Lando Norris beats Oscar Piastri to pole, Max Verstappen solely fourth

McLaren’s Lando Norris has struck again towards team-mate Oscar Piastri by taking his fourth pole of the 2025 Formulation 1 season on the Belgian Grand Prix.

Norris noticed title rival Piastri take pole for the dash on the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, and completed behind his team-mate throughout Saturday’s 15-lap contest, however the Briton then went on to clinch his first-ever Belgian pole within the afternoon to arrange an intriguing McLaren battle on Sunday.

Norris drew first blood within the deciding prime 10 shootout by advantage of a 1m40.562s lap, the one driver to enhance on his finest Q2 lap on that first salvo of runs. Norris’ lap was virtually two tenths faster than team-mate and title rival Piastri and a large 5 tenths higher than Verstappen, who was operating a used set of softs that could not present the identical degree of grip as monitor temperatures elevated.

On the second spherical of runs Verstappen began with an enormous slide out of La Supply, which arrange a lap that proved slower than his first effort and noticed him pipped to 3rd by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by a mere 0.003.

The McLarens had been up subsequent, however Norris’ wrestle to enhance opened a window of alternative for Piastri. However the championship chief may solely shave a tenth off his finest lap, guaranteeing Norris clinched his fourth pole of 2025 to attract degree together with his McLaren team-mate.

Behind Leclerc and Verstappen, Alex Albon excelled with a fifth-place beginning berth for Williams, defeating George Russell who could not go faster than his finest Q2 run for Mercedes. Yuki Tsunoda delivered his finest Pink Bull efficiency but by taking seventh, three tenths behind Verstappen, forward of Racing Bulls duo Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, in addition to spectacular Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.

Max Verstappen, Pink Bull Racing

Picture by: Pink Bull Content material Pool

McLaren led the proceedings out of pitlane at first of Q2, with Piastri setting a 1m40.626s lap that may keep on prime for the rest of the phase, main Norris by 0.089s and Verstappen conceding 0.325s.

After the primary barrage of runs, Sauber duo Hulkenberg and Bortoleto discovered themselves on the incorrect facet of the highest 10, as did Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Williams man Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman. Haas driver Bearman had suffered an enormous slide popping out of the speedy double right-hander of Pouhon which pressured the British rookie to abort his flyer.

Gasly was the primary driver as much as salvage a spot in Q3, however his ninth-fastest time was quickly shuffled down the order. A poor last sector for Esteban Ocon meant his missed the cut-off by a mere 0.020s in comparison with Tenth-polaced Alex Albon, whereas a messy passage by Flip 1’s La Supply additionally undid Haas team-mate Bearman’s efforts because the pair proved unable to repeat their dash qualifying heroics.

Gasly settled for thirteenth, adopted by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Sainz in 14th and fifteenth respectively.

The beginning of qualifying in Q1 noticed a pitlane skirmish as Hulkenberg was despatched out into the trail of Aston’s Lance Stroll in a busy pit exit queue, with Hulkenberg damaging his entrance wing earlier than being summoned by to the stewards to debate an unsafe launch name.

The McLarens had been out first right here as effectively, donning used mushy tyres as Piastri narrowly led Norris with a 1m41.998s effort. Carlos Sainz then briefly grabbed prime within the Williams, having brandished a contemporary set of sentimental tyres to set a 1m41.691s.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Picture by: Steven Tee / LAT Photographs through Getty Photographs

On a contemporary set of their very own, Norris went prime with a 1m41.010s, with Piastri’s time 0.191s shy of his team-mate and Verstappen one other tenth in arrears.

A particularly tight battle for survival confirmed some similarities to dash qualifying, with each Mercedes vehicles of Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli beneath stress once more after the primary set of banker lap runs.

However given the speedy monitor evolution these banker laps proved of little use for drivers determined to advance. Having come beneath stress from vehicles vastly bettering round him as effectively, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton discovered a late enchancment to leap away from the drop zone because the chequered flag fell.

However the Ferrari driver noticed his time deleted resulting from marginally crossing monitor limits on the prime of Raidillon, together with his first lap time demoting the seven-time world champion into the elimination zone in sixteenth, his second Q1 exit of the weekend. Hamilton’s deleted time offered a reprieve for Sauber’s Bortoleto, who slipped by in fifteenth because of this.

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Hamilton was joined within the drop zone by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, Antonelli and a disappointing Aston Martin duo Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.