Oscar Piastri won Friday’s sprint qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and will start Saturday’s race from pole position ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. The World Championship leader, Piastri, secured pole for the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix sprint race after a dominant showing on the historic Spa circuit. 

The McLaren driver clocked a lap time of 1:40.510 minutes, finishing clearly ahead of reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who was 0.477 seconds slower in his Red Bull. British driver Lando Norris followed closely behind in third, also in a McLaren, while Charles Leclerc took fourth for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton, however, had a disappointing qualifying in the second Ferrari, securing only 18th place on the grid for Saturday’s sprint.

There were also long faces in the Mercedes camp: George Russell qualified in 13th, and young talent Kimi Antonelli, who damaged the underside of his car after a spin, will start from the back of the grid. Piastri vs. Norris – A battle for the championship “It’s great to get this result today,” said a satisfied Piastri. “The Red Bulls are very fast on the straights, which makes things tough.

Spa is probably the worst track to be on pole, but the car feels good, so I’ll see what I can do tomorrow.” This is the third sprint weekend of the season, with the short-format race scheduled for Saturday at 12 noon (local time). Points for the World Championship will be awarded over a 100-kilometer sprint. The main Grand Prix event will take place on Sunday at 3 p.m. Heading into Round 13 of 24 races, Piastri leads the overall standings with an eight-point advantage over teammate Norris. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen, in third, is already trailing by 69 points.