Lewis Hamilton stole pole position in the final seconds of qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix to give him his fourth consecutive pole for Mercedes.
The final ten minute shoot-out was an incredibly busy session as nine of the ten cars charged out on slick tyres minus Paul di Resta who looked to have made the perfect decision as the rain fell as the light turned green.
All nine on slicks immediately returned to the pits as the Scot took the top spot and looked set to remain there until the weather changed once again.
Nico Rosberg popped up in first in the final minute, pushing Di Resta down to second, but it wasn’t over as Mark Webber, then Sebastian Vettel took over the lead. However it was Hamilton, last to cross the line, who was eventually quickest.
With the top five set, it was Jenson Button who took sixth ahead of Romain Grosjean, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.
Q2 was a straight forward affair as the rain held off, but changeable conditions in the first session saw Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde and both Marussias make it through after a gamble with slicks.
The Dutch driver starts a best 14th, whilst Jules Bianch and Max Chilton start 15th and 16th respectively.
Qualifying – 2013 Belgian Grand Prix
| # | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 2:01.863 | 1.48.646 | 2:01.200 |
| 03 | M. Webber | Red Bull | 2:01.597 | 1:48.641 | 2:01.325 |
| 06 | J. Button | McLaren | 2:01.301 | 1:48.641 | 2:03.075 |
| 13 | S. Perez | McLaren | 2:02.425 | 1:49.304 | |
| 07 | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 2:02.476 | 1:48.649 | 2:03.081 |
| 04 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 2:01.099 | 1:48.552 | 2:02.251 |
| 09 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 2:00.190 | 1:48.309 | 2:03.482 |
| 08 | K. Räikkönen | Lotus | 2:01.151 | 1:48.296 | 2:03.390 |
| 01 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 2:00.368 | 1:49.067 | 2:01.012 |
| 11 | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | 2:01.712 | 1:49.103 | |
| 10 | F. Massa | Ferrari | 2:01.462 | 1:49.020 | 2:04.059 |
| 05 | P. di Resta | Force India | 2:02.338 | 1:48.925 | 2:02.332 |
| 12 | A. Sutil | Force India | 2:02.749 | 1:49.103 | |
| 20 | V. Bottas | Williams | 2:03.432 | ||
| 18 | J-E. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 2:03.300 | ||
| 19 | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 2:03.317 | ||
| 17 | P. Maldonado | Williams | 2:03.072 | ||
| 21 | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | 2:04.324 | ||
| 15 | J. Bianchi | Marussia | 2:02.110 | 1:52.563 | |
| 16 | M. Chilton | Marussia | 2:02.948 | 1:52.762 | |
| 14 | G. van der Garde | Caterham | 2:00.564 | 1:52.036 | |
| 22 | C. Pic | Caterham | 2:07.384 |
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