Lando Norris stormed to pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix, marking McLaren’s first top spot at Spa-Francorchamps since Jenson Button’s triumph back in 2012. The Briton’s lap not only secured his second career pole but also drew him level with Button for the most poles achieved by a McLaren driver in the team’s modern era.
Teammate Oscar Piastri joined him on the front row in second, delivering McLaren their first front-row lockout since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. This effort pushes McLaren’s all-time pole tally to 159, their last coming from Lewis Hamilton at the 2012 Abu Dhabi race.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the outright fastest time in Q3 but a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding engine allocations drops him to 11th on the grid. Still, Verstappen’s session-topping pace extends his streak to six straight fastest Q3 laps at Spa, matching Ayrton Senna’s record from 1988-1991.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc qualified third, earning him a provisional front-row start alongside Norris after penalties shuffle the order. His result ends a four-race pole drought for the Scuderia at this track.
Further down, Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull lines up fourth, while Mercedes’ George Russell takes fifth. Lewis Hamilton, in his final Mercedes season before switching to Ferrari in 2025, starts sixth.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso grabbed seventh, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon in eighth. Lance Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo round out the top 10 for Aston Martin and RB respectively.
In the midfield battle, Haas achieved their best qualifying of the year with Nico Hulkenberg 11th and Kevin Magnussen 13th, sandwiching Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. Pierre Gasly starts 14th for Alpine, followed by Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas in 15th.
RB’s Yuki Tsunoda faces a back-of-the-grid start due to multiple power unit changes, joining Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu, who qualified 19th. Logan Sargeant of Williams and the Alpine reserves didn’t make waves in the session.
Weather played its part, with rain disrupting Q1 and forcing drivers onto intermediates, leading to early exits for the likes of Tsunoda and Sargeant. As the track dried, times tumbled, setting up a dramatic race day where strategy could decide the outcome.
