WATCH: Charles Leclerc's raw reaction after getting pole in Belgian Grand Prix

The Monegasque Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc, found himself in an unexpectedly favourable position after the qualifying round for the Belgian Grand Prix. Initially securing the second spot on the grid, Leclerc was promoted to pole position due to a 10-place grid penalty imposed on Max Verstappen.

The qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps was characterized by tricky, rain-hit conditions. Leclerc managed to navigate these challenges impressively, clocking a time of 1m 53.754s. This time was good enough to place him behind Verstappen, who had dominated the session. However, Verstappen’s penalty meant that Leclerc would start Sunday’s race from P1, a development that was met with enthusiasm and a sense of accomplishment.

Upon completing his qualifying lap, Leclerc’s race engineer broke the news of his provisional second place. "And we are P2. That was some lap," said the engineer. Leclerc responded with a succinct, "Copy. Good job."

Here is the video:

Charles Leclerc nails his final lap to take P2 in qualifying, and a P1 start in Sunday's race 👏#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/lVUyIrUUyL

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2024

The exchange then shifted to Verstappen’s performance, with Charles Leclerc inquiring, "Did Verstappen improve on the second soft?" His engineer confirmed that Verstappen had matched his lap time and reiterated the penalty he faced. Realizing the implication, Leclerc responded with, "Ok, got it. So it's pole position for tomorrow, right?" The confirmation from his team cemented his position as the pole-sitter for the race.

“I did not expect that”, says Charles Leclerc

Reflecting on the session and his unexpected promotion, Leclerc expressed his delight: “It’s good. I mean, I did not expect that this weekend.” He acknowledged the role of the weather in the outcome, noting, “Obviously with the tricky conditions we could do something above our expectations – 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.”

Leclerc further admitted that without the rain, Ferrari might have been aiming for a fifth-place finish, particularly given the competition from Mercedes. “I think without this rain, probably P5 was the position we were fighting for with the Mercedes especially. Obviously, with the rain, it helped us a little bit, but I’m not going to complain," he remarked.