Antonelli Claims Belgian Grand Prix Pole Position Ahead of Verstappen

Antonelli takes Belgium pole from Verstappen – Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli delivered a commanding performance during qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix, securing pole position and extending his lead in the championship standings. The Italian sensation outpaced his team-mate George Russell by a significant margin, with Russell finishing fourth and trailing by more than half a second. Currently sitting 25 points ahead of Russell in the drivers’ championship, Antonelli demonstrated why he has been considered the driver to beat throughout the weekend.

The pole-sitter managed to edge out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.317 seconds, despite the four-time world champion benefiting from a slipstream tow provided by team-mate Isack Hadjar. McLaren’s Lando Norris impressed with third place, recording a time 0.440 seconds off the pace, though the reigning world champion faces a challenging race after receiving a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his engine component allowance. This means Norris will start from 13th position on the grid.

Championship Battle Intensifies

Antonelli’s pole position comes at a crucial moment in the championship campaign. Having topped Friday practice sessions, the young Italian capitalized on his momentum to claim his sixth pole position from ten races this season. During the cool-down lap, he took a moment to send his regards to his father Marco, who is celebrating his 61st birthday on Saturday.

Reflecting on his qualifying performance, Antonelli shared his thoughts:

Q1, I felt a bit lost because the wind picked up and the balance was a bit more on the edge but the session came to us. I changed a little bit the front wing flap for Q2. Q3 was good because we did a decent first lap and second lap I found a lot of time. It was a good lap.

Meanwhile, Russell acknowledged the challenges his Mercedes has faced recently.

The lap felt good. But we have just been dealing with an issue with the straight-line speed ever since Silverstone. We thought we had found the problem, it wasn’t the problem and then we thought it was a driving style and it wasn’t the solution. But I feel after looking at the data, I feel positive with the job I did. If you just take the corners, I did a very good job. Battling against Kimi is very tough in a fair fight. When we are in this situation, it’s impossible. The team are working so hard to try and pinpoint what it is. It can be a million things.

Red Bull’s Strategic Tow and Norris’s Optimism

Red Bull made a tactical decision to deploy Hadjar to assist Verstappen with a slipstream on the lengthy flat-out section leading to the final chicane. The Frenchman carries a substantial 30-place grid penalty for installing a new engine, which has pushed him over the annual limit. Verstappen estimated the tow contributed approximately 0.3 seconds to his lap time.

It was definitely helping me otherwise I would not be standing here, it would be P6 or something. Isack, knowing he had a penalty and would be starting at the back, he helped me. I will be looking in my mirrors tomorrow. But we are happy to be on the front row with how we executed it as a team.

Norris and McLaren arrived at Spa with modest expectations, anticipating they would remain the fourth-fastest team. However, the car has shown remarkable pace throughout the weekend. Norris was 0.215 seconds quicker than team-mate Oscar Piastri despite completing only one lap in the final segment.

We haven’t changed anything, we are just a little quicker here. It’s a shame we are not starting here but there is plenty of opportunity, it is a long race and it’s good for overtaking, hopefully we can put on a good show tomorrow.

Grid Positions and Penalties

Charles Leclerc initially set the second-fastest time, just 0.053 seconds behind Antonelli, but neither he nor Hamilton could improve on their second attempts. Leclerc finished fifth, only 0.002 seconds ahead of Hamilton in sixth place. Arvid Lindblad impressed in the revised Racing Bull—currently a one-car operation due to parts shortages—finishing eighth, just 0.127 seconds slower than Piastri.

The top ten was completed by Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar. Despite his tenth-place qualifying time, Hadjar will start 21st due to his 30-place engine penalty, placing him only ahead of Fernando Alonso, who carries a 20-place penalty for Aston Martin.

The Belgian Grand Prix takes place on July 19 at 14:00 BST, with live commentary available on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 and live text updates on the BBC Sport website and application.

Final Qualifying Results

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 1:44.361 2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.317 3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.440 4. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.508 5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.532 6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.534 7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.655 8. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +0.782 9. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +1.267 10. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +1.317