Kimi Antonelli delivered another emphatic qualifying performance to claim pole position for Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix, beating Max Verstappen by 0.317s as Mercedes maintained its perfect grand prix qualifying record in 2026.
The championship leader produced a superb final lap of 1m44.361s around Spa-Francorchamps to secure his sixth pole position of the season after briefly being displaced by Verstappen during the closing stages of Q3.
Red Bull had attempted to maximise Verstappen’s chances by using team-mate Isack Hadjar as a tow on the Dutchman’s final flying lap. Benefiting from what Verstappen described as “a tow and a half”, the reigning world champion briefly climbed to the top with a 1m44.678s. But Antonelli responded immediately, finding more than three tenths of a second to comfortably restore Mercedes’ advantage.
Lando Norris had looked set to challenge for pole after topping the opening runs in Q3 with a 1m44.801s, just 0.039s faster than Antonelli’s initial effort. Charles Leclerc was also firmly in contention, sitting within the same tenth of a second after the first runs.
The decisive final shootout was briefly delayed by a red flag after gravel was dragged onto the circuit at Stavelot, giving teams a slightly longer pause before the concluding laps.
When the session resumed, Antonelli and Verstappen both improved, while Norris abandoned his second flying lap after running wide through the gravel at Turn 13. Unlike Pierre Gasly in Friday practice and Lewis Hamilton in Saturday morning’s final practice, the McLaren driver avoided striking the barriers.
Although Norris qualified third, he carries a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race and will drop to 12th on the starting grid once other penalties are applied. That promotes George Russell to third after the Mercedes driver qualified fourth with a 1m44.869s, while Leclerc’s 1m44.893s secures fourth on the grid.
Hamilton recovered well from his heavy crash at the end of final practice to qualify sixth, just 0.534s behind Antonelli, edging Oscar Piastri by only 0.121s. Piastri climbed to seventh with a late improvement, while Red Bull rookie Arvid Lindblad continued his impressive weekend by qualifying eighth.
Gabriel Bortoleto claimed ninth for Sauber after another strong performance, while Hadjar completed the top 10 despite not setting a representative Q3 lap, with the Frenchman already resigned to starting from the back following extensive power unit penalties.
Liam Lawson narrowly missed out on reaching Q3, falling just 0.040s short of Bortoleto in 11th. Racing Bulls elected not to fit Lawson with its latest upgrades this weekend due to having only one available package, leaving the New Zealander around half a second slower than Lindblad.
Alpine locked out the sixth row with Pierre Gasly qualifying 12th ahead of Franco Colapinto, who found time on his final Q2 lap to eliminate Alex Albon. Nico Hulkenberg qualified 14th despite suffering a hydraulic failure on his in-lap after Q2, briefly delaying the start of the final qualifying segment.
Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman were separated by just 0.002s as they completed the Q2 elimination zone in 15th and 16th respectively.
Q1 produced further drama as Albon missed the cut by just 0.007s after Colapinto’s final improvement. Esteban Ocon could manage only 18th after failing to maximise a slipstream on his final attempt.
Valtteri Bottas led Cadillac’s challenge in 19th, narrowly ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez. Aston Martin endured a difficult session, with Fernando Alonso qualifying 21st before his own power unit penalties consign him to the back of the grid, while Lance Stroll rounded out the field in 22nd.
With Antonelli once again delivering when it mattered most, Mercedes heads into Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix with pole position for every grand prix held so far in 2026, although Verstappen’s front-row start and Norris’ recovery drive from 12th promise an intriguing contest at Spa-Francorchamps.
