Force India steal the show with fairtytale qualifying feat

As Q3 started the skies above opened up, Perez and Ocon exited on slicks only to come in for intermediates after surviving a treacherous early lap. Soon the rain seized and it became clear that whoever was running at the end of the rain-affected session would be best positioned to take advantage of the wet conditions.

Ocon went around a treacherous Spa-Francorchamps in 2:01.851 which was 3.672 seconds off Lewis Hamilton's pole-winning time but crucially it was good enough for third-place on the timing screens where he remained until the chequered flag waved.

Perez was a mere 0.043 of a second shy of his teammate and fourth on the grid to make it an all Pink second row for the first time in the history of Formula 1.

Ocon was clearly delighted with third place, "I knew is that definitely with damp conditions like this, you have an opportunity and you have to do something about it."

"It’s always close between the cars when the conditions are like that. Today we maximised the potential of our car. Last time it rained [2017 Italian Grand Prix] I also started third, so it's the second time it rains and I'm starting third, so it's a fantastic result."

"It’s great to perform like this after a difficult time for Force India. That’s totally behind now. We are focusing on this weekend. The car has been strong even in the dry this weekend. Hopefully, we'll get a great result tomorrow," added Ocon.

Perez reflected on his afternoon, "A great result for the team with all the problems we have had. It's been a tough couple of months, and it was a very chaotic qualifying session."

"I nearly crashed at Eau Rouge and I'm lucky to be here. I hope we have some rain tomorrow. We should not get too carried away, but we have tremendous pace we are very quick in a straight line."

Ocon will line-up on the grid behind the Mercedes of pole winner Hamilton, with Perez slotting behind the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel in second.

The Racing Point Force India crew were happy!