Norris Edges Teammate for Pole at Spa as Hamilton Struggles Again
McLaren has locked out the front row for tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix, but this time it’s Lando Norris who’ll lead the pack when the lights go out.
Norris clinched pole by the slimmest of margins—just 0.085 seconds ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri in a thrilling final qualifying session.
“It feels amazing to get pole here at Spa,” Norris said after stepping out of the car. “The track really suits our car and I managed to put everything together when it mattered.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start third after another impressive qualifying performance. He placed his SF-25 just three thousandths of a second ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen.
The Red Bull driver couldn’t repeat his sprint qualifying magic this time around.
Verstappen made a small mistake at Turn 1 that compromised his entire lap, leaving him unable to challenge for pole position despite showing strong pace throughout the weekend. He had earlier won the sprint race after starting from pole.
Williams’ Alexander Albon pulled off one of the surprises of the session, qualifying an outstanding fifth on the grid. It’s another sign that Williams is making real progress with their car development.
George Russell managed sixth for Mercedes, salvaging something from what’s been a difficult weekend for the team.
Further down the order, Yuki Tsunoda put in a solid performance to take seventh, ahead of both Racing Bulls drivers.
Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top ten, continuing his impressive form as he gets more comfortable fighting near the front of the field.
Meanwhile, it was another disaster for Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion had his best time deleted in Q1 for exceeding track limits, leaving him stranded in 16th place.
His Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli fared even worse. The Italian rookie will start 18th after struggling to come to grips with the challenging Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the second straight day.
The varying fortunes up and down the grid set up what should be a fascinating race tomorrow, with McLaren looking to convert their front-row lockout into a 1-2 finish while Verstappen will be hunting them down from fourth.
