Sprint Qualifying Report & Results 2025 Belgian F1 Sprint

Event: Belgian Grand Prix
Track: Spa-Francorchamps Circuit

Weather: dry 22°C
Tarmac: dry  38°C
Humidity : 6%
Wind : 5.7 km/h

Piastri Seizes Sprint Pole in Spa Thriller: McLaren Edges Red Bull at the Wire

Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – Round 13 of 24 – 2025 F1 Season

What started as a fog-kissed morning in the Ardennes ended in a full-throttle qualifying thriller, with Oscar Piastri pulling off a storming lap to claim Sprint pole at one of Formula 1’s most unforgiving circuits—Spa-Francorchamps. The McLaren ace shrugged off a scare in SQ2 to outpace home-favourite-by-blood Max Verstappen and teammate Lando Norris in a one-lap showdown that set pulses racing.

Let’s break down the action from all three qualifying segments that shaped this tantalising Sprint grid.

SQ1: Chaos and Spinners in the Forest

The Sprint shootout began with 20 cars taking to the 7km circuit with medium tyres strapped on, and as expected, drama wasn’t far behind. Both Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton—previous Sprint pole-sitters in China and Miami respectively—found themselves in trouble early.

Antonelli, pushing hard through Stavelot, dipped into the gravel and spun, flat-spotting his tyres and potentially damaging the floor. Hamilton later followed suit, pirouetting at the Bus Stop chicane just as he looked set to improve.

Their misfortune opened the door for some surprise progressors, but the final moments of SQ1 were all about the midfield frenzy. Albon missed out by just 0.041s after Bearman controversially improved during yellow flags (no penalty, in the end), while Nico Hülkenberg, Franco Colapinto, and the spinning stars Hamilton and Antonelli all found themselves dumped out.

SQ1 Eliminations:
16. Albon
17. Hülkenberg
18. Hamilton
19. Colapinto
20. Antonelli

SQ2: Norris Scrapes Through, Mercedes Stumble Again

A delayed start due to gravel on track set the tone for a tense SQ2, and when the green light finally lit up, teams were cautious—perhaps too cautious.

Verstappen struck first, blasting to the top by six tenths thanks to his slippery low-downforce Red Bull. Charles Leclerc slotted in behind, but the big story was how tight it got around the cut-off zone.

Piastri had a lap deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 4, throwing his session into jeopardy. But he bounced back with a conservative banker lap, enough to sneak into P10 by the skin of his front wing.

Meanwhile, George Russell, who had earlier run through gravel following Antonelli’s spin, couldn’t recover. He joined Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, Fernando Alonso, and Lance Stroll on the wrong side of the bubble. Mercedes, again, had no cars in SQ3—another strategic misfire?

SQ2 Eliminations:
11. Lawson
12. Tsunoda
13. Russell
14. Alonso
15. Stroll

SQ3: The One-Lap Shootout to Glory

With just eight minutes and soft tyres at their disposal, the final ten prepared for an old-school shootout.

McLaren sent Norris out first, hoping to avoid giving Verstappen a tow. But Max, wily as ever, slotted himself between the two papaya cars and eyed the slipstream. Piastri was too far back to benefit and too close to provide a slip for Leclerc behind.

As the final minutes ticked down, Norris laid down the benchmark with a 1m 41.128s. Verstappen went one better, finding a tenth and a half in the middle sector despite his straight-line focus. But the best was saved for last.

Piastri, who had looked dialled in since FP1, delivered a lap from the gods: a 1m 40.510s—nearly half a second quicker than Verstappen and over six tenths clear of Norris. It was a lap that stunned even his own pit wall, especially after the earlier track limit scare.

The Sprint Ahead: Slippery Setups and Slipperier Strategies

With Piastri on pole, Verstappen right behind, and Norris in striking distance, the front row promises fireworks. Especially since Spa offers that juicy slipstream into Les Combes—pole here is almost a disadvantage if you’re not bolted to the road through Eau Rouge.

And don’t forget the midfield. Haas has both cars in the top 7, RB has two hungry rookies in the points mix, and Sainz is desperate for his first Sprint score since Canada.

Oh, and there’s still the possibility of rain. Because of course there is—it’s Spa.

What They Said

Oscar Piastri:

“This track is my favourite, and today everything just clicked—except that one SQ2 moment! But I’m feeling confident. Red Bull is quick on the straights, so we’ll need to nail the start and hang on.”

Andrea Stella, McLaren TP:

“Oscar maximised everything today. A near-perfect session apart from that SQ2 scare. We know Spa is a tough place to lead, but we’ll give it everything.”

Final Thoughts

With just 15 laps in the Sprint, every corner counts—especially the ones at 300 km/h. Piastri’s got the position, Verstappen’s got the straight-line speed, and Norris might just have the chip on his shoulder.

Get ready for elbows out, downforce up, and fireworks through the forest. This is Spa. This is Sprint Saturday. And we’re only just getting started.

Sprint Quali Times 2025 Belgian GP

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