Lando Norris secures a convincing F1 pole at Spa
- Caitlyn Gordon
- Jul 26, 2025
- 3 min read
Written by Caitlyn Gordon
Lando Norris storms to take pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix. On the other side, a shock elimination from Lewis Hamilton marks the Briton with his worst Qualifying since 2024.
Qualifying 1
Max Verstappen dominated during Saturday morning's Sprint race, catching Oscar Piastri off-guard during the opening lap to take his first victory since Imola. Following the Sprint, the 20 drivers lined up to battle it out for Sunday's race.
Before the cars took the grid, Nico Hulkenberg's front wing was hit by an oncoming Lance Stroll in the pit lane, causing the German driver to retreat into the garage for a new wing. The Aston Martin also suffered from damage, forcing the Canadian to abandon his first lap.
Piastri set the benchmark for the 15-minute session with a 1:41.998; Lando Norris slotted in behind his teammate, separating the pair by just a tenth of a second, a running theme for the session.
As the clock ticked down the final minute, both Aston Martins crossed the line in a lacklustre 19th and 20th, rounding out their worst qualifying result since Miami. Rookies Kimi Antonelli and Franco Colapinto were both unable to produce a faster time to advance.
Lewis Hamilton was able to put his Ferrari into seventh in the final seconds of the session after a difficult opening to the weekend.
What looked like a positive start to qualifying, the seven-time world champion was hit with further disappointment after having his lap time deleted due to breaching the track limits on Le Radillion's corner. To add insult to injury, it is Ferrari's first elimination in Q1 since Abu Dhabi 2023.
"I gotta apologise to my team as it's unacceptable to be out in Q1, it's very very poor performance from myself." Hamilton reflected after his elimination.
Consequently, Gabriel Bortoleto was able to advance into the next round of Qualifying.
Q1 eliminations
Lewis Hamilton
Franco Colapinto
Kimi Antonelli
Fernando Alonso
Lance Stroll
Qualifying 2
The 15 drivers headed out onto the track to undergo the second round of qualifying, like its predecessor, Piastri set the benchmark for the 14 drivers with a 1:40.626. Norris kept within Piastri's mirrors throughout the session, behind his teammate by less than a tenth of a second.
As the final minute of the session approached, Verstappen opted to stay in his garage due to not having the tyres to compete for a faster lap in this session. The drivers were pushing their cars to the limit in hopes of finding a tenth of a second to progress to the final battle for pole.
Bortoleto crossed the line with a stellar lap of 1:41.336, placing his Sauber into Q3. While Alex Albon was able to hold onto tenth position to advance, his teammate Carlos Sainz was unable to quicken his time, qualifying in 15th. Yuki Tsunoda, Isack Hadjar, and Liam Lawson advanced into the final stint of the session alongside Charles Leclerc, George Russell, the pair of McLarens and Verstappen.
Q2 eliminations
Esteban Ocon
Oliver Bearman
Pierre Gasly
Nico Hulkenberg
Carlos Sainz
Qualifying 3
The battle for pole position was tight, with Norris placing his McLaren on provisional pole with a 1:40.562, but the battle was just beginning.
Piastri and Verstappen hunted to find time around the 4.352-mile circuit, separating their cars by just a few tenths of a second. The final shootout for pole saw Leclerc slot his car in behind the pair of McLaren's with Verstappen unable to advance higher than fourth. Piastri hoped to improve his lap and take his second pole of the weekend, but narrowly missed out by eight-hundredths of a second to teammate Norris.
Albon grabbed a strong lap, securing fifth with the Mercedes of Russell slotting in behind him. Tsunoda placed his Red Bull in seventh with the pair of Racing Bulls of Hadjar and Lawson in eighth and ninth, and Borotleto rounded out the top-10.
Sunday's starting grid
Lando Norris
Oscar Piastri
Charles Leclerc
Max Verstappen
Alex Albon
George Russell
Yuki Tsunoda
Isack Hadjar
Liam Lawson
Gabriel Bortoleto
Esteban Ocon
Oliver Bearman
Pierre Gasly
Nico Hulkenberg
Carlos Sainz
Lewis Hamilton
Franco Colapinto
Kimi Antonelli
Fernando Alonso
Lance Stroll
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