New Delhi: Lando Norris took his fourth pole for the season, going past is teammate Oscar Piastri in the Belgian Grand Prix. It was George Russell who put in the first lap for Q3, which had been bested by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. However, the two Papaya drivers soon went past the Dutch driver, with Norris having a lead of 0.189 seconds over Piastri.
Verstappen had been half a second behind the British driver after the first laps. However, the provisional lap from Norris did come under some threat with margins getting finer between the two drivers. Though Norris didn’t better his time, his Australian teammate missed the time by 0.085 seconds, giving McLaren top-two finishes.
Leclerc and Verstappen start in the second row with just 0.003 seconds separating them. Alex Albon managed to come to the top five and will be in the third row alongside Russell with Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar behind them, followed by Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto making up the final of the top ten.
Here’s how our drivers will line-up for Sunday’s race 👀#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/PmsCuLhAdY
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 26, 2025
Q2 sees the midfield in a dilemma
With McLaren separated by just margins, it was Piadtri who had the fastest lap with just eight minutes remaining on the clock during the Q2 session, with Norris 0.089 seconds behind, and Verstappen was tenth of a second in third place.
Nico Hulkenberg, who took his first podium finish in the British GP, along with Bortoletto, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz and Olli Bearman, who even went off the track at some point, were all in the drop with most of the grid set out for a final flying lap to get in the top 10. Hulkenberg didn’t improve, though Bortoleto managed to jump to seventh provisionally. Gasly at first had managed to escape, but was back at the drop zone with Lawson going into the top ten. The two Haas drivers, Gasly, Hulkenberg and Sainz didn’t make it past Q2.
Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Leclerc and Tsunoda went to the top five of Q2, with just two teams having both of their drivers in the top 10.
Q1 sees Lewis Hamilton’s early exit following a lap time deletion
Piastri and Norris had been the first to set two times, separated by a margin of a tenth of a second. However, Verstappen was quick to sit between the two McLarens, coming with a huge confidence after his win at the Sprint. Yuki Tsunoda’s first lap was three-tenths of a second behind his teammate. However, it was then the turn of the midfield drivers, and Sainz and Alex Albon, split by Liam Lawson, took the first three places with just eight minutes remaining on the clock. However, Leclerc soon came 0.056 seconds quicker.
Both Aston Martins were knocked out, and Bortoleto and Mercedes drivers broke into the top 15, but Hulkenberg knocked Antonelli out, making it his first Q1 exit since his debut in Australia. Hamilton, too, looked like he was in danger at P15 with Pierre Gasly improving his time, coming from the drop zone.
Hamilton had the seventh fastest lap but due to a track limit infringement at Turn 4, the stewards deleted his lap time, giving him his first Q1 knock-out since Saudi Arabia 2023. It is his worst qualification this season as well.