Belgian Grand Prix qualifying: Mercedes top and tail the grid, Verstappen wows crowd

F1 returned with a plethora of grid penalties - Fernando Alonso, Marcus Ericsson and Lewis Hamilton had already reserved their spots at the back of the grid before Saturday dawned, and Esteban Gutierrez picked up a five-place penalty in FP3 for impeding Pascal Wehrlein.

There was also the return of a firm adherence to track limits, with times being deleted where necessary.

Felipe Massa of Williams topped the standings, with the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen right behind him.

It was all fun and games, until Alonso found his weekend getting even worse as his car failed after yet another "data anomaly" without even recording a time.

Hamilton and Ericsson, of course, didn't bother pushing themselves too much seeing as they couldn't improve their standings.

Spare a thought for Dany Kvyat, though; what a terrible 2016 he's having. Demoted from Red Bull, and can't even find his footing in the Toro Rosso.

Evidently hugely happier without his team-mate anywhere near him, Nico Rosberg showed his pace and tore through the field.

Massa left it late to make a dart at the top, and ended up nearly 0.7s slower than the Mercedes.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo turned in a poor session, a second slower than the leader and leaving himself open to attack from the drop zone. He'd have been very thankful that McLaren's Jenson Button's quick lap only managed to nip in below him - tenth place and into Q3.

Renault's Jolyon Palmer was pleased with his 14th place - he'll move up the grid with all those penalties as well.

Under the watchful eye of his mother and sister at trackside, Red Bull's Max Verstappen took pole for a few moments - before Rosberg reclaimed it by about a tenth of a second.

Raikkonen created all kinds of drama, leaving it until the very last second to put in his flying lap, and he ended up bisecting the Red Bulls before Vettel took fourth. Yes, Verstappen became the youngest-ever driver to take the front row, while Ricciardo will be wondering whether he might have perhaps been able to do a bit better.

Kudos to Button - quicker than the Williams of Massa in the end, and a ninth-place start for him.

The knowledge that Hamilton would start from the back of the grid regardless did mix this up a little, leaving a spot on the row open for takers. Perhaps it wasn't a surprise that Rosberg managed to take pole - but it was a huge effort for Verstappen to take second.

That pair are likely to be just as feisty and send as many sparks flying as would be expected if Rosberg started alongside his own team-mate - particularly bearing in mind that he desperately needs points here to close the gap in the drivers' championship. Expect drama.

Felipe Massa's drop down the ranking after showing excellent pace was a bit of a surprise. He has plenty to prove tomorrow.

Esteban Ocon of Manor will be looking to catch the eye and make an impact. OK, he'll be going from the middle of the field, but with some big names surrounding him he'll have plenty of opportunity to prove his mettle.

Verstappen - Rosberg - Hamilton