Kimi Antonelli stormed to an emphatic pole position at the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix in a session of intrigue and incident.
The Ardennes Forest echoed to the sound of F1 cars once again for the start of qualifying for the F1 Belgian GP. Kimi Antonelli took top spot in two of the three practice sessions to enter the session as favourites for pole position.
McLaren were the surprise package of practice, with Lando Norris close to the pace of the lead Mercedes, while George Russell faced an uphill task to match the pace of his teammate after a difficult Friday.
The driver with the biggest mountain to climb remained Lewis Hamilton, who crashed dramatically in FP3 just hours before the start of qualifying. Ferrari’s hard work paid off, and the seven-time world champion’s car was ready in time for Q1.
Q1
At the green light for Belgian GP qualifying, the much-anticipated traffic jam failed to materialise. Instead, a game of waiting began has the vast majority of the cars remained in the pits, with only Stroll, Perez and Bottas opting to take to the track. After three long minutes, the cars began to exit the pits, one setting off a chain reaction for the others to follow.
Once the first runs were complete Norris led the field, seemingly cementing the pace shown by McLaren during practice. The two Red Bulls followed, with Verstappen ahead of Hadjar. Arvid Lindblad put in a sensational performance to take fourth on his first run, while Hamilton languished down in 10th place, ruing lost tyre temperatures.
At the bottom of the order, the two Aston Martins made up the back row, Stroll moving to within touching distance of the 107% qualifying time. The two Cadillacs were next, notably ahead of both Stroll and Fernando Alonso, with Alex Albon, Franco Colapinto, and Ocon all in the elimination zone. At the chequered flag, Colapinto moved out of the drop zone, with rest of the above eliminated, Stroll’s final lap moving the Canadian comfortably clear of danger.
Eliminated: Albon, Ocon, Bottas, Perez, Alonso, Stroll
Q2
The start of Q2 followed a similar pattern to Q1, with most of the field opting to remain in the pits at the green flag. Teams once again engaged in the most expensive game of “you first”, waiting for rivals to make the first move. Just over a minute into the session, Alpine pulled the trigger, and the empty pit lane suddenly became full of F1 cars now eager to qualify – once the queue had dissipated.
Antonelli led at the end of the first runs in Q2, with a comfortable two-and-a-half-tenths-of-a-second gap to Leclerc, Antonelli reporting a much better balance in his W17. Norris dropped to third, while Lindblad once again showcased his car’s speed with sixth.
In the drop zone were the second Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson, both Alpines, Carlos Sainz and Bearman. As the clock counted down, improvements were being made by many, but none of the bottom six were able to find the time to progress to Q3.
Hulkenberg was instructed to stop on track due to a hydraulic leak, delaying the start of Q3 by several minutes.
Eliminated: Lawson, Gasly, Colapinto, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Bearman
Q3
When Q3 did get underway, the drivers were immediately keen to get out onto the circuit, those towards the back of the pit lane forced to wait until their rivals had made their way out of the pit exit. Oscar Piastri was involved in a close encounter with the Audi of Bortoleto, both thankfully avoiding contact.
The stage was set for a battle royale between Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull to secure pole position. Drivers pushed their cars to the limit on their first runs, with Norris taking provisional pole position from Antonelli and Charles Leclerc. Less than a tenth of a second separated the top three, with Verstappen back in fourth, with Hamilton and Russell completing the top six.
Race control threw a red flag with six minutes to go for gravel on the circuit, with the marshals quickly cleaning the hazard from the track. After a minimal delay, the session resumed, though no one chose to go out immediately.
Instead, the climax of Q3 became a mad dash, a one-lap shootout. Drivers left nothing on the table, with time being found everywhere. Verstappen initially found pace to steal pole position, but Antonelli emphatically denied the Dutchman to take the coveted top spot by over three tenths of a second. Norris was third, having aborted his final run, and will start from 13th following his ten-place grid penalty for replacing his power unit.
The two Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton completed the top six, while Piastri, Lindblad, Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar rounded out the top ten.
Top 10: Antonelli, Verstappen, Norris, Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, Piastri, Lindblad, Bortoleto, Hadjar
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