Q1

Qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps began with immediate chaos in the pit lane. Nico Hulkenberg attempted to leave his garage and skip the queue, but Lance Stroll ran over the front wing of the Haas, forcing an unexpected change and triggering a stewards' investigation. Both drivers were noted for the incident and will see the stewards later on.

Shortly after, Ollie Bearman was also noted by race control, although no further action was taken against him. As the green light signalled the start of Q1, only the McLaren drivers managed to set early representative times. Lando Norris went quickest with a 1:41.635, followed closely by Oscar Piastri, putting McLaren firmly at the top. They were both over half a second clear of the rest of the field.

Carlos Sainz briefly jumped to the top of the timing screens, but attention quickly turned to the battle at the bottom. George Russell managed to climb to eighth place, while Charles Leclerc went fastest of all in the final minute. However, drama unfolded when Lewis Hamilton, who had been sitting on the edge in fourteenth, had his final lap deleted for exceeding track limits at Raidillon. As a result, he was eliminated from Q1 alongside Franco Colapinto, Kimi Antonelli, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

Q2

Q2 at Spa-Francorchamps brought a mix of strategy and strong performances as the fight for a top ten spot intensified. Max Verstappen went quickest early on despite a slow first sector, but Red Bull opted not to send him out again, choosing to save tyres for Q3. His time was enough to progress safely.

McLaren once again looked untouchable. Oscar Piastri went fastest, with Lando Norris close behind, the pair clearly setting the pace ahead of the field. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda impressed with a confident lap to finish fifth, marking a strong session after recent struggles.

The final minutes saw another pit lane traffic jam, though no action was taken. Gabriel Bortoleto delivered under pressure, putting in a late lap to reach Q3 for the first time and knocking out his teammate Nico Hulkenberg, who continues his streak of missing out.

Also eliminated were Esteban Ocon, Ollie Bearman, Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz, who lacked pace throughout the session. McLaren’s form and Verstappen’s tyre advantage now set the stage for an exciting Q3.

Q3

The final stage of qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps featured a tight battle for pole between the McLarens, Red Bulls, Racing Bulls, Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams and Kick Sauber. After strong pace in Q1 and Q2, McLaren remained the team to beat.

Lando Norris set the pace early, claiming provisional pole on his first run with a time that put him 0.189 seconds ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen, running on used tyres, was over half a second down in third and reported over the radio that he “just didn’t have the same grip.” Charles Leclerc was close behind in fourth, followed by George Russell.

Further down, Gabriel Bortoleto lost his lap for a track limits violation at Pouhon, while Alex Albon had a moment at Turn 9, dipping a wheel into the gravel. After the first runs, the order was Norris, Piastri, Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell, Tsunoda, Lawson, Albon, Hadjar and Bortoleto.

In the final attempts, Verstappen struggled again in the first sector and couldn’t improve. Leclerc delivered a clean lap and moved up to third, pushing Verstappen down to fourth. Norris also didn’t improve, giving Piastri a chance to snatch pole. The Australian went purple in the middle sector but fell short by just 0.085 seconds.

Lando Norris secured pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, with Piastri alongside him on the front row. Leclerc will start third ahead of Verstappen, while Albon impressed in fifth for Williams. Russell and Tsunoda were sixth and seventh, with Hadjar, Lawson and Bortoleto completing the top ten.