Qualifying Report - Norris edges Piastri for pole as Verstappen slips to fourth

Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri
© McLaren

Lando Norris claimed pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, beating McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri by 0.085s in a tight qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps. The result marked Norris’ fourth pole of the 2025 Formula 1 season and his first at the historic Belgian venue, setting up another head-to-head between the two McLaren drivers on Sunday.

Norris led the way after the first Q3 runs with a lap of 1m40.562s—the only driver in the top 10 to improve on his Q2 time. That effort placed him nearly two tenths ahead of Piastri and half a second clear of Max Verstappen, who was hampered by used soft tyres.

Verstappen attempted to bounce back on his final flying lap but suffered a slide exiting La Source. The Red Bull driver couldn’t improve and was edged out of the top three by Charles Leclerc, who put his Ferrari third by just 0.003s.

Piastri, meanwhile, shaved only a tenth off his earlier lap, which wasn’t enough to overhaul Norris. The Briton will now share the front row with his title rival for the fifth time this season, with both drivers now tied on four poles in 2025.

Behind the leading quartet, Alex Albon starred again for Williams by qualifying fifth, ahead of George Russell’s Mercedes. Yuki Tsunoda took a career-best seventh for Red Bull, followed closely by Racing Bulls drivers Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson. Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top 10 with another solid performance for Sauber.

Earlier in Q2, Piastri set the pace with a 1m40.626s ahead of Norris and Verstappen. The session saw several drivers fail to progress, including Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, and Carlos Sainz in the second Williams. Esteban Ocon missed out by just 0.020s, while Oliver Bearman’s promising run for Haas was undone by a mistake at La Source.

Q1 featured a pitlane incident involving Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll, resulting in front wing damage for the Sauber driver and a summons to the stewards for unsafe release. Norris topped the session with a 1m41.010s, ahead of Piastri and Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton appeared to make a late escape from the drop zone, but his lap was deleted for track limits at Raidillon, leaving him 16th—his second Q1 elimination of the weekend. He was joined by Franco Colapinto, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and Aston Martin’s struggling duo Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

With rain looming for Sunday and McLaren locking out the front row, another chapter in the Norris-Piastri battle is set to unfold at Spa.