F1 News: Belgian GP Starting Grid Confirmed After Penalties Applied

The starting grid for the Belgian Grand Prix has been confirmed with Charles Leclerc securing pole position after penalties reshaped the lineup.

Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) Aston Martin AMR23 Mercedes leads Daniel Ricciardo of Australia driving the (3) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT04 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 30, 2023 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images) / Red Bull Content Pool

The starting grid for the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix has been officially set with penalties reshaping the lineup. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has clinched the pole position as Max Verstappen takes a ten-place grid penalty.

Leclerc will lead the pack from the pole position followed closely by Red Bull's Sergio Perez in second place. British driver Lewis Hamilton secures third place for Mercedes. The grid also sees notable positions held by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from McLaren in fourth and fifth places, respectively.

Verstappen has been pushed back from the 1st to the 11th position due to a 10-place grid drop for exceeding his power unit allocation. However, the three-time champion is still considered a contender for the victory tomorrow as he has won from similar positions on the grid at Spa-Francorchamps before. Yuki Tsunoda finds himself at the back of the grid, starting 20th after exceeding the permissible number of power unit components by more than 15 places.

Sauber's Zhou Guanyu has also received a 3-place grid penalty for impeding Verstappen during the Qualifying session.

During his post-race interview, Verstappen commented on his grid penalty, stating:

"I know that I have to start 10 places back so this was the best I could do today, and I go from there. I don’t know how quick we’re going to be. I hope that we can be in the mix to try to move forward.

"The race can be lost in Turn 1, so just need to see what happens at the start, naturally, and just go from there. It’s a very long race, it’s very hard on tyres and we just need to try to manage that as good as we can, and hopefully then we can be competitive tomorrow.

"We are not making it easy on ourselves and especially of course in the battle that we’re in. I know that today was a great day, but it’s in the wet, we need to be quick in the dry tomorrow. It’s going to be a tough battle. We’ll try to do the best we can. Hopefully we can battle the Ferrari and Mercedes ahead, and if we have a bit of luck, maybe we can challenge the McLaren." 

2024 Belgian Grand Prix Starting Grid

1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
4. Lando Norris, McLaren
5. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
6. George Russell, Mercedes
7. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
8. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
9. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
10. Alex Albon, Williams
11. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
12. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
13. Daniel Ricciardo, VCARB
14. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber
15. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
16. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
17. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
18. Logan Sargeant, Williams
19. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber
20. Yuki Tsunoda, VCARB