Red Bull kicked off the Belgian Sprint weekend with a dominant showing, as Max Verstappen clinched pole despite a grid penalty looming for the main race. The Dutch driver edged out McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by a slim 0.011 seconds in a rain-hit session at Spa. Verstappen admitted the conditions were tricky but praised his car’s balance, saying, “We stayed calm and nailed the laps when it mattered.” Teammate Sergio Perez, starting third, felt the team extracted the maximum, adding, “It’s a strong base for the Sprint.”
Ferrari struggled in the wet, with Charles Leclerc qualifying fourth and Lewis Hamilton down in seventh. Leclerc noted the car’s lack of grip in the rain, explaining, “We just couldn’t find the rhythm today.” Hamilton echoed the frustration, highlighting setup issues: “The car felt off in these conditions; we’ll tweak it overnight.”
McLaren impressed with Piastri’s front-row start, though Lando Norris could only manage fifth. Piastri was upbeat, stating, “The pace is there; we were so close to pole.” Norris, however, rued a mistake in SQ3: “I pushed too hard and lost time, but the Sprint offers a chance to recover.”
Mercedes faced a mixed bag, George Russell grabbing sixth while rookie Kimi Antonelli ended up 12th. Russell was content with the result, saying, “We maximized what we had in the wet.” Antonelli, still adapting, called it a learning curve: “Tough session, but valuable for tomorrow.”
Aston Martin showed promise, Fernando Alonso securing eighth and Lance Stroll 11th. Alonso praised the team’s progress: “Good laps in tough weather; we’re in the mix.” Stroll added, “The car handled the rain well; points are possible.”
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon locked out ninth and 10th. Gasly was satisfied: “Solid effort from both cars.” Ocon agreed, noting, “We’re positioned to fight in the Sprint.”
Williams had Alex Albon in 13th and Carlos Sainz 14th. Albon said, “The wet caught us out, but we’ll push hard.” Sainz added, “Not ideal, but the race pace looks better.”
RB’s Yuki Tsunoda took 15th, with Liam Lawson 17th. Tsunoda remained optimistic: “We have speed; just need cleaner laps.” Lawson, the newcomer, reflected: “Challenging debut in these conditions.”
Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu qualified 16th and 18th. Bottas was blunt: “Grip was an issue; work to do.” Zhou concurred: “Tough day, but aiming to climb.”
Haas rounded out the field, Kevin Magnussen 19th and Oliver Bearman 20th. Magnussen said, “The car struggled in the wet; reset for the Sprint.” Bearman, in his first full season, noted: “Learning fast; tomorrow’s another shot.”
