Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli claimed pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday, outpacing Red Bull's Max Verstappen by a commanding 0.623 seconds at Spa-Francorchamps. The 19-year-old Italian's time of 1:44.361 was the largest qualifying margin of the season, marking his sixth pole in 10 rounds and extending Mercedes' unbeaten qualifying streak for the 2026 campaign.
Qualifying Results
Lando Norris posted the third-fastest time of 1:44.801 in his McLaren, but a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his battery allocation—using a fourth unit, one more than permitted—drops him to 12th on Sunday's grid. George Russell, Antonelli's Mercedes teammate and title rival, could only manage fourth, half a second adrift, leaving the Briton trailing by 25 points in the championship with significant work ahead.
Charles Leclerc qualified fifth for Ferrari, followed by teammate Lewis Hamilton in sixth. Hamilton had crashed heavily in final practice at Les Fagnes, damaging his car, but Ferrari repaired it in time for qualifying.
Mercedes' Qualifying Dominance
Mercedes have been untouchable over single laps this season, remaining unbeaten in qualifying despite upgrades from rivals Ferrari and Red Bull. Antonelli, who suffered recent misfortune—a battery failure in Spain and a broken wheel-shield at Silverstone—reasserted himself confidently. He has five wins from 10 meetings this year.
Red Bull's Towing Strategy
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar qualified 10th but incurred a 30-place grid penalty for new engine components, sending him to the back. In Q3, Hadjar deliberately went ahead of Verstappen to provide a tow, helping the Dutchman set a 1:44.984 lap. However, Antonelli responded without a tow, while Norris aborted his final lap after running wide, securing pole for Mercedes.
According to the official Formula One timing, Antonelli's advantage was the largest of any pole-sitter this season. The race at Spa-Francorchamps begins at 15:00 local time on Sunday.
