In a dominant effort during the Belgian Grand Prix qualifying session, Oscar Piastri secured his first Sprint pole of the year.
The Belgian Grand Prix is the site of the most recent Sprint event, which F1 is holding for the third time this season.
Max Verstappen won the prize two years ago, making this the second Sprint in Spa after 2023. Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris have taken home the victories in China and Miami thus far in 2025.
While Lewis Hamilton qualified only in 18th place, Oscar Piastri secured a commanding pole position for the sprint race on Saturday in Belgium. In the middle of the season, McLaren’s Piastri, who is eight points ahead of championship competitor Lando Norris, defeated Red Bull driver Max Verstappen in Spa-Francorchamps to claim the top position.
All ten drivers waited until the very last minute to compete in a one-lap race around the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, with Verstappen and the two McLaren drivers the favourites for first place. This was because teams were only permitted to use one set of soft Pirelli tires in the last portion of qualifying.
Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda was summoned for the same offence, and Mercedes Formula 1 driver George Russell was summoned to the stewards after sprint qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. Russell and Tsunoda are accused of violating both item 1 in the Race Director’s Event Notes and Article 33.4 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, according to the summons document. In the sprint race, Russell qualified 13th, and Tsunoda qualified 12th. Since they were just admonished for breaking the rules, both drivers will continue to hold that roles.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, who finished almost eight tenths behind Esteban Ocon’s excellent Haas, was the best of the rest. Teammate Oliver Bearman took seventh place, with Carlos Sainz’s Williams separating the two.
Pierre Gasly of Alpine reached the last stage of qualifying with an excellent SQ2 time, finishing eighth. Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls and Gabriel Bortoleto’s Kick Sauber completed the top 10 before Saturday’s Sprint.
“We will now concentrate on the competitive sessions that are scheduled for tomorrow. The competition is close, we are just at the end of Friday, and the weather is probably going to be a factor as well. We are in for a fascinating weekend.” McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella added.
The sprint race would begin at 3:30 PM (IST) and be accessible to fans via the F1 TV App and FanCode.
Qualifying begins at 7:30 PM (IST) following the sprint race, and fans may access it through the F1 TV Apps and FanCode.
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