Oscar Piastri took an impressive top spot in Sprint Qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix, outpacing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by almost half a second and finishing more than six tenths of a second clear of McLaren team-mate and chief title rival Lando Norris. 

Piastri set the pace in the opening minutes of SQ1 with a lap of 1:41.769, almost three tenths of a second clear of Norris. With three minutes left on the clock Verstappen split the McLaren pair, posting a lap of 1:42.043 to take second place. Elsewhere, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli had an off at Stavelot and the Italian sprayed gravel across the track disrupting the run of team-mate George Russell. 

While the top three sat out the final minutes, Antonelli’s incident left the Italian in P19 ahead of the final runs. And there was no way back for the Mercedes driver who complained of a lack of grip that left him last on the timesheet at the end of the session. 

There was another shock at Ferrari, where Lewis Hamilton dropped out of the session in P18 after he spun at the Bus Stop chicane. The seven-time champion was eliminated ahead of Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and behind Williams’ Alex Albon and Sauber’s Silverstone podium-finisher Nico Hülkenberg who also complained about a lack of grip on his final lap. 

The gravel at Stavelot led to a brief delay to allow the track to be swept clean and when SQ2 got underway it was Norris who was first out on track, followed by title rival team-mate Piastri. 

The Australian posted a time of 1:41.736 to put an impressive four tenths of a second between him and Norris, who logged a lap of 1:42.182. However, Piastri had gone over track limits at Raidillon and his lap was swiftly deleted. 

Leclerc then moved ahead of Norris with a time of 1:41.786 and Verstappen roared to top spot, two tenths clear of the Ferrari driver. Piastri stayed on track for a second attempt and this time the Australian made no mistakes as he posted a lap of 1:42.128 to rise to P3. Better times were flooding in however, and as rivals improved, both McLarens slid down the order. Norris’ final run of 1:41.412 vaulted him to top spot, a little under two tenths ahead of Verstappen, but with his two runs complete, Piastri came perilously close to the exit. In the end, however, he scraped through in P10, just four hundredths of a second clear of P11 man Liam Lawson. 

Ruled out behind the New Zealander were Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda in P12, surprise faller George Russell, and the Aston Martin pair of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. 

In the final top-10 shootout, Norris was again first on track and the Briton stopped the clock at 1:41.128. Behind him, Verstappen was going quicker. After beating the McLaren driver by three tenths of a second through the first sector, the Dutchman then only shed a tenth to the McLaren in Sector 2 – a stretch where in practice the Red Bull had struggled. A solid final sector and a time of 1:40.987 handed the Dutchman provisional pole. 

However, Piastri was finding even more time. The Australian powered past both his rivals in every part of the track to post a lap of 1.40.510 and claim provisional pole 0.477s clear of Verstappen and more than six tenths clear of Norris.

Behind the top three, Leclerc took fourth place for Ferrari as the last man within a tenth of the lead McLaren. Haas’ Esteban Ocon took fifth place +1.055 to Piastri, with Carlos Sainz sixth for Williams. Oliver Bearman made a top-10 double for Haas with P7, while Pierre Gasly gave Alpine hope of Sprint points with eighth place. Ninth place went to Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar and the top 10 was rounded out by Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto. 

2025 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:40.510 - -
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:40.987 0.477 
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:41.128 0.618 
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:41.278 0.768 
5 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:41.565 1.055 
6 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:41.761 1.251 
7 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:41.857 1.347 
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:41.959 1.449 
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:41.971 1.461 
10 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:42.176 1.666 
11 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:42.169 1.659 
12 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:42.184 1.674 
13 George Russell Mercedes 1:42.330 1.820 
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:42.453 1.943 
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:42.832 2.322 
16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:43.212 2.702 
17 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:43.217 2.707 
18 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:43.408 2.898 
19 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:43.587 3.077 
20 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:45.394 4.884