#F1 #BelgianGP #Qualifying: @LandoNorris pips @OscarPiastri to pole.
Thierry Neuville presents Lando Norris, GBR, #4, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL39, with his Pirelli Pole Position Award after the Briton took pole position in Qualifying, Formula 1 Moet & Chandon Belgian Grand Prix 2025, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium. Image credit to Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images. Norris Belgian GP Pole, 2025 Belgian GP Qualifying, F1 Belgian GP Qualifying, 2025 Formula 1 Belgian GP Qualifying Results.
Norris Belgian GP Pole – Lando Norris claimed his 13th-career pole position at the Belgian GP ahead of championship-leading team-mate Oscar Piastri in another McLaren front-row lockout as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc pipped Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to third place on the grid.
This was McLaren’s 68th front-row lockout equalling Ferrari to second on the all-time list.
In Q3, the initial flying laps saw Mercedes’ George Russell the first to set a 1:41.450 but was beaten by Verstappen’s 1:41.078 as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc moved to second sending the Mercedes to third with a 1:41.339.
Piastri then jumped to P1 with his 1:40.751, then Norris pipped his team-mate to provisional pole after a purple middle sector to post a 1:40.562 to be 0.189 seconds clear of his championship leading team-mate.
The final hot-laps saw Verstappen going first on his fresher rubber and with two personal bests and could only remain third, next was Norris who could not improve but secured pole position despite a purple middle sector.
Leclerc pipped Verstappen to third place by a very narrow 0.003 seconds with his 1:40.900 effort whilst Piastri was unable to get the best of his team-mate like in Sprint Qualifying and starts alongside the Briton on the front-row.
Williams’ Alexander Albon on his final flyer with three personal bests jumped to fifth on the grid and in-front of Mercedes’ Russell who took sixth and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda who qualified seventh.
The two Visa Cash App Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson followed in eighth and ninth respectively as Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top ten.
In the middle segment, which was topped by Piastri, some late improvements saw Lawson send Alpine’s Pierre Gasly into the drop-zone and was relegated another two places from Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman who moved up to 11th and 12th respectively with their gains. Ocon just missed out on a Q3 appearance by a slim 0.020 seconds.
The other Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg ended up 14th whilst Williams’ Carlos Sainz was the slowest of the Q2 runners in 15th.
In the first qualifying stage, which was topped by Norris, a flurry of late improvements saw Hamilton initially eliminate Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, but the Briton’s lap-time was invalidated due to exceeding track limits through Raidillon, so the Brazilian progressed through to Q2.
Alpine’s Franco Colapinto set three personal bests but could only manage 17th and ahead of Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli who placed a low-18th whilst Aston Martin pairing Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll brought up the rear.
The incident involving Hulkenberg and Stroll just before the beginning of Q1 is currently under investigation by the stewards.
Replays showed Hulkenberg did not make it into the fast lane and was parked at an angle near the queue. Just as the engineer waved the German on, Stroll opted to squeeze through – and the duo made contact. Hulkenberg then received a new front wing as a result.
Another incident saw Alonso in the fast lane, barrelling down when MoneyGram Haas F1 Team released Bearman. Alonso had to slam the brakes to avoid colliding with Bearman – and that was noted, but the stewards deemed no further action.
You can see the full Formula 1 Moet & Chandon Belgian Grand Prix 2025 Qualifying Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2025/races/1265/belgium/qualifying
2025 Belgian GP Qualifying – The Top Three
2025 Belgian GP Pole Position – Lando Norris, #4, McLaren Formula 1 Team, Mercedes, MCL39 – 1:40.562:
“It was a decent lap so happy. Everyone was pretty worried after yesterday, I wasn’t even that far off. I was confident coming into today, so I was happy to be back at the top. The car has been flying all weekend; Oscar has been doing a good job, so we have been pushing each other which is good. It is a good but tough battle we are having at the moment. I’d prefer it to stay dry to be honest – it would be nice to have a dry Sunday to be honest.”
2nd Place – Oscar Piastri, #81, McLaren Formula 1 Team, Mercedes, MCL39 – 1:40.647:
“A bit disappointing, the second lap was coming together really well, and I just made a little mistake in [Turn] 14. It is fine margins out there. Not a bad place to be starting, but there was more in it so that is disappointing. I felt I did an okay job today but did not execute when it matters. Bit of a shame. I don’t know what the weather will hold tomorrow, we’ll wait and see what we get!”
3rd Place – Charles Leclerc, #16, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-25 – 1:40.900:
“I’m very happy today. It is strange to say that as it is still three tenths’ [off] and third place, but we thought we were quite far back, but that was a really, really good lap and I loved how the car felt. It took some time to maximise those upgrades on the car, but I have felt comfortable with the car since FP1. It is good to have a Qualifying where you look back and know you left nothing on the table.”
