EMMANUEL DUNAND/Getty Images Lewis Hamilton has pole position for the 2018 Belgian Formula One Grand Prix after finishing fastest in qualifying on Saturday. Hamilton was quickest in a rain-soaked Q3 on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, with Sebastian Vettel unable to better his rival's time despite a late push. It means Hamilton is on pole for the sixth time this calendar year, as well as the fifth time at this race. There was a pleasant surprise for Force India, as Esteban Ocon took P3 just ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez: Qualifying Hamilton was left to marvel at the difficulty of an unpredictable and demanding session: Meanwhile, Vettel remains bullish about his chances in the race: Vettel's confidence is well-founded since Ferrari had been in control earlier in the day. After finishing fastest in all three practice sessions, Ferrari still held sway over Mercedes at the end of Q1, as Kimi Raikkonen paced Hamilton and Bottas: Video Play Button Videos you might like Raikonnen made the most of his first timed lap: A shock saw both McLaren vehicles in the elimination zone as Q1 unfolded, and that's where Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne stayed. Surprisingly, they were joined by Renault's Carlos Sainz, who struggled to deal with the track: Q2 saw Raikkonen continue to impress, as the Finn made history at Hamilton's expense as rain clouds hovered above Spa: Nico Hulkenberg was among the next group to be eliminated once Q2 was in the books. Sauber's Marcus Ericsson joined him, while Vettel battled back to be quicker than team-mate Raikkonen, with Hamilton third-fastest as the rain began to fall heavily. It set up a dramatic shootout for pole between the top 10. Things were stymied somewhat by a downpour that put cars on the slicks in jeopardy, with Mercedes man Valtteri Bottas the first to slide off the circuit: While the rain sent drivers scurrying to the pits for a change to intermediates, Perez and Ocan stayed out. Verstappen was taking advantage of the absentees and appeared set for pole, until Raikkonen returned to the track to take provisional. Another wild card came from the rain easing off and the track beginning to dry out, causing the intermediates to heat up. It didn't matter to Vettel, who briefly seized pole, while Hamilton encountered problems: Hamilton soon recovered, though, and snatched pole from his championship challenger late on. Vettel settled for P2, while Force India will rejoice after Ocon did enough for P3. FP3 Vettel made it three from three for Ferrari by finishing quickest in the third and final practice session. He was quicker than Raikkonen and Hamilton: He was also fastest in FP1 on Friday, before Raikkonen topped the timesheets in FP2. Ferrari's intent to set the pace was obvious when Vettel made his first foray on to the track on supersoft tyres. Yet it was Raikkonen driving quicker following the first runs: Bottas soon became third-fastest, and the Finn's effort was the cue for team-mate Hamilton to announce himself: Mercedes' decision to start on the softs didn't look a bad one as Hamilton continued to test Raikkonen and Ferrari's speed. Soon, though, all four drivers from the top two teams had switched to supersofts, offering an ideal chance for comparison. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen had clocked a respectable first run for Red Bull, with team-mate Daniel Ricciardo slower but still in touch with the big names: Vettel promptly reasserted himself with another swift lap. He was now quicker than Bottas and Hamilton and soon went faster than Raikkonen. A red flag brought the final session to a close after Vandoorne was left facing the wrong way after spinning onto the grass. He was angered with Bottas: However, not everybody felt the Mercedes man was at fault: The red flag meant drivers had little time to get a qualifying simulation lap timed and in the books. Ultimately, though, Ferrari had done what was needed to offer a reminder of the speed and power of the car before qualifying.<doc-sep>Lewis Hamilton proved himself the master of the wet yet again by conjuring a lap from nowhere to take pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix. The world champion, who moments earlier had slipped off the track at Turn One as rain fell in the final 15 minutes of qualifying, was surefooted in the crucial final lap. He ended up seven-tenths quicker than championship rival Sebastian Vettel in second. Esteban Ocon was third for Force India - a brilliant performance by him and the team that has come back from administration under new owner Lawrence Stroll. FULL QUALIFYING REPORT<doc-sep>Max Verstappen was pleased with Red Bull’s recovery from a disappointing Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix qualifying as he recorded his first podium at Spa-Francorchamps. The Dutchman, starting seventh on the grid after Red Bull’s gamble to run early on in a wet Q3 failed to pay off, made early progress and quickly demoted the Racing Point Force India duo to move into third. Verstappen held the position throughout to claim his first rostrum appearance in Belgium, delighting the large numbers of travelling Dutch fans. Belgian GP - Memorable Moments Video of Belgian GP - Memorable Moments “There was no extra pressure. I just enjoy driving here in Spa in general, it’s nothing to do with the fans,” he said. “They just give you extra motivation. “Today was a good recovery after yesterday where we were unlucky in qualifying. So happy to be on the podium here. It was also great to see on the last lap all the fans cheering you on, so really happy about that.” Having avoided a huge start crash at La Source, Verstappen surged past Esteban Ocon with a brilliant pass into Les Combes and pulled off a similar move on Sergio Perez soon after. He admitted he was surprised by the pace of the Force India duo. “It was a bit of chaos at the start with a lot of things happening there, from there I passed Grosjean up the hill so that was good for the race,” Verstappen explained. “I knew I just had to be patient with the Force India’s, because we had the pace. But still they were bloody quick on the straights. “I thought as soon as I opened the DRS I would just drive by but it was still harder than I expected, but it was still enjoyable.”<doc-sep>The Ardennes has its own micro-climate in late summer, a time when the peace of the forest can be broken without warning by a sopping cloudburst. So it proved on Saturday, as a qualifying shoot-out that began under picture-perfect skies ended in a spell of rain-lashed chaos through which Lewis Hamilton, drawing upon all his mastery in the wet, swept to a record fifth pole at the Belgian Grand Prix. “That was,” he said, still catching his breath, “the toughest session I can remember doing.” Such is the sprawl of the Spa layout, snaking its sinuous path through the trees, it sometimes compels drivers to master several weather patterns at once. This was one of those occasions, with Hamilton and his rivals navigating a track that changed from bone-dry to slippery so imperceptibly that Valtteri Bottas spun his car hurtling down a straight. Hamilton, though, had his Mercedes on a string, finding the line of least resistance in another captivating rain dance.<doc-sep>
Max Verstappen doubts Red Bull can take the fight to Formula 1 rivals Mercedes and Ferrari at the front of the pack during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday, but is hopeful of an improved showing over the long runs in the race. Verstappen led Red Bull’s charge by finishing fourth in second practice at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Friday, albeit a distant six-tenths of a second back from pace-setter Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari. Power circuits similar to Spa have tended not to favour Red Bull through the 2018 season given Mercedes and Ferrari’s engine advantage, leaving Verstappen sceptical of the team’s chances over one lap in qualifying tomorrow. Verstappen said he thought Red Bull would be “in qualifying, realistically fifth and sixth” behind the two Mercedes and two Ferraris. “But in the race, you never know what is going to happen,” the Dutchman added. “The long run pace was not too bad, so I’m actually quite happy with that. Just need to find a bit more grip. “ The last sector, we seemed pretty quick. But with the rear wing we have on the car, you expect to be like that. It’s just not easy to be in the second sector where you lose a lot of rear downforce and sliding around a bit more. We’re still trying to optimise that.” Verstappen was left flying the flag solo for Red Bull for much of the opening practice session on Friday after teammate Daniel Ricciardo suffered an engine issue, limiting him to only four laps in FP1. While Ricciardo had no issues through FP2 later in the day, the Australian struggled to sixth place in the final stands, a further two-tenths of a second back from Verstappen, and he echoed his teammate’s thoughts when speaking after the session. “We weren’t quick enough today. Short and long runs, we still need to find some pace,” Ricciardo said. “We need to try and figure out how to do that. We did make changes through this afternoon session. I feel we improved one thing but created another problem so we didn’t find the optimum set-up through the changes we made. “That’s Friday, we’ll try and go better tomorrow.”