Lewis Hamilton stormed to pole position for Mercedes during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, with a best time of 1:42.553. His title rival Sebastian Vettel took second spot in the dying seconds, splitting the Silver Arrows as Valtteri Bottas took third. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen settled for fourth after backing out of his final Q3 lap, having complained of vibrations earlier in the session. The adulation from his "home" fans propelled Red Bull's Max Verstappen to fifth place.

His team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was sixth, with Nico Hulkenberg seventh and Sergio Perez eighth as the fastest Force India. Esteban Ocon was ninth, whilst an unlucky Jolyon Palmer was pushed down to tenth after yet more car issues prevented his Renault from improving.

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Q1

Hamilton began the qualifying proceedings as the first man on track, and he was also first to set the pace. Behind him, Raikkonen complained of a vibration that was later found to be lateral rather than vertical; despite this, the Iceman managed to displace Bottas from second before pitting to prepare for Q2. Vettel would soon have a turn at the top, as the Ferrari beat Hamilton's time by forty-one thousandths of a second.

As Belgium's own Stoffel Vandoorne enjoyed a moment in the top five, the two Red Bulls set their own times, with Verstappen third but Ricciardo struggling to match the Dutchman in sixth. Elsewhere in the field, Palmer carried his good form from practice over to qualifying, slotting into eighth as Hulkenberg took eleventh, although he would later move up.

As the first part of the session drew to a close, those who were in or around the dropzone took to the track to try and save themselves with a last-ditch effort. The two Haas cars did so, with Kevin Magnussen managing ninth and Romain Grosjean thirteenth, but they were still looking for more pace.

Williams was less lucky, and both Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll failed to progress in sixteenth and eighteenth respectively; the team's double failure to escape Q1 was one of the main talking points at its conclusion. Fernando Alonso had somewhat better luck in his McLaren, with a tow from Vandoorne helping soften the blow from a Honda engine lacking in power. Another impressive showing saw the Spaniard safe in eleventh.

Drivers out in Q1: Massa, Kvyat, Stroll, Ericsson and Wehrlein

Q2

At the start of Q2, Raikkonen revealed to Ferrari that his vibration was still alive and well; unlike the first part, however, he was told to carry on. The two Mercedes men found themselves once again split by the Finn, with Hamilton again faster than Bottas as Vettel failed to beat any of them, taking a temporary fourth. This was promptly snatched by Verstappen as Ricciardo crossed the line in sixth.

In the battle of the Force Indias, Ocon bested Perez when the two pink cars claimed seventh and eighth, but there was more speed to come from the charging Palmer, who pushed the pair down from seventh himself. Luck was to desert him once more moments later, however, when a clutch failure left the Brit coasting down the pit lane.

Thankfully, he was able to restart the car and retain his position, but by this time attention was being diverted elsewhere. As the seconds ticked away, Alonso tried to benefit from another Vandoorne tow, but it would be to no avail and he would line up eleventh. The Haas duo were also eliminated as Hamilton set a new track record at the top - they would be twelfth and thirteenth, ahead of Carlos Sainz and the penalty-hit Vandoorne, who set no time.

Drivers out in Q2: Alonso, Grosjean, Magnussen, Sainz and Vandoorne

Q3

The top-ten shootout began with Raikkonen leading the pack onto the tarmac. He - and subsequently Hamilton - initially traded places at the top of the order, but their attempts would be interrupted by yellow flags brought out for an expiring Palmer, who lost gearbox oil pressure and was forced to pull off. Once they were withdrawn, Vettel took third, but was demoted by Bottas as the Bulls made their mark in fifth and sixth.

A brief lull ensued after every car had set a lap time, but with just over three minutes to go the track was busy once again, and the Mercedes duo only went faster and faster. It initially looked as though a 1-2 was on the cards for the German duo, but Vettel spoiled such a thought by placing his Ferrari on the front row, with Raikkonen and both Red Bulls further behind the trio.

For the fans, this will mean the prospect of a direct and thrilling battle between the three drivers in contention for the title, but for Hamilton it had added value since it brought his 68th career pole position. At his 200th Grand Prix, this put him level with Michael Schumacher for the outright record number of poles, and statistically established him as one of the greatest qualifiers in F1 history.

Mason Hawker