Oscar Piastri will start from pole in the sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday. The McLaren driver proved to be the fastest in the sprint qualifying on Friday afternoon at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Max Verstappen will start from P2.
Below is a quick overview of the sprint qualifying:
SQ1: Mistakes Cost Hamilton and Antonelli
In sprint qualifying, the time per segment is shorter than in a regular qualifying, so a mistake can be costly. This was experienced by Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes). Both made errors in the first run, with Antonelli even skidding at high speed through the gravel. The duo subsequently failed to finish in the top fifteen in their last lap. Hamilton even spun in the chicane. Max Verstappen had little trouble, qualifying for the second part without any issues.
Eliminated: Albon, Hülkenberg, Hamilton, Colapinto, Antonelli
SQ2: Surprises Abound
Oscar Piastri had to work hard in SQ2, as he lost his fastest lap time due to exceeding track limits. However, the Australian recovered and narrowly saved himself (tenth). This was not the case for George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda. They were eliminated on behalf of Mercedes and Red Bull respectively in this second part of the sprint qualifying. Interestingly, Ocon and Bearman managed to get two Haas cars in the top-10, and Bortoleto also qualified for Q3 in the Sauber.
Eliminated: Lawson, Tsunoda, Russell, Alonso, Stroll
SQ3: Pole for Unstoppable Piastri
The fastest man of the bunch is Oscar Piastri. The championship leader is more than four tenths faster than Verstappen, who in turn stays ahead of Lando Norris. The British McLaren driver has to give up sixteenths to his teammate. Surprisingly strong is Ocon, who finishes fifth.
