Max Verstappen took pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix despite an X-rated radio row with his race engineer.
Verstappen was embroiled in a squabble with Gianpiero Lambiase after he only just made it through to Q3 during a wet-dry session at Spa-Francorchamps.
But the championship leader regained his composure at the business end of qualifying to demolish the opposition, finishing eight tenths clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with Sergio Perez third in the other Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth.
However, Verstappen will only start Sunday’s race from sixth position as he serves a five-place grid drop for exceeding his gearbox allocation.
Here is everything you need to know.
What is the race schedule?
(All times BST)
Sunday 30 July
How can I watch it online and on TV?
The entire race schedule from Belgium will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 in the UK and Ireland. Sky’s coverage of the race on Sunday starts at 12:30pm (BST).
The weekend’s action will be broadcasted on ESPN in the United States.
Free-to-air highlights in the UK will be aired on Channel 4; for the sprint race at 7:45pm (BST) on Saturday evening and the grand prix on Sunday evening at 6:30pm.
Sky Sports subscribers can watch all the action in Belgium on the Sky Go app. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
Spa-Francorchamps hosts the third F1 sprint weekend of the season
(Getty Images)
What is the starting grid?
1) Charles Leclerc
2) Sergio Perez
3) Lewis Hamilton
4) Carlos Sainz
5) Oscar Piastri
6) Max Verstappen*
7) Lando Norris
8) George Russell
9) Fernando Alonso
10) Lance Stroll
11) Yuki Tsunoda
12) Pierre Gasly
13) Pierre Gasly
14) Valtteri Bottas
15) Esteban Ocon
16) Alex Albon
17) Zhou Guanyu
18) Logan Sargeant
19) Daniel Ricciardo
20) Nico Hulkenberg
*Max Verstappen receives a five-place grid drop for exceeding his gearbox allocation
Driver Standings (before sprint race)
1) Max Verstappen – 281 points
2) Sergio Perez – 171 points
3) Fernando Alonso – 139 points
4) Lewis Hamilton – 133 points
5) George Russell – 90 points
6) Carlos Sainz – 87 points
7) Charles Leclerc – 80 points
8) Lando Norris – 60 points
9) Lance Stroll – 45 points
10) Esteban Ocon – 31 points
11) Oscar Piastri – 27 points
12) Pierre Gasly – 16 points
13) Alex Albon – 11 points
14) Nico Hulkenberg – 9 points
15) Valtteri Bottas – 5 points
16) Zhou Guanyu – 4 points
17) Yuki Tsunoda – 2 points
18) Kevin Magnussen – 2 points
19) Logan Sargeant – 0 points
20) Nyck de Vries – 0 points
21) Daniel Ricciardo – 0 points
Constructors’ Championship (before sprint race)
1) Red Bull – 452 points
2) Mercedes – 223 points
3) Aston Martin – 184 points
4) Ferrari – 167 points
5) McLaren – 87 points
6) Alpine – 47 points
7) Williams – 11 points
8) Haas – 11 points
9) Alfa Romeo – 9 points
10) AlphaTauri – 2 points
What is the 2023 F1 calendar?
ROUND 13 – BELGIUM (sprint weekend)
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps – 28-30 July
ROUND 14 – NETHERLANDS
Circuit Zandvoort – 25-27 August
ROUND 15 – ITALY
Monza Circuit – 1-3 September
ROUND 16 – SINGAPORE
Marina Bay Street Circuit – 15-17 September
ROUND 17 – JAPAN
Suzuka International Racing Course – 22-24 September
ROUND 18 – QATAR (sprint weekend)
Lusail International Circuit, Lusail – 6-8 October
ROUND 19 – UNITED STATES (sprint weekend)
Circuit of the Americas, Austin – 20-22 October
ROUND 20 – MEXICO
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City – 27-29 October
ROUND 21 – BRAZIL (sprint weekend)
Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo – 3-5 November
ROUND 22 – LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas Street Circuit – 16-18 November
ROUND 23 – ABU DHABI
Yas Marina Circuit – 24-26 November