FACTS AND STATS: Sergio Perez bags first front row start since China after scraping into Q3 by 0.003s

Saturday was as wet as predicted in Spa, with the rain falling across final practice and intermittently throughout qualifying. Throughout it all emerged Max Verstappen with the fastest time, but the Dutchman won’t get to start on pole thanks to a grid penalty. That’s not the first time he’s ceded pole here to Charles Leclerc either, which is just one of a number of interesting facts and stats from Belgium…

• Verstappen was quickest in Q3 at Spa for the fourth consecutive year, but loses pole to a penalty for the third consecutive year.

• The Dutchman has never won from P11 on the grid in his career – but he has won from a record-equalling nine different grid positions.

• Verstappen’s margin to the field in Q3 in Belgium was 0.632s in 2022, 0.820s in 2023 and 0.595s in 2024.

READ MORE: Verstappen claims P1 in Belgium qualifying ahead of grid penalty as he heads Leclerc and Perez

• Ferrari inherit pole from Verstappen at Spa for the third consecutive year, Leclerc for the second straight year.

• The pole-sitter has not won any of the last five races in 2024.

• Leclerc will start from his 25th career pole, and his second pole of the season. The last man to win from P1 this season was Leclerc himself, back in Monaco.