Championship leader Kimi Antonelli took pole position ahead of Max Verstappen in a tense climax to qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, Yankee Scores reports.
Antonelli had been the pace setter in practice but Lando Norris was on provisional pole after the first runs in Q3 before Antonelli and Verstappen knocked the McLaren driver down the order.
The starting grid for the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix 🇧🇪#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/pPPJPP6HPR
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Verstappen was helped by a huge slipstream from his Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar, who was starting from the back of the grid following a power unit change, but was denied pole by Antonelli by 0.317s.
Antonelli handled the pressure of being favorite with a strong final lap and has a great chance to extend his 25-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship over George Russell, who was fourth on the grid and half a second slower than his team-mate, per Skysports.
Norris will line up 13th after receiving a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his allowance of control electronics – a part of the power unit – which means Russell will move up to third on the grid.
Ferrari will be disappointed as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will start fourth and fifth respectively and it will be hard for Scuderia to maintain their recent winning form.
Hamilton had a big crash in final practice, but Ferrari changed his suspension, floor and gearbox in time for qualifying and it did not affect the performance of the car.
Arvid Lindblad, the British teenager, had his best qualifying in eighth as he continues his impressive rookie season with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in seventh and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto in ninth.
