Today's post-qualifying press conference with Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.

Track Interviews - Conducted by Billy Monger

Q: Checo Pérez, a good qualifying for you there. P3, but you will line up second on the grid for tomorrow's race with your team-mate's penalty. How was it out there for you?
Sergio Perez: Yeah, it was very tricky at times. Obviously, as always, you know, in these conditions, it's so easy for it to go wrong, as it's been going in the last few qualifyings in these conditions. And, yeah, I mean, it was good to finally put it together. Unfortunately, we didn't have any new tyres for Q3. We were a bit out of sync in Q2, so we were also quite lucky to make it in P10. And I think P2 is probably the best position you can wish for in Spa, you know. It was the same with Charles last year, so I'm going to be trying tomorrow to be the same. And, yeah, it's a long race ahead of us. It looks like it's going to be dry, so we'll see.

Q: And going into the race tomorrow, obviously qualifying has been a part of your season that has been under pressure, especially the last few races, it hasn't gone to plan. What was your mindset going into this weekend, knowing that Spa is a circuit that in previous years has suited your car pretty well?
SP: Yeah, you know, I mean, like I've always said, you know, every weekend it's a new opportunity to do better, every day, you know. Tomorrow is a new opportunity for us to do even better than today and go for that win.

Q: And that opportunity... You mentioned the race tomorrow. You will be starting on the front row. What can you do tomorrow, Sergio? Are you capable of winning this race?
SP: We'll see, you know, it's a very long race ahead of us. I think tomorrow degradation will be quite tricky, and graining with this new tarmac. I think there are a lot of unknowns still, but I've got a good feeling for tomorrow, so we'll see.

Q: Congratulations. Good luck tomorrow, Sergio. Charles Leclerc, second in qualifying today, but you will line up on pole position tomorrow. Pretty similar to last year in that regard.
Charles Leclerc: Yeah, I mean, exactly the same. It's good. I mean, I definitely did not expect that this weekend. Obviously, with the tricky conditions, we could do something above our expectations. So, yeah, it's a good day for the team. Now we need to focus on tomorrow and see what will happen whenever the rain is gone.

Q: So do you think the conditions today, the fact we had the mixed conditions out there - and it looked tricky from the driver's point of view - do you think that helped you make the difference today?
CL: Yeah, I think that without this rain, probably P5 was the position we were fighting for, with the Mercedes especially. But obviously with the rain, it helped us a little bit. But I'm not going to complain. I'm really happy. I'm very happy with the lap in Q3. And it's good to be back on the front part of the grid. But now we've got to finalise that tomorrow.

Q: And tomorrow you'll be starting from pole. What's your approach going to be going up through Eau Rouge on that first lap if you're still in the lead? Because it could be a tricky race to lead the first lap around here.
CL: Yeah, it's not the easiest first place to keep on the first lap here. But honestly, I will see it. Every start is different. And then once I'll be in the car tomorrow through Eau Rouge, I'll decide what's the best thing I can do. But obviously, I'll try to keep that first place.

Q: Good luck for tomorrow.
CL: Thank you very much. Thank you.

Q: Max Verstappen, another pole position for you this weekend. Unfortunately, you won't line up in pole position because of the grid penalty. But talk us through that lap because that was exceptional out there.
Max Verstappen: Yeah, it was a nice qualifying. Luckily, the weather was okay. It was just raining a little bit, but at least we could do a decent qualifying. Yeah, everything worked well. Every tyre set that we were on, we could just do good lap times. I was, of course, also thinking about Q3, not knowing if it was going to dry out, so I was trying to keep two new sets for Q3, and luckily we escaped in Q1, Q2, so... Yeah, very happy. I mean, the car was working quite well in the wet. Yeah, I could just do my laps and try to do clean lap times in the wet, which is always quite tricky. But tomorrow, of course, I know that it's quite a different day. It's going to be warmer, normally no rain. So it's all about tyre degradation. And, yeah, we just need to make sure we're good on that. I know that, of course, I have to start also ten places back, so this was the best I could do today. And then go from there. I don't know how quick we're going to be. I hope that we can be in the mix, you know, to try and move forward.

Q: Coming into this weekend, you probably knew within the team that you were going to take this grid penalty and make the decision that you have. You've started out of position here in Spa. What's your approach going to be down into Turn 1? Because it's a tight corner. It can really get a bit chaotic at times there.
MV: Yeah, the race can be lost, of course, in Turn 1, so just need to see what happens, you know, in the start, naturally, and just go from there. It's a very long race, it's very hard on tyres, and just need to try and manage that as good as we can, and hopefully then we can be competitive tomorrow.

Q: It's been a couple of races since you've won a Grand Prix. Starting where you are tomorrow, do you think you can bounce back after last weekend and get a race victory? How quick is your car in race trim?
MV: We are not making it easy on ourselves, and especially, of course, in the battle that we're in. I know that today was a great day, but it's in the wet. We need to be quick in the drive tomorrow. But yeah, it's going to be a tough battle. Yeah, we'll try to do the best we can. Hopefully, we can battle the Ferraris and the Mercedes, of course, ahead. And if we have a bit of luck, of course, maybe we can challenge the McLaren.

Press Conference

Q: A very warm welcome to the fastest three drivers in qualifying for the FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix. In third place, Sergio Pérez. In second place, Charles Leclerc. And fastest in Q3 once again here at Spa, Max Verstappen. Well, very well done, Max. You were extremely quick in all conditions. How hooked up were you and the RB20 today?
MV: Yeah, it was a good day. Of course, yesterday we tried a few things with the car. I think we learned from that. And today we tried to put on the car what we thought was best. And I think, as you could see, we ran maybe also a little bit more downforce compared to some competitors. So naturally, of course, in the wet, probably it's a little bit more stable and that can help, of course, around here. But overall, I think the laps were good in qualifying all the way from Q1 to Q3. I passed Q1 and Q2 only on one tyre set, so I think that was important because that gave me, of course, a better opportunity for Q3. Yeah, everything was working well, but, of course, today is not as important because tomorrow is going to be dry, it's going to be warmer, and we need to be good on tyres and, of course, starting 10 places back. It is going to be, of course, a little bit more tricky. I don't expect it, of course, to be like the last two years. Naturally, looking at the cars around us being quite quick. So, yeah, we'll just try to move forward, try to fight Ferraris, Mercedes, and with a bit of luck, maybe the McLarens, but it all depends on our pace ourselves.

Q: Max, one question about Q3. You were six tenths faster than anybody else after the first runs. Why did you go out again? Was it just to be sure?
MV: I had another tyre set, so I was like, let's try and go faster. I'm not sure what happened. I was very close to my lap time in places, like gaining, losing. Maybe it just rained a little bit more and it just didn't give me the same grip. But I mean, both laps are almost identical. So when you have the tyres, I mean, you can try and get a better lap out of it.

Q: You've said who you hope to be battling with in the race tomorrow. Just strategically, what is going to be your approach?
MV: Survive lap one and just go from there. I mean, we also have a bit of a different tyre strategy to the other cars, so we have to wait and see how that will evolve in the race. But, yeah, we'll see what we can do. I mean, I'm not as confident as I was the last two years around here in coming back to the front. I still see it more as a damage limitation race. That's how it is. But at least today was the best possible we could do in terms of the starting position for tomorrow.

Q: Are you more confident in the car here than you were at the Hungaroring last weekend?
MV: I think overall the balance is a bit better, yeah. If it's going to be enough to be the quickest, I'm not sure. But yeah, hopefully we can just have it all a bit more under control.

Q: Alright, very well done today. Charles, let's come to you now, tomorrow's pole sitter. But let's talk about Q3. You pulled together a beautiful lap right at the end of the session. Just how good was it?
CL: It was a good lap. As Max said, the rain picked up a little bit at the end of Q3, which maybe there was a bit more to find on the first part of Q3, but obviously anyway, P1 was out of reach for us today. It's a lot better than what we expected coming into the weekend, and especially after yesterday, that was a very difficult day for the team once again. So yeah, the tricky conditions helped us today.