Formula 1 is reconvening from its midseason break this weekend with the Belgian Grand Prix, where a more competitive frontrunning pack is being teased.

Now is the time for the king to take his rightful place, throne, in the hall of fame — sit on his king of throne.

Formula 1 awakens from its midseason slumber with a quickfire three races starting with the Belgian Grand Prix, and Charles Leclerc will have to win them all if he’s any chance to so much as delay Max Verstappen’s second championship coronation.

Max Verstappen dominated qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix but Carlos Sainz will start from pole after an intriguing Saturday afternoon at Spa-Francorchamps.

Verstappen, title rival Charles Leclerc and five other drivers started qualifying carrying heavy grid penalties for power unit changes that will send them to the back of the grid.

The battle for pole therefore came down to a fight between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, but neither was on Verstappen’s level. The Dutchman beat his would-be rivals by 0.6s with his first lap. It was a large enough margin that he didn’t bother to set a second time.

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Max Verstappen set an imposing benchmark in second practice at the Belgian Grand Prix despite tricky slippery conditions.

The cool track, which had been sprinkled intermittently with rain throughout the day and endured another shower in the final 10 minutes, offered grip at a premium, but the Dutchman mastered the slick circuit to set a best time of 1m45.507s with his Red Bull. The only blot in his copybook was the stewards noting him for a potential practice start infringement when the cars lined up on the grid after the checkered flag, which at worst would likely lead to a reprimand.

Charles Leclerc was next quickest, but his Ferrari was 0.862s off the pace. The Monegasque’s only ameliorating excuse was that his car appeared to be making some unusual noises via the warning system that he asked the team to switch off.

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The Belgian Grand Prix will be remembered as the shortest race in F1 history, declared after only two laps in torrential rain, but for George Russell it was the first podium finish of what is sure to be many more.

Michael Lamonato joined Matt Grubelich on SportsDrive to discuss all the fall out from the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix.

Sky Sports F1 host and presenter Natalie Pinkham talks about diversity and inclusion in Formula 1, remembers some awkward moments in her early days as a pit lane reporter and discusses the intensity of this year’s title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, while we wrap up the resumption of the season last Sunday in Belgium.

Max Verstappen is declared winner and George Russell gets his maiden F1 podium in a controversial Belgian Grand Prix, a race that featured no racing.

Rob fires up for his first roast of the year. Michael gets worked up about decimals. We launch a special commission of inquiry into the Belgian bomb. 

The Belgian Grand Prix has been called off and Max Verstappen classified the winner after heavy rain prevented the race from getting underway in the first place.

The 2021 Belgian Grand Prix has been abandoned and Max Verstappen declared the winner amid torrential rain at Spa-Francorchamps.

Half points were awarded to the drivers in qualifying order — less Sergio Perez, who dropped to last thanks to a crash on the reconnaissance lap — after two laps were completed behind the safety car to satisfy the regulations to produce a classification, short of the 75 percent required to award full points.

Rain had lashed Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps all day and intensified in the lead-up to the race. By the time pit lane opened grip was so low that Sergio Perez slid off the road at Les Combes and embedded himself in the barrier, leaving him unable to make it to the grid.

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Max Verstappen denied George Russell pole position in an unpredictable qualifying shootout in Belgium, but predicting the race outcome will be as difficult as forecasting the weather.

Max Verstappen will start alongside Williams driver George Russell in a shock front row for the Belgian Grand Prix after a marathon wet-weather qualifying session delayed for a monster crash by Lando Norris.

Max Verstappen narrowly edged a sensational George Russell to take pole for the Belgian Grand Prix after Q3 was suspended for a high-speed Lando Norris crash at Eau Rouge.

The pole shootout started after minutes of heavy rain lashed the circuit, turning parts of the track treacherous for the volume of standing water.

Norris was just beginning his first flying lap when he lost control of his McLaren at Eau Rouge, and his attempted correction sent him slamming against the left-hand barrier as he crested through Radillon, which spat him across the track.

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Max Verstappen edged Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez for the fastest time of final practice at the Belgian Grand Prix. The hour-long session was wet throughout, despite the rain that lashed the track during the morning abating in time for pit lane to open.

Drivers took to the track to embrace the first genuine wet running of the weekend with the forecast of heavy rain for the race in mind, and a greasy dry line emerged as the session progressed.

It was as the track improved that Verstappen — running an even skinnier, lower-downforce rear wing than yesterday despite the wet forecast — rocketed to the top of the time sheet with a lap of 1m56.924s.

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Max Verstappen set the fastest time but put his car in the wall in a twice suspended second practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman was undertaking a race simulation when he lost control of his Red Bull Racing machine exiting Turn 7, losing control over the gravel and spinning backwards into the far barrier, spitting stones onto the track.

The damage was not visually severe, but the car was stopped in the rearward impact, so the session was called off with three minutes left on the clock.

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Valtteri Bottas put Mercedes on top in first practice for the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.

The Finn was 0.164s quicker than the Dutchman, while title leader Lewis Hamilton languished in 18th after abandoning his flying lap in traffic.

The Briton had set a Verstappen-matching time up to the Bus Stop chicane, where he encountered Nicholas Latifi’s Williams. He attempted to pass around the outside assuming the Canadian would make way, but Latifi took the outside line apparently unaware of the other car, forcing Hamilton to back out and ruining the lap.

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