MoneyGram Haas F1 Team drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg qualified 13th and 20th respectively for the Belgian Grand Prix, Round 13 of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Following a three-place grid penalty for impeding another car on track, Magnussen will drop to 16th for Sunday's 44-lap race.

The opening day of track running began with Free Practice 1 - the only practice session of the Sprint weekend. Magnussen and Hulkenberg utilized the Pirelli Cinturato Green intermediate tire to start but promptly returned to the garage during their exploratory lap due to increasing downpours over the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. A short stint on the Blue extreme wet tire saw the duo register their only timed lap of FP1, Magnussen setting a 2:09.229 for P8 and Hulkenberg a time of 2:10.042 for P10, completing seven and eight laps respectively.

Qualifying was delayed by 10 minutes to clear standing water around the track, but once underway and with the sun shining for the first time this weekend, both drivers began the opening session on a used set of intermediates. After two timed laps, Magnussen registered a best effort 2:02.738, Hulkenberg a 2:03.166. Magnussen put on a new set of the intermediate compound and bettered his previous lap, with a time of 2:00.020 to proceed to Q2. Hulkenberg encountered a hydraulic issue, and despite the best efforts of the team to get him back on track, the clock timed out during the German's out lap, ending his participation in qualifying, classifying P20.

Q2 began with Magnussen on another new set of intermediate tires, banking a time of 1:57.413. A dry line appeared on track, and the Dane opted for a fresh set of Red softs for his second and final run. Although able to improve with a fastest lap of 1:54.160, it wasn't enough for the top 10, Magnussen finishing the session P13.

Saturday's schedule begins with the Sprint Shootout determining the grid for the Sprint later the same day.

Kevin Magnussen: "I went off at Turn 9 and hit the wall, I had a fair bit of damage on the car. I feel like there was maybe some more in it, but I think everyone feels like that in those conditions, there's always something you leave out there in terms of lap time. P13 for Sunday, I think that's okay and we'll take it from there. Rainy conditions are where you can make it or break it, there's everything to play for and that's what we like, it was a fun session, actually. It could very well be similar conditions tomorrow for the Sprint, the weather here in Spa is always interesting, so let's see what happens."

Nico Hulkenberg: "We had a hydraulic issue on the car which happened during the first run, and we tried to fix it but couldn't get around again to set another lap time. At the end of the session, the track was drying and getting quicker, so that means we were left in P20."

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: "It was a messy day today. A difficult FP1 with rain coming and going, we weren't really able to learn a lot. In qualifying, Nico had a hydraulic problem which cut his qualifying short, and Kevin on his best opportunity went off at Turn 9, then obviously the second time around, his tires were not in the best state anymore. Not the best of our qualifying efforts but this weekend has two opportunities to get points, so we try again tomorrow to do a better job than today."

Check out our Friday gallery from Spa here.