Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc inherited pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix after a penalty for Max Verstappen. Verstappen carried a 10-place demotion into qualifying after taking his fifth ICE of the season. The Dutchman blitzed the rest of the field in Q3, outpacing Leclerc by nearly six-tenths of a second. In truth, that kind of performance looked to be on the cards from the first lap in Q1. But though Saturday’s session was a throwback to Verstappen’s dominance in 2023 and early 2024, he ultimately dropped out of the top 10. Even Leclerc himself was surprised that he set the second-f…
