Verstappen’s domination was underlined by the fact that the gap between him and Leclerc was bigger than the margin separating the Ferrari from Russell in seventh.
But the championship leader said he was not as confident of coming back through the field as he was in the last two years, when he won from 14th in 2022 and sixth last year.
“I am not as confident as in the last two years coming back to the front,” he said. “I still see it as a damage limitation race. That’s what it is.”
Leclerc’s presence in second – and therefore on pole position thanks to Verstappen’s penalty, just as he was last year – was not expected, least of all by the man himself.
Ferrari have had a difficult run since Leclerc won the Monaco Grand Prix at the end of May, and were not expecting Spa to suit their car.
Leclerc, who snuck ahead of Perez by just 0.011secs, said: “I definitely did not expect that this weekend, but with the tricky conditions we could do something above our expectations.
“It is a good day for the team and now we need to focus on tomorrow and see what will happen when the rain is gone.”
Leclerc knows that pole is not always the best place to start in Spa because of the risk of being slipstreamed on the long run from the first corner at La Source, through the fast Eau Rouge swerves and up on the long Kemmel straight. But he says he will do his best to stay at the front.
“When I am in Eau Rouge on the first lap, I will see what is the best thing I can do, but I will try to keep that first place,” he said.
The McLarens did not show the pacesetting form of the last few races, Norris and Piastri separated by 0.046secs but 0.8secs from Verstappen’s pace.
Norris said: “Clearly we were lacking compared to the cars ahead. Especially the Red Bull, which is another level compared to us in the rain – and even in the dry they were probably still a bit stronger.
“I expected worse and I’ve not been driving particularly well. One of those days when it’s just not clicking. Similar to yesterday, to salvage P5 I was pretty happy with.”
In the wet conditions, McLaren were not helped by choosing one of the lower downforce settings of the top teams, but are confident they can fight for the win on Sunday, when it is predicted to be dry.