Oscar Piastri stormed to Sprint pole at Spa-Francorchamps with a statement lap that left the rest of the field trailing. A 1:40.510 effort was enough to put him nearly half a second clear of Max Verstappen and over six tenths ahead of teammate Lando Norris in a wild Sprint Qualifying session packed with upsets.
Piastri’s lap came after just scraping through SQ2. He didn’t just recover. He delivered when it mattered most, dominating the final sector to grab his second Sprint pole of the season.
Behind him, Verstappen slotted into second after a strong opening sector but couldn’t keep pace as the lap unfolded. Norris, on paper a favourite for pole, couldn’t pull it together in the middle sector and had to settle for third.
Charles Leclerc joins him on the second row, with Esteban Ocon putting in a standout lap for fifth.
Chaos from the Start
The drama started early. SQ1 saw Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, Alex Albon, Franco Colapinto and Nico Hülkenberg all eliminated. Both Hamilton and Antonelli spun. Hamilton went around at the Bus Stop while on a flyer. Antonelli ran wide and onto the gravel at Stavelot.
The yellow flags triggered by Hamilton’s incident forced others to lift, including Bearman, who just managed to improve. For Mercedes, it was a session to forget. Neither car made it past the first segment, and Antonelli’s car may have suffered floor damage in the process.
SQ2 Shake-Up
There was no let-up in SQ2. Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, George Russell, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were all knocked out. Norris left it late to escape the drop zone, delivering a final-lap push that lifted him from 11th to first. Piastri kept it clean on his next run after a lap deleted and scraped through by just 0.041 seconds.
Russell, who had been quick in SQ1, reported issues after running wide into the gravel left behind by Antonelli. Once again, it left Mercedes without a representative in the top ten.
One Shot at It
SQ3 turned into a one-lap shootout. With Spa’s long layout, there was only time for a single timed run. Norris was first out, followed by Verstappen, who slotted between the two McLarens to chase a tow. Then came Piastri, Leclerc and the rest of the field.
Verstappen went fastest early on with a huge final sector, but Piastri wasn’t done. He matched the Dutchman in sector one, went quicker in the middle part of the lap, and held firm through the chicane. The result? A clear, dominant pole.
Leclerc grabbed fourth, with Ocon, Sainz, Bearman, Gasly, Hadjar and Bortoleto rounding out a diverse top ten that featured eight different teams.
Sprint Qualifying – Top Ten
- Oscar Piastri – 1:40.510
- Max Verstappen – +0.477
- Lando Norris – +0.618
- Charles Leclerc – +0.768
- Esteban Ocon – +1.055
- Carlos Sainz – +1.251
- Oliver Bearman – +1.347
- Pierre Gasly – +1.449
- Isack Hadjar – +1.46
- Gabriel Bortoleto – +1.666
Eliminated in SQ2:
Lawson, Tsunoda, Russell, Alonso, Stroll
Eliminated in SQ1:
Albon, Hülkenberg, Hamilton, Colapinto, Antonelli
Final Thoughts
Piastri’s lap was near-perfect, wiping away any doubts from his deleted time earlier in SQ2. It’s a major boost for McLaren, but also a warning to Verstappen, who had no answer in the final sector.
Plenty of big names are out of position for the Sprint. And with Spa’s slipstream-heavy layout, we’re set for a chaotic 11-lap shootout on Saturday afternoon.