Quali recap: Leclerc second (but starts from pole). Carlos fifth
Francorchamps 28 luglio 2023
A wet track for the start of qualifying, but it’s not raining and the sun is shining. Air temperature is 19 degrees, the track is at 25.
Q1. Carlos and Charles take to the track on Intermediate tyres and put in the laps. The Spaniard kicks off with a 2’00”536, while his team-mate does a 2’01”551. They then improve to 1’59”844 and 2’00”692 respectively and come in for a new set of Intermediates with which Charles posts the fastest time of 1’58”300 and Carlos is fourth in 1’58”688, so they both go through to Q2.
Q2. All the cars go out on used Intermediate tyres. Leclerc laps in 1’56”244, Sainz in 1’57”810, before pitting for Soft slicks. On these Carlos laps in 1’54”689 and then 1’51”711, Charles does a 1’52”017. They are through to Q3.
Q3. On Softs, Charles sets a time of 1’47”931, Carlos is third in 1’48”352. The SF -23s pit for a new set of Softs. Leclerc does a 1’46”988, second quickest, while Carlos is fifth in 1’47”152. Max Verstappen is quickest but the Dutchman will start from sixth on the grid, with a penalty for changing his gearbox. Charles therefore starts from pole for the 20th time in his career, while Carlos will line up fourth.