Max Verstappen vowed to kiss and make up with his race engineer following their X-rated row in Belgian Grand Prix qualifying. Verstappen finished fastest in a wet-dry session at Spa-Francorchamps, but he will start Sunday’s 44-lap race from sixth following a gearbox penalty. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is promoted to pole position, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez second. Lewis Hamilton, on pole a week ago in Hungary, will line up in third. Verstappen made it into Q3 – the final phase of qualifying – by the skin of his teeth and vented his anger at long-serving race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, known as GP, following the close-call. “I should have just f****** pushed two laps in a row like I said,” said Verstappen, who sneaked through in 10th place. “But you are through, Max,” replied Lambiase. “I don’t give a f*** that we are P10, mate. It is just s*** execution,” came Verstappen’s fiery response. Lambiase snapped back: “OK, and then when the track was two seconds quicker for your final lap and you didn’t have any energy left, how would that have gone down?” A surly Lambiase added: “But you tell me what you want to do in Q3 and we’ll do it. Tyre sets, fuel, run plan.” After returning to finish eighth tenths clear of Leclerc, Verstappen issued an apology. “Sorry to GP for being such on the rant,” he said over the radio. Lambiase replied: “Slowly getting used to it, Max.” Speaking afterwards, Verstappen added: “It happens sometimes. Most of it is blocked off. “We are mates. We can get quite emotional, quite vocal. We sort it out afterwards.” Verstappen’s grid drop for exceeding the allocated number of four gearboxes will provide his rivals with forlorn hope they can end his seven-race winning streak. However, the Dutchman, a winner of nine of the 11 rounds so far this season, started this race from 14th last year owing to engine penalties and still took the victory in his all-conquering Red Bull machine. For Hamilton, the seven-time world champion faced a post-qualifying investigation from the stewards after he ran off the circuit at Eau Rouge before re-joining in front of team-mate George Russell in Q2. Russell was forced to slow down to avoid making contact with the sister Mercedes. Race control noted the incident and confirmed they would investigate. Hamilton finished nine tenths slower than Verstappen, with Russell even further back in eighth, 0.8sec adrift of his team-mate. “It was definitely very hectic because it was consistently drying up,” said Hamilton after the running started on a wet track. “It was difficult to see with the spray. I was head down, just maximining as much as I could. “At the end, I was still a good chunk off Max. But I am really happy with the result I’ve got.” Carlos Sainz qualified fifth for Ferrari, one spot ahead of Oscar Piastri, with Lando Norris seventh in the other McLaren. Daniel Ricciardo finished a commendable 13th on his F1 comeback but the Australian will line up from the penultimate spot on the grid. Ricciardo temporarily hauled his AlphaTauri through to Q2 only to see his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits. “F***, I am sorry,” said Ricciardo when informed of the chalked-off lap. “I just lost it through Turn 3. I am sorry.” Spa-Francorchamps is hosting the sport’s third sprint event of the year with a shortened race on Saturday to come before Sunday’s main event – the concluding round ahead of the sport’s summer shutdown. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen fastest for Belgian GP despite X-rated row with race engineer How Max Verstappen and record-breaking Red Bull compare to Formula One greats I held my breath – Lewis Hamilton enjoys ‘extraordinary’ run to pole in Budapest

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England boss Gareth Southgate says Monday’s European Championship qualifier against North Macedonia will be a “step up” from the win over Malta. Southgate’s men conclude their season with the fixture at Old Trafford, three days after beating Malta 4-0 away to make it three victories from three matches in Group C. Southgate told a press conference on Sunday regarding North Macedonia: “They should have won the other night against Ukraine, really. “We know the quality of some of the individual players, they have some players playing at big European clubs. As a team they function well. They knocked Italy out of the last World Cup, and they pushed Portugal close in those games. “So they have got pedigree, they bring the game to you a bit more than perhaps we had the other night as well. So it isn’t just a case of rolling on from Friday, it’s a step up, it’s a step up in intensity and quality, and we have to be right in our game to be able to win the match.” Monday’s match marks England’s first game on home soil not to be staged at Wembley since they were thumped 4-0 by Hungary at Molineux a year ago, which prompted jeers from the crowd. It’s a step up in intensity and quality, and we have to be right in our game to be able to win the match Gareth Southgate When asked about that, Southgate said: “It’s for us always to bring the crowd with us. The onus is on us to give the crowd something to be excitedabout and to play well. “It’s a great crowd up here anyway. When we went to Leeds a few years ago that was an exceptional atmosphere, and I’m sure Manchester will be the same. “The fact it’s a sell-out is exciting for us, it adds an edge to the game. But of course, also our opponent will be lifted by that. They will want to put on a good display. So we have to be ready for them. “We want to play well, we want to entertain our supporters and we need to win.” Southgate said it was “possible” some of the Manchester City treble-winners in his squad would be in the starting line-up on Monday, and also spoke again about Trent Alexander-Arnold after the Liverpool man impressed in a midfield role against Malta. Asked what he made of the reaction to that performance, Southgate said: “He played exceptionally well, so he deserves all the credit he’s getting – the rest is noise, so I don’t really get too distracted by that. “It’s another option, and it’s an exciting one. We know the outstanding qualities he has. I thought he adapted really well to the role, it is different to what he’s been asked to do for his club to this point. But he was excited by that and he delivered, so great credit to him.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live England take the show on the road as Eze pushes for a start – talking points Father’s Day surprise for Andy Murray as his kids show up for Nottingham win Emma Raducanu admits to ‘being burnt a few times’ after US Open glory

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