Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, marking a celebratory moment on his father’s birthday. The 19-year-old Italian, leading the Formula One championship, clocked a fastest lap of 1:44.361, placing him ahead of Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen, who will start alongside him on the front row. Mercedes’ George Russell, Antonelli’s closest title contender and teammate, qualified third but will be promoted to third on the grid due to a penalty for McLaren’s Lando Norris, who set the third-fastest time but faces a 10-place grid drop.
Antonelli, who has claimed six pole positions so far this season with Mercedes maintaining a dominant run of poles in each of the 10 races, acknowledged the difficult nature of qualifying. “It was not a very straightforward session, the track changed a lot,” the reigning world champion said after the session. Antonelli leads Russell in the championship by 25 points and is aiming to extend that margin with a sixth win, having missed points in two of the last three races.
Norris expressed frustration at his grid penalty after initially topping the charts during the early stage of qualifying. “It is unfortunate that it is not where we will be starting tomorrow because it would be nice to have a little fight with these guys but we made the most of it,” he said.
Verstappen, who benefited from an aerodynamic tow from teammate Isack Hadjar, commented on the impact of the slipstream, noting that without the assistance, he might have qualified only sixth. Hadjar faces a substantial 30-place grid penalty due to multiple engine and component changes and is expected to start 21st.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, driving for Ferrari and aiming for his sixth victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, qualified fifth despite crashing in final practice. His mechanics repaired the car overnight, and Hamilton praised their work, commenting that the team did “a mega job” fixing the damage. Hamilton believes the car was competitive enough in practice to place him in a higher qualifying position.
The midfield saw strong showings from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in sixth and Racing Bulls’ British rookie Arvid Lindblad in seventh, benefitting from the only car in the team’s upgraded configuration. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoletto qualified eighth, while Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson will start ninth despite not reaching the final qualifying segment. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten. Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi was forced to retire during Q2 due to a hydraulic leak.
Ferrari has won two of the last three races and remains in pursuit of Mercedes in the constructors’ championship as the teams prepare for a highly competitive race at one of the longest circuits on the calendar.