Belgian F1 Grand Prix 2016 Qualifying: Saturday's Results, Times, Final Grid

Nico Rosberg will start Sunday’s Formula One Belgian Grand Prix in pole position, as he looks to close the gap on team-mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton was hit with a 55-place grid penalty ahead of qualifying due to requiring three engine changes, which means he’ll start at the back of the pack at Spa-Francorchamps, as reported by the BBC's Andrew Benson.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was second fastest around the famous track, while Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen came home in third.

Here’s a look at the full standings from a competitive qualifying session, via Formula 1:

In Q1, it was Williams’ Felipe Massa who went fastest with a lap of one minute, 47.738 seconds. Sebastien Vettel and team-mate Raikkonen sat in second and third, while Rosberg was a further place back after taking it easy first time around.

Hamilton, resigned to the fact that he’d be starting the race last no matter what, just went around the track to warm his new engine up and was eliminated at the end of the session.

But there was good news for the Englishman, as he reported after his time out on the track that his car is good to go on Sunday, via Formula 1:

Rosberg topped the pile in Q2 with an impressive 1:46.999 on soft tyres and set up a fast and furious Q3 session, with the likes of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez making the cut with ease.

Verstappen was looking to claim his first-ever pole position, and after going round on his first lap just 0.149 seconds shy of Rosberg, he will have fancied his chances.

Charles Coates/Getty Images

However, neither the Red Bull man nor Raikkonen could topple the Mercedes man, who will start Sunday’s race in first thanks to a 1:46.744.

Despite Rosberg’s solid display, all eyes will be on Hamilton when the Belgian Grand Prix gets under way.

It’s a case of damage limitations for the Brit, who needs to somehow make his way up the pack and prevent Rosberg from stealing his lead.

The German, however, will be hoping that Sunday’s race is just the start of a big change in momentum.