Lando Norris stormed to pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, leading a McLaren front-row lockout ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. In a thrilling qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps, Norris edged Piastri by just 0.085 seconds, showing his composure and control on one of Formula 1’s most demanding circuits.
Norris’s commanding lap time of 1:40.562 came early in Q3, setting a benchmark his competitors could not surpass. Piastri came closest on his final run but fell narrowly short, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured third on the grid. Max Verstappen, who had triumphed in the sprint race earlier in the day, could only manage fourth place as he struggled to match the pace of the McLaren duo.
The qualifying session proved disastrous for Lewis Hamilton, who was knocked out in Q1 after his lap was deleted for exceeding track limits at Raidillon. The seven-time world champion, who has a strong history at Spa with five wins, admitted to a “very poor performance” and apologised to his team after finishing 16th.
Norris, meanwhile, showed no signs of pressure as he bounced back from a third-place finish in the sprint race. Having trailed both Verstappen and Piastri in that short contest, Norris dismissed claims he was struggling to keep pace, citing slipstream effects as the cause of the gap in sprint qualifying. Confident and assertive, he praised the competitiveness within the McLaren garage, noting how he and Piastri are pushing each other to the limit.
While Verstappen’s sprint win marked a strong beginning to Red Bull’s new era under team principal Laurent Mekies, his performance in qualifying highlighted a strategic compromise. Red Bull opted for a larger rear wing in preparation for possible rain on race day, sacrificing straight-line speed. Despite that, the car upgrades showed promise, especially for Yuki Tsunoda, who achieved a career-best seventh place in qualifying.
Verstappen’s sprint race victory was a display of precision and timing. He capitalised on McLaren’s slower launch, drafting behind Piastri on the Kemmel straight before seizing the lead at Les Combes. Though Piastri closed the gap in sector two, he couldn’t reclaim the position. The stage is now set for a gripping Sunday showdown, with McLaren in control and Red Bull plotting a fightback.
