Oscar Piastri survived a scare in SQ2 to claim pole position for the sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
SQ1
Two drivers from the front-running teams were eliminated in the first round of qualifying and neither of them was Yuki Tsunoda. The Red Bull driver could only manage 11th with his first run, before several drivers completed their first flying laps, but only dropped two places before the session ended.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli took himself out of contention by spinning into the gravel trap at Stavelot during his first attempt. He dragged a lot of gravel onto the exit of the corner, which disadvantaged his team mate George Russell, though he was able to claim a place in SQ2.
Lewis Hamilton, following not far behind, also got crossed up on the way into the same corner. He regained his composure for a final attempt at a time and looked set to progress when his car snapped into a spin as he approached the final chicane, ending his hope of improvement.
With Hamilton’s Ferrari stationary in the run-off area at the chicane, several drivers encountered yellow flags as they completed their laps. Oliver Bearman was one of them, but despite appearing to lift off as he approached the scene, he still improved his lap time sufficiently to grab 14th place.
Hamilton and Antonelli were therefore joined by Franco Colapinto, Nico Hulkenberg and Alexander Albon in dropping out in the first round.
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SQ1 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’41.769 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’42.043 | 0.274 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’42.068 | 0.299 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’42.427 | 0.658 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W16 | 1’42.650 | 0.881 |
| 6 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’42.711 | 0.942 |
| 7 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’42.736 | 0.967 |
| 8 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’42.763 | 0.994 |
| 9 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’42.776 | 1.007 |
| 10 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’42.806 | 1.037 |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’42.822 | 1.053 |
| 12 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’42.897 | 1.128 |
| 13 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’42.912 | 1.143 |
| 14 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’43.024 | 1.255 |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’43.171 | 1.402 |
| 16 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’43.212 | 1.443 |
| 17 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’43.217 | 1.448 |
| 18 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’43.408 | 1.639 |
| 19 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’43.587 | 1.818 |
| 20 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W16 | 1’45.394 | 3.625 |
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SQ2
The start of SQ2 was delayed so the marshals could sweep gravel away from the exit of Stavelot. Once the session began, McLaren were the first to send their drivers onto the track, which set the scene for a dramatic session in which the championship leaders came surprisingly close to elimination.
Norris led the pair around to begin with, Piastri following him and beating his sector times as he went. When they crossed the line Piastri beat Norris’s time by four tenths of a second – but only temporarily. The stewards ruled he cut the kerb at the top of Raidillon and deleted his lap time.
Piastri put together another lap while Norris cooled his tyres and prepared for a final run. That proved vital, as almost every other driver left it until the last minute to perform their only runs. As they did, driver after driver beat the McLaren pair’s times, sending Norris plunging into the drop zone.
Norris’ final lap was exactly what he needed, a 1’41.412 taking the quickest time off Verstappen by over a tenth of a second. It left Piastri on the cusp of elimination in 10th but there were no drivers left on course to beat him, so he was safe too.
George Russell was among those eliminated, meaning neither Mercedes driver made it to the final round of sprint race qualifying. Gabriel Bortoleto and Pierre Gasly did make the final round despite their team mates going out in the first. Tsunoda, not running all of Red Bull’s latest parts, failed to join Verstappen in the final 10 and the Aston Martins were also eliminated despite their stronger showing in SQ1.
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SQ2 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’41.412 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’41.583 | 0.171 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’41.786 | 0.374 |
| 4 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’41.801 | 0.389 |
| 5 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’41.901 | 0.489 |
| 6 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’41.949 | 0.537 |
| 7 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’42.019 | 0.607 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’42.051 | 0.639 |
| 9 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’42.088 | 0.676 |
| 10 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’42.128 | 0.716 |
| 11 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’42.169 | 0.757 |
| 12 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’42.184 | 0.772 |
| 13 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W16 | 1’42.330 | 0.918 |
| 14 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’42.453 | 1.041 |
| 15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’42.832 | 1.420 |
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SQ3
After the drama of SQ2, the pole position shoot-out was a much more straightforward affair, with each driver doing a single lap at the end of the session.
Norris led the cars around, pursued by Verstappen and Piastri, each driver beating their predecessor’s time in turn. Verstappen was the first to dip below the 1’41 mark, beating Norris by over a tenth of a second, but Piastri’s final lap was rapid and – crucially – clean. A 1’40.510 put him on pole position by over four tenths of a second.
Charles Leclerc claimed a place on the second row of the grid while the Haas pair impressed, Esteban Ocon taking fifth, two places ahead of Oliver Bearman, the two VF-25s split by Carlos Sainz Jnr’s Williams.
Gasly was a surprise eighth in his Alpine, a car which was not expected to perform well at Spa, followed by Hadjar and Bortoleto.
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SQ3 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’40.510 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’40.987 | 0.477 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’41.128 | 0.618 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’41.278 | 0.768 |
| 5 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’41.565 | 1.055 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’41.761 | 1.251 |
| 7 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’41.857 | 1.347 |
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’41.959 | 1.449 |
| 9 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’41.971 | 1.461 |
| 10 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’42.176 | 1.666 |
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