What the Belgian GP grid will actually look like

With seven of the 20 Formula 1 drivers facing major grid penalties at the Belgian Grand Prix, the actual grid order looks starkly different from the qualifying result.

So, who is actually starting where for the Belgian GP?

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For only the second time in his F1 career, Carlos Sainz will be on pole position after qualifying behind the penalty-hit qualifying dominator Max Verstappen.

Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez will share the front row with Sainz, with former McLaren team-mates Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) on the second row.

Alonso qualified in sixth place but is promoted by penalties for Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and his Alpine team-mate Esteban Ocon move Alonso up to third.

Mercedes’ Hamilton qualified seventh, 1.8s adrift of Verstappen much to Hamilton’s dismay on the team radio after the session, but he will still start in fourth place.

His team-mate George Russell lines up in fifth place ahead of Alex Albon, who made it into Q3 with Williams for the first time this season.

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McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo was denied a place in Q3 by Albon and ended up 11th but will start in seventh place ahead of Pierre Gasly, who was also eliminated in Q2.

Lance Stroll qualified down in 14th but will be ninth on the grid alongside his Aston Martin team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who couldn’t advance from Q1.

Nicholas Latifi will line up 11th ahead of Kevin Magnussen. Yuki Tsunoda was due to start 13th, but AlphaTauri’s change of multiple engine components overnight means he will now start from the pitlane.

Valtteri Bottas qualified 20th and slowest but will head row seven despite a grid penalty of his own. Crucially, he hasn’t triggered the automatic back-of-the-grid drop so will start ahead of the six drivers with that back-of-the-grid penalty.

As the fastest of those six drivers, Verstappen will start in 14th ahead of Leclerc, Ocon, Lando Norris (qualified 10th), Zhou Guanyu (qualified 13th) and Mick Schumacher, who qualified in 15th.

Belgian GP starting grid

1. Sainz
2. Perez
3. Alonso
4. Hamilton
5. Russell
6. Albon
7. Ricciardo
8. Gasly
9. Stroll
10. Vettel
11. Latifi
12. Magnussen
13. Bottas
14. Verstappen
15. Leclerc
16. Ocon
17. Norris
18. Zhou
19. Schumacher
Tsunoda (pitlane)