Piastri dominates sprint qualifying to grab pole with Verstappen second

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri survived an early scare to take a dominant pole for the sprint race at Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix.

The Australian championship leader scraped through in SQ2 after a laptime was deleted for track-limits abuse.

But he then set a 1m40.510s lap in the final segment of sprint qualifying, putting almost five tenths on Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen, with team-mate Lando Norris a massive six tenths behind in third.

“Sorry for the heart attack,” Piastri told his team on his outlap. “That wasn’t in the plan, but the car was mega.”

Charles Leclerc claimed fourth for Ferrari, while Esteban Ocon excelled for Haas by taking fifth on the sprint grid.

Carlos Sainz was sixth for Williams ahead of the second Haas of Oliver Bearman and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto completed a top 10 that was without several heavy hitters.

Among those missing out was Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who suffered a spin on the exit of Stavelot in SQ1, heading through the gravel but escaping without apparent damage.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton also had a big moment on his first run, meaning he and Antonelli were two of five drivers in danger of being knocked out.

But neither driver’s fortunes improved on run two, with a frustrated Hamilton spinning at the Bus Stop chicane after his rear tyres instantly locked under braking, resulting in the seven-time world champion being knocked out in 18th.

Gasly was under pressure but saved himself in 15th at the expense of Williams’ Alex Albon, while Nico Hulkenberg was down in 17th. Behind Hamilton, Franco Colapinto was out in 19th with Antonelli last after reporting brake issues.

Racing Bulls man Liam Lawson was the first to be eliminated in SQ2 – which was delayed to clean up gravel – in 11th, followed by Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull. Instead of Piastri, the biggest victim was Mercedes’ George Russell, who went out unceremoniously in 13th.

F1 Belgian GP – sprint qualifying results