Lando Norris took pole position for Formula 1‘s Belgian Grand Prix with McLaren locking out the front row in dominant style at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Brit, despite failing to improve on his first run in Q3, took pole with team-mate Oscar Piastri second.
Charles Leclerc pinched third place off of Max Verstappen, fresh from his Sprint win earlier in the afternoon.
Alex Albon took a superb fifth for Williams, edging out George Russell, with Yuki Tsunoda impressing with seventh, just two tenths off Verstappen’s lap time.
The Racing Bulls pair of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson were eighth and ninth respectively, with Gabriel Bortoleto rounding up the top 10 for Sauber.
For Norris, it was a potential psychological blow for Piastri, who looked dominant across Friday, and sets him up for a potential Drivers’ Championship lead on Sunday if he can stay ahead.
Q1 began with Liam Lawson going fastest initially, with a 1:41.765s, with Alex Albon going second. The sister Williams of Carlos Sainz was then top, with Oliver Bearman showing promise in fifth.
Leclerc went fastest as Hamilton got himself into the top 10, with Piastri, Verstappen and Norris following in behind.
Norris went quickest with a time six tenths faster than Leclerc. Piastri went second and two tenths off Norris.
With two minutes to go, both Mercedes were in the danger zone, but Russell went into the top 10, with Antonelli sneaking into 12th.
Bortoleto rocketed up to 10th, with Hamilton now looking into be in the danger zone but a late saw him put back into safety, with Antonelli dropping back out again.
Hamilton then put himself back into safety with seventh, but he then had his lap deleted, knocking him out, along with Colapinto, Antonelli, and both Aston Martins.
McLaren dominate to complete 1-2 as Leclerc takes third
Q2 began with Red Bull sat at the top with Verstappen and Tsunoda first and second, but both McLarens immediately dropped them down.
On the second run, Tsunoda stayed high, dropping to fifth behind Leclerc, as Bortoleto moved up to seventh.
Bearman and Gasly tried in vain to get through, the pair dumped out with Ocon, Hulkenberg and Sainz joining them.
Q3 started with McLaren still looking like it would continue to dominate, with Norris going fastest with a 1:40.562s, with Piastri following behind.
Verstappen was a shocking five tenths off the McLarens in third, as cars pitted to change their tyres for the final run.
Norris’ was unable to improve, as Verstappen improved personally, but not enough to threaten the McLaren ascendancy.
Piastri also failed to improve, handing pole to Norris, as Leclerc snatched third off Verstappen.
Russell went purple in sector one, looking like he could spring another surprise, but faltered towards the end of the lap, settling for fifth, but lost that to Albon in the final few seconds.
Norris will be vindicated in his unconcerned attitude after Friday’s Sprint Qualifying, managing to once again get the better of Piastri, setting up a potentially thrilling intra-team battle on race day.
READ MORE – F1 2025 Belgian Grand Prix – Qualifying Results
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