will ask him to let his team-mate through at some point soon. Perez will be reluctant to do that given that he’s actually having an OK race but I don’t think that matters. Norris now only 1.2sec behind Verstappen so they need to do something soon, really…

Red Bull bring Perez in so that sorts that one out. Russell had cleared about 1.7sec on Perez since overtaking him.

02:42 PM BST

Lap 20 of 44 – Russell is closer to Perez this time around

Is he? Well, he was going into La Source but Russell perhaps not quite close enough to try a move down the Kemmel Straight. No, not quite. Russell having DRS from Perez is helping keep the Mercedes driver ahead of Verstappen behind.

Meanwhile, Sainz leads Hamilton by 2.7sec.

Sainz is about to come into the pit lane, so Hamilton will return to the lead.

02:39 PM BST

Lap 19 of 44 – Norris takes another chunk of time out of Verstappen

The Red Bull doesn’t appear to have the power (or at least the top speed) on the straights to get Russell. He has DRS, too.

02:37 PM BST

Lap 18 of 44 – Verstappen hasn’t been the hot knife through butter today

Norris sets the fastest lap as he takes nearly a second out of Verstappen ahead. Norris will be helped if those ahead of him start squabbling as looks to be imminent. Just 4.3 behind Norris in eighth and Verstappen in seventh.

02:36 PM BST

Lap 17 of 44 – Top 10 and gaps

1. SAI

2. HAM +6.0

3. LEC +7.5

4. PIA +10.2

5. PER +11.6

6. RUS +12.4

7. VER +12.9

8. NOR +17.9

9. MAG +26.1

10. ALB +27.5

Verstappen asks whether he should try and push on and overtake the cars ahead and he is told to “go and get them”. “Them” being Russell first and then Perez and Piastri.

02:35 PM BST

Lap 16 of 44 – Might not be all bad for Norris

He comes out in eighth, behind Verstappen by around six seconds but with clean air in front of him. He might be able to make that time up as Verstappen struggles to make progress.

Meanwhile race leader Carlos Sainz takes a little excursion through the gravel with the left-side of his car. Probably lost him a big chunk of time. Possibly a few seconds.

02:32 PM BST

Lap 15 of 44 – Norris losing bags of time in this stage of the race

He has not stopped yet and lost 1.4sec to Hamilton the last lap round. Hmmmm. This could be a difficult afternoon.

In comes Norris from second.

Lance Stroll not happy with the Aston Martin’s grunt:

02:30 PM BST

Lap 14 of 44 – Piastri flying

He has just set the fastest lap of the race. Sainz and Norris look to be going long. They will have to come back on fresher tyres later in the race, if they can. Too late to try anything else yet, unless there’s a safety car.

Here’s the current order:

1. SAI*

2. NOR*

3. HAM

4. LEC

5. PIA

6. PER

7. RUS

8. VER

9. MAG*

10. TSU*

*yet to stop

02:29 PM BST

Lap 13 of 44 – Perez under a lot of pressure

Piastri is right behind him and Russell is right behind him. Verstappen closing up on that battle. Sainz inherits the lead, he hasn’t stopped. Neither has Norris.

Piastri gets Perez for sixth at the end of the Kemmel Straight. Piastri sets the fastest first sector of the race, almost half a second faster than the Mexican Red Bull driver.

02:27 PM BST

Lap 12 of 44 – That said, Russell does get Piastri at the stops…

So it has worked out. Or it did for a while as Piastri gets Russell at the end of the straight. Leclerc and Norris have stayed out, as has Sainz. Sainz on the hard tyres of course will always be going a bit longer in this stint.

02:24 PM BST

Lap 11 of 44 – Hamilton leads Leclerc by 1.9sec

Indeed, in comes Verstappen in an attempt to undercut Norris and perhaps a couple of others. Russell also pits. 2.3sec for Russell and 2.7sec for Verstappen.

Russell – and Verstappen by extension – comes out into traffic, behind Tsunoda in the RB in 12th.

What will McLaren do here with Norris? Could they run him long and counteract Verstappen? Or will they prioritise Piastri? Probably too close together to double-stack. In fact, definitely so.

The undercut hasn’t really worked for Russell or Verstappen. The former is being held up by Magnussen and Verstappen makes had work of passing Tsunoda in the RB.

02:22 PM BST

Lap 10 of 44 – Wonder if Verstappen and Red Bull might pull the pin

He’s currently stuck, a bit, behind Norris though there is a DRS train ahead so it’s not really Norris being slow. Norris again runs slightly into the gravel out of Malmedy. Not for the first time.

02:21 PM BST

Lap 9 of 44 – Piastri on the radio

Asked Plan A or B, whatever that is. He wants to stick with A. Hamilton is told to get on top of his lift and coast, i.e. save fuel.

02:20 PM BST

Lap 8 of 44 – Hamilton leads Leclerc by 1.8sec

The field is spreading out a little. Hamilton with strong pace but Piastri has been dropped a bit by Perez, who is two seconds Leclerc. Pit stops starting likely in the next couple of laps.

02:17 PM BST

Lap 7 of 44 – Top eight and gaps

1. HAM

2. LEC  +1.8

3. PER +3.5

4. PIA +4.7

5. RUS +5.7

6. SAI +6.5

7. NOR +7.3

8. VER +8.1

Alonso in ninth and Albon in 10th.

02:16 PM BST

Lap 6 of 44 – Hamilton on the radio

“Something is moving down by my legs,” he says. I’m reminder of a stray spanner that was left in the cockpit of Johnny Herbert’s Sauber in the 1998 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. It made its way into the footwell and caused Herbert to spin out of the race. You never want something rattling around in the cockpit at any track but Spa or Monza would probably be the bottom of the list.

02:14 PM BST

Lap 5 of 44 – Piastri now hassling Perez for third

Verstappen is 0.8sec behind Norris ahead and the Briton looks less vulnerable now. Leclerc hanging onto the back of Hamilton, just about but the Mercedes man has broken the DRS threat, now being more than one second ahead of the Ferrari.

02:13 PM BST

Watch: Hamilton moves up to second at the start…

…as Norris makes an error.

02:11 PM BST

Lap 4 of 44 – Top 10

1. HAM

2. LEC

3. PER

4. PIA

5. RUS

6. SAI

7. NOR

8. VER

9. ALO

10. ALB

Norris holding off Verstappen for now, partly because he’s within a second of Carlos Sainz ahead and has the use of DRS.

02:10 PM BST

Lap 3 of 44 – Leclerc under big pressure at the start of the lap

It’s not a brilliant exit from the Ferrari driver and Hamilton is on the back of him through Eau Rouge and Raidillon. With DRS Hamilton goes through at the end of the Kemmel Straight and takes the race lead!

Norris under big pressure from Verstappen already on this lap. Again, just a few too many errors from Norris in the last couple of months.

We have a slow moving Sauber. It’s Zhou who looks to have lost power. He tries to keep going but he should probably pull to the side of the track near a recovery point. It’s a long way from there.

02:08 PM BST

Lap 2 of 44 – Leclerc leads Hamilton by 0.6sec

It was good defending from Hamilton on lap one, from Perez.

Norris is having a bit of a tricky opening couple of laps. He thinks he has Sainz for sixth at the end of the first straight but goes in too deep and runs off the track, handing Sainz the place back. Verstappen now into eighth, snaring Alonso in the Aston Martin. The next man on the track for the Dutchman is Lando Norris…

02:07 PM BST

THE 2024 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX IS GO!

It’s a decent start from Leclerc who keeps his lead but Hamilton has aced his start too and goes into second, pushing Perez down into third. It’s a poor start from Lando Norris who runs wide and onto the gravel slightly coming out of La Source and he is down to seventh already.

Verstappen up to 10th.

Leclerc leads Hamilton, Perez and Piastri. They went very close to one another at the end of the Kemmel Straight.

Verstappen goes around the outside of Albon at the Bus Stop Chicane and is up to ninth.

02:04 PM BST

They all line up on the grid

In many ways you do not really want to lead at turn one because the slipstream effect is so strong heading down the Kemmel Straight that you are likely to come off second best even before the corner.

02:01 PM BST

The formation lap is go

Leclerc leads the field away from the front to great applause. No Belgian drivers on the grid today but three men with Belgian mothers: Norris, Stroll and Verstappen – who was born in Belgium.

01:58 PM BST

Starting tyre types

Mediums the order of the day, as is usually the case. The only exceptions are Sainz in seventh on used hards, Ricciardo on 13th on used softs and Zhou in 19th on used hards.

01:57 PM BST

Nearly ready to get going

Predictions? Hmmm. Going to say Norris-Verstappen-Hamilton.

Perez to get involved in some nonsense at some point.

01:50 PM BST

Toto Wolff speaks to Sky Sports F1

Podium possible for his drivers?

“I think on strategy various options but on tyre degradation the McLarens were very good and of course Max.”

Can they win?

“It’s a long shot but you can never discount it, it’s a motor race.”

01:46 PM BST

Christian Horner has a quick word with Sky Sports F1

On Perez’s chances from the front row.

01:41 PM BST

FINAL STARTING GRID

1. LEC 2. PER 
3. HAM 4. NOR  
5. PIA 6. RUS 
7. SAI 8. ALO 
9. OCO 10. ALB
11. VER 12. GAS
13. RIC 14. BOT
15. STR 16. HUL
17. MAG 18. SAR
19. ZHO 20. TSU

01:40 PM BST

McLaren’s Zak Brown speaks

01:38 PM BST

Albon not expecting to keep Verstappen behind him for very long at all

01:34 PM BST

Nothing to worry about from Mercedes

Excess fluid, apparently.

01:34 PM BST

Shades of darts player Peter Wright from Zak Brown here

01:29 PM BST

The pit lane has opened

And we an unusual camera angle from the back of a Mercedes as it leaves and it looks like a significant amount of fluid is leaking (intentionally or otherwise) from its rear end. Not sure if that is a problem or not.

01:26 PM BST

Best memories from the Belgian Grand Prix over the years?

1998 up there for me, partly because of this start but also because it was a maiden win for Jordan and a 22nd (and final) win for Damon Hill.

01:24 PM BST

Strategy chat from Pirelli

They believe it is going to be a certain two-stopper. That’s good. It’s often a one. This race can, occasionally, be good but it is quite often not all that entertaining with huge gaps opening up throughout the field. Hopefully we see a divergence of strategies throughout the grid.

01:13 PM BST

Race winners so far in 2024

Bahrain: Verstappen
Saudi Arabia: Verstappen
Australia: Sainz
Japan: Verstappen
China: Verstappen
Miami: Norris
Imola: Verstappen
Monaco: Leclerc
Canada: Verstappen
Spain: Verstappen
Austria: Russell
Great Britain: Hamilton
Hungary: Piastri

Seven different winners from four different cars.

01:07 PM BST

Current constructor standings

It’s a lot easier to see Red Bull being overtaken in the constructors’ though. Mind you, if Perez can start performing to the level he knows he can and needs then perhaps not.

01:03 PM BST

Current driver standings – Top 10

Again, Red Bull have been reeled in massively in recent months but I think overturning 76 points in 11 races is a tall ask for Lando Norris. It would take a couple of DNFs or finishes outside the major points-scoring positions. But it is not totally outlandish.

12:56 PM BST

What does Verstappen think of his chances today?

12:50 PM BST

Qualifying times

1. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1min 53.159secs

2. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:53.754

3. Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 1:53.765

4. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:53.835

5. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:53.981

6. Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:54.027

7. George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:54.184

8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spa) Ferrari 1:54.477

9. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:54.765

10. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 1:54.810

11. Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:54.473

12. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:54.635

13. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) RB 1:54.682

14. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Kick Sauber 1:54.764

15. Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:55.716

16. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Haas F1 1:56.308,

17. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:56.500

18. Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) RB 1:56.593

19. Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams 1:57.230

20. Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Kick Sauber 1:57.775

12:44 PM BST

Good afternoon F1 fans

Welcome to our coverage for the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix from the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in the Ardennes. This is the final race before the summer break and one thing is certain: Max Verstappen will head into that hiatus with a healthy lead in the drivers’ championship. He currently leads Lando Norris of McLaren by 76 points.

Can he even extend that lead today? Despite his 10-place engine penalty he will start in 11th because he dominated the field in qualifying yesterday, nobody else getting within half a second of him. Given Spa is the track where you can overtake (which is exactly why Red Bull have chosen to take the change this weekend), it is not impossible that he finishes in the podium, at the very least. In fact it is probably likely.

Of course, yesterday’s session was in wet conditions and that is often where Verstappen excels. It is no longer a guarantee that he can simply race through to the front from the back of the field. We do not yet know if Red Bull’s pace will be superior or inferior to their rivals. If it is then it is possible that Norris eats into Verstappen’s advantage.

That said, Norris has some work to do. He was largely unsatisfied with his qualifying performance – or rather the result – yesterday, finishing fifth being Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton. The McLaren has usually excelled in race trim, despite the team struggling to convert that pace into regular wins. With four different constructors in the top four it will be interesting to see how that pans out.

The two men on the front row are certainly in need of a good weekend. Not so much that Leclerc has been poor but Ferrari have slipped back from being the second fastest team early in the season to the fourth in recent rounds. A podium would be a boon. And there was talk of Sergio Perez being dropped by Red Bull with a poor performance this weekend. So far he has avoided that but he will still want to convert a front-row start into a podium. If he can finish ahead of Verstappen, then all the better.

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