Fernando Alonso has been placed 22nd on the official provisional grid for the Belgian Grand Prix. The Aston Martin driver qualified 21st with a lap of 1m50.002s. His starting position was then set through the penalty process. The latest document was published by the stewards on Saturday evening after qualifying.
Aston Martin fitted a new Energy Store, Control Electronics and Ancillary Component before final practice. The changes exceeded Alonso’s season allowance and produced a back-of-grid penalty. Lance Stroll, Lando Norris and Isack Hadjar also carried power-unit penalties into the published order.
Alonso’s qualifying session ended in Q1. His 1m50.002s lap placed him 21st in the raw classification. Stroll recorded 1m50.177s and finished 22nd. Neither Aston Martin reached the second part of qualifying.
Kimi Antonelli took pole with a 1m44.361s lap. Max Verstappen was second, while Norris set the third-fastest time. George Russell and Charles Leclerc completed the first five positions in the qualifying classification.
The gap between Alonso and pole was 5.641 seconds. The large difference reflected Aston Martin’s difficult weekend before penalties were considered. It also meant Alonso did not lose a competitive midfield place when the grid drops were applied.
Four drivers received separate grid drops
Norris received a ten-place penalty for exceeding his permitted power-unit allocation. Hadjar was given a larger accumulated drop. Stroll and Alonso also exceeded limits after their teams introduced several new elements.
Penalties larger than 15 grid places move a driver to the back under the sporting regulations. When several drivers receive that treatment, the official document determines their order. The raw qualifying list alone is therefore not the race grid.
The provisional grid placed Norris 13th after his ten-place drop. Stroll was listed 20th, Hadjar 21st and Alonso 22nd. Those positions are the latest official order available on Saturday evening.
Alonso received three new components
The technical change covered three named parts. Aston Martin installed a new Energy Store, new Control Electronics and a new Ancillary Component. Each item was outside Alonso’s permitted season allocation.
The decision gives Alonso fresh components for the remaining events. It also concentrated the sporting cost into a weekend when Aston Martin were already at the back of the qualifying classification. The team did not hide that cost before the timed session.
Stroll’s component use placed the second Aston Martin in the same penalty group. Both cars therefore appear near the back of the provisional order. Their positions came from separate technical records and separate steward decisions.
Antonelli remains first and Verstappen remains second. Russell moves from fourth in qualifying to third on the provisional grid. Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton follow in fourth and fifth. Oscar Piastri is listed sixth.
At the front of the same grid, Kimi Antonelli starts from pole after the penalties were applied.
Arvid Lindblad, Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson occupy positions seven to nine. Pierre Gasly completes the first ten. Norris appears three places behind Gasly despite setting the third-fastest qualifying lap.
Carlos Sainz, Oliver Bearman, Alexander Albon and Esteban Ocon also move forward relative to Norris. Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez are listed 18th and 19th. Stroll, Hadjar and Alonso complete the 22-car order.
The document remains provisional on Saturday
The stewards labelled the Saturday document as the provisional starting grid. That wording is important. A final grid is normally issued closer to the race after any later technical or sporting changes.
Alonso’s confirmed qualifying result remains 21st. His current starting position is 22nd in the latest official grid document. One entry is the qualifying classification; the other is the provisional grid after penalties.
The race begins from the grid order, not the practice or qualifying timing screen. For Alonso, the available official record on Saturday evening is clear: 21st in qualifying and 22nd on the provisional grid after penalties.
The Saturday document places Alonso behind Hadjar
The provisional grid lists 22 drivers. Hadjar occupies 21st place and Alonso is 22nd. Lance Stroll appears 20th, immediately ahead of both cars on the final row group.
Alonso’s qualifying time was 1m50.002s. He was classified 21st in qualifying because Hadjar did not set a time in Q3. The later penalty order moved Alonso one place lower.
Aston Martin introduced a new Energy Store, Control Electronics and Ancillary Component. The accumulated changes produced the grid drop described before qualifying. The penalty remained in the Saturday grid document.
The front of that same document lists Antonelli, Verstappen and Russell. Norris is 13th after his own ten-place penalty. Component penalties create a different grid order from the qualifying classification.
The Saturday 20:10 notice places Alonso 22nd, directly behind Hadjar. Stroll occupies 20th, while the applied component penalties move Norris to 13th and keep the qualifying and grid classifications separate.
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