Oscar Piastri dominated the sprint in qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix, and rose more pole than Max Verstappen.
As allotted to SQ3 in just eight minutes, the fight for Paul was boiled down to a single-lap shootout around the extremely long 4.4-mile circuit.
Piastri’s hegemony saw temporary doubt in SQ2. He removed the best time in Raidillon to surpass the track limit and fell densely to 10th place at the end of the segment, evading early elimination with just 0.041. However, until the final eight-minute pole setting segment, the title leader wiped out the field.
His car was loaded with downforce, making the Australian fifth fastest in the straight-controlled first division, but he made the middle split into a blitz and was also the fastest in the power-sensitive final sector. It sent him straight to the top of the timesheet, passing McLaren’s teammate Rand Norris, shooting 0.618s, and 0.477 over his nearest challenger, Verstappen from Red Bull.
“It was a good rap,” he said. “The car was mega all day long and I feel like I was able to put a lot of good laps in it.
“Thanks to the team. The car was amazing. This is a truck I love. It’s my favorite of the year. It gave me a tenth of the time.
“The car was in good windows a lap before. Again, it’s a truck I always come and enjoy. I don’t know why, but I think it’s a very confident thing.”
Verstappen relies on linear speed in the spa. Andy Horn/Getty Images
Still, Piastri was more cautious about predicting a sprint victory from the start on the grid.
“Red Bull is straight and very fast,” he said. “It makes life difficult and the spa is probably the worst truck to take pole position. But I think the car’s pace is really strong. I feel good today, so tomorrow can have a good day.”
Almost all of Verstappen’s deficits against Piastri are explained in the medium-term sector. He was almost half a second at the pace of a Red Bull racing car trimmed for top speed, an important advantage in long runs from the first turn of the race.
Norris saw the piastry delay until the end of qualifying, but his 0.618s margin was much higher than practice had predicted. His deficit spread around his knees, but was most central.
Charles Leclerc led the way to Ferrari to fourth, but the 0.768s left the pace with the upgraded SF-25.
Esteban Ocon is Haas’s fifth and great fifth, with the Frenchman leaving the pace of 1.055S, but finished qualifying in the fastest first sector.
Carlos Sainz was sixth in Williams’ additional 0.2S ad-lift, separating Ocon from his seventh Haas teammate Oliver Bearman.
Pierre Guthrie is in the 8th place for the Alpine, with just 0.012 seconds in a close fight with Racing Bulls driver Isac Hajar, both of which are 1.5 seconds away from the pace.
Gabriel Boltreto completed Sauber’s top 10 in 1.67 seconds from Paul.
Liam Lawson will be 11th in the sprint before Yuki Tsunoda, 0.601 seconds slower than SQ2’s teammate Verstappen.
George Russell was unexpectedly knocked out to 13th after a ferocious truck evolution dropped eight places after the checkered flag as some midfield drivers found their grip slower and improved. Britton was 0.2 seconds short of top 10 spots.
Aston Martin teammates Fernando Alonso and Lancestrol will be in 14th and 15th place ahead of Williams drivers Alex Albon and Sauber’s Nico Halkenberg.
Lewis Hamilton was a shocking elimination on the 18th after spinning in the final chicane on the final flying lap. Briton, who claimed victory with a sprint pole in China earlier this season, suddenly locked the rear axle into the brakes and suddenly rotated into the outflow zone. Already lost the first lap to soak in gravel at Stavelot, leaving Hamilton without any representative time for the session.
Franco Colapinto took Alpine’s 19th place ahead of Paul Getter Andrea Kimi Antonelli in his previous sprint in Miami. Antonelli aggravated a difficult day for the German Mark, complaining of lack of grip during his final attempt to spin his Mercedes on Stovelot’s gravel on his first knee and leaving him behind the pack.
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