Summary of the Saturday in Spa | Masterstrokes by Verstappen and Russell

If the qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps is any preview of the rest of the race weekend in Belgium, it's certain that the all-important race will be a nail-biting one. Before it begins, here's a round-up of the biggest news on and around the grid today, with polesitter Max Verstappen in the lead.

Verstappen takes pole position

Continuing from his strong showing during this morning's FP3, fastest man on track Max Verstappen also managed to convince during qualifying today. He was the only driver on the track to be faster than George Russell.

Russell convinces in the Williams

In the final and hectic qualifying session at Spa, Williams driver George Russell looked like he was about to take pole position. He managed to beat not only Valtteri Bottas but also Lewis Hamilton in the rain and has hereby resolutely showed his skill towards Toto Wolff and Mercedes.

Norris is allowed to participate

After Lando Norris' violent crash, which caused a red flag early in Q3, updates from the McLaren camp were sparse throughout the day. The driver has already given his first reaction via Instagram, and he is officially declared fit enough to participate in the Grand Prix tomorrow. He will start from Fourteenth place, This is because of a gearbox change.

Formula One calendar has one less race

There was also a big logistical issue today. Amidst the jam-packed 2021 calendar and the large number of races that are in doubt due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the organising body of Formula 1 decided to reduce the number of races in 2021 to 22 instead of 23.