Kimi Antonelli claims dominant Belgian Grand Prix pole ahead of Max Verstappen

Follow us on Google Discover

Kimi Antonelli claimed his sixth pole position of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix, claiming the front-of-the-pack start in dominant fashion ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Kimi Antonelli was the man to beat after FP3 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday morning, with Lewis Hamilton giving his Ferrari engineers a race against time after his late shunt in the dying embers of the weekend’s final practice session.

Drop your podium prediction for the Belgian Grand Prix 👇

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Fortunately for the seven-time world champion, engineers had Hamilton’s SF-26 ready to go as the green light lit up at the end of the pit lane for Q1, and qualifying was underway for all 22 drivers on the grid.

• READ MORE: Belgian Grand Prix 2026: How to watch, F1 race and qualifying start times, and Spa weather forecast

Kimi Antonelli claims pole position for the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix

The Cadillac duo of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez were the first drivers to take to the track, with the former offering the latter a tow down the Kemmel straight during their first timed laps. However, after the first round of laps, Lando Norris claimed the top spot in Q1.

The frontrunners were straight into the 1:45s, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar rounding out the top three with five minutes left to go. Out of all the midfield drivers, Franco Colapinto looked to be in the most danger of a Q1 exit.

The Argentine managed to sneak out of the drop zone on his final attempt, with Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon joining both Cadillacs and both Aston Martins on their way out of Q1. Norris topped the first 18 minutes of qualifying, ahead of Verstappen.

After a fairly tame Q1 for the championship leader, Antonelli locked in for his first flying lap in Q2 as he put a 1:45.142 on the board for the rest of his rivals to aim for. Charles Leclerc came the closest, but even he was nearly three-tenths adrift of the Italian.

The final runs of Q2 saw the order remain exactly the same, with George Russell and Hadjar breathing a sigh of relief as they saw their spots for Q3 confirmed. Liam Lawson came close to getting himself out of the drop zone, but fell just 0.038s short.

The start of Q3 was delayed due to an issue with Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi. The German driver suffered a hydraulic leak on his way back into the pits, pulling over after turn nine and assisting the trackside marshals in recovering the stricken R26.

Lando Norris will serve a grid penalty in the Belgian GP for his fourth battery of the season 🚨 What can he achieve now at Spa?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Despite Verstappen benefiting from a tow in the final sector of his first flying lap in Q3, it was Norris who claimed provisional pole. Antonelli and Leclerc joined him in the 1:44s, with Russell nearly four-tenths down in P6.

As the top 10 returned to the pits, a red flag was called at turn 14 after Oscar Piastri dipped his rear-left tyre into the gravel during his first effort. The small skirmish cost the Australian a decent chunk of time, leaving him six-tenths adrift of his teammate’s benchmark.

In the end, Antonelli claimed pole position with a barn-storming lap that saw him dispatch Verstappen’s tow-aided lap by over three-tenths of a second. Norris’ first lap saw him claim P3 on the grid, but the reigning world champion will start from P13 due to an engine penalty.

• READ MORE: Belgian Grand Prix predictions as F1 experts decide if Ferrari can beat Mercedes to the win at Spa

Full Qualifying timesheets at the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix