F1 2020 Belgian GP: Qualifying as it happened!

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The start of Formula 1's third triple-header of 2020 is upon us. 

The legendary Spa-Francorchamps plays host to this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Eau Rouge, Pouhon, Blanchimont - Spa-Francorchamps consists of some of the sport’s iconic corners.

Lewis Hamilton heads to Belgium top of the drivers’ championship, 37 points clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in second.

Valtteri Bottas is in third, on the back of a disappointing run of three races for the Finn - who celebrates his 31st birthday on Friday.

What happened last time out?

It was a comfortable afternoon for the reigning world champion at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya just under two weeks ago.

Hamilton dominated proceedings in Spain from pole position as he stormed to his fourth victory of the campaign.

The Mercedes driver had no threat from behind after making a good start from pole.

Verstappen benefitted from a slow-starting Bottas to finish second behind Hamilton yet again, with the second Mercedes eventually finishing a distant third.

The Racing Points enjoyed another strong outing - P4 for Stroll; P5 for Perez.

Carlos Sainz was sixth at his home race, just ahead of Sebastian Vettel in seventh.

Alexander Albon, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris rounded out the top ten.

What to expect from this weekend?

Long straights, high-speed corners - Spa is expected to favour Mercedes considerably.

Racing Point and Renault tend to go well at low downforce circuits so Red Bull will have to keep an eye on those two teams.

Ferrari typically struggles when it comes to straight-line speed so expect Vettel and Charles Leclerc to struggle to get into Q3 come qualifying.

Conditions are expected to be very cool but dry across Friday and Saturday, although there is some rain forecast on Sunday.

Pirelli has nominated the C2, C3 and C4 compound tyres for this race - as it did for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone.