2025 Belgian GP Qualifying: Norris Seals Spa Pole

Lando Norris lit up Spa-Francorchamps with a scorching lap to claim pole position for the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix, spearheading a stunning McLaren front-row lockout alongside teammate Oscar Piastri, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured P3 in a session that delivered drama and championship tension in equal measure.

Norris came out of the blocks with serious intent in Qualifying, setting the tone by topping the Q1 timesheets. But as the sessions evolved, the intra-team battle at McLaren intensified. In Q2, it was Piastri who threw down the gauntlet with the fastest time, momentarily wresting control of the narrative.

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But when it mattered most in Q3, Norris delivered. On his first flying lap, the Briton clocked a 1:40.562—a time that would go unbeaten despite a flurry of late efforts from his rivals. Piastri came heartbreakingly close, just 0.085s shy of pole, making it a papaya 1-2 in the Ardennes.

This was McLaren’s 68th front-row lockout, tying Ferrari for second in the all-time list. Mercedes had 82 front-row lockouts.

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For Norris, it was a statement performance in the heart of the 2025 F1 World Championship—his fourth pole of the season (equal to Piastri and Max Verstappen, all on four a piece) and one that comes with symbolic weight at one of the sport’s most iconic venues.

Charles Leclerc dug deep to place his Ferrari in third, improving late in Q3 to edge out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by a razor-thin 0.003s, the Dutchman settling for P4 at a track where he’s traditionally been a dominant force.

One of the surprise highlights of the day came from Williams’ Alexander Albon. The Thai-British driver put together an assured performance to grab fifth on the grid with a time of 1:41.201, continuing Williams’ upward momentum. Just behind was Mercedes’ George Russell, who couldn’t quite extract more from the W16 and had to settle for P6.

Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda continues to impress in 2025, putting himself P7, followed by both Racing Bulls drivers—rookie Isack Hadjar in P8 and Liam Lawson in P9. Completing the top 10 was Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, the Brazilian rookie delivering once again with mature consistency under pressure.

2025 Belgian GP Qualifying Results

2025 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying, 26 July 2025

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	Q1	Q2	Q3	LAPS
1	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:41.010	1:40.715	1:40.562	20
2	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:41.201	1:40.626	1:40.647	21
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:41.635	1:41.084	1:40.900	18
4	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:41.334	1:40.951	1:40.903	15
5	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:41.772	1:41.505	1:41.201	20
6	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:41.784	1:41.254	1:41.260	18
7	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull Racing	1:41.840	1:41.245	1:41.284	17
8	6	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	1:41.572	1:41.281	1:41.310	19
9	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:41.748	1:41.297	1:41.328	20
10	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Kick Sauber	1:41.908	1:41.336	1:42.387	18
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas	1:41.884	1:41.525		14
12	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas	1:41.617	1:41.617		13
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:41.800	1:41.633		14
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Kick Sauber	1:41.844	1:41.707		14
15	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:41.691	1:41.758		13
16	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:41.939			8
17	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:42.022			8
18	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:42.139			6
19	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:42.385			8
20	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:42.502			8

Earlier in the day, Haas had looked solid in the Sprint, but luck did not carry through into Qualifying. Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman were both eliminated in Q2, finishing 11th and 12th respectively, narrowly missing the top-10 shootout. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly slotted in behind them in P13 after failing to hook up a clean lap.

Nico Hulkenberg, fresh from a podium at Silverstone, couldn’t repeat his magic in Belgium. The Kick Sauber driver qualified a disappointing 14th, ahead of Carlos Sainz, who struggled for balance and ended up 15th in the second Williams.

Drama hit early in Q1 when Lewis Hamilton, under pressure to avoid the drop zone, appeared to save himself with a last-gasp lap—only for it to be deleted for exceeding track limits. The infraction saw the Ferrari man tumble to 16th, shockingly bowing out in the opening segment.

Behind him, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto placed 17th, while Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes endured a scrappy session and will start 18th. Aston Martin had a session to forget entirely, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll occupying the back row in 19th and 20th, continuing a dismal run of form for the green team.

2025 Belgian Grand Prix Starting Grid

The Grand Prix starting grid, with or without penalties, after the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying session.

Position	Driver	Team
1st	Lando Norris	McLaren
2nd	Oscar Piastri	McLaren
3rd	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari
4th	Max Verstappen	Red Bull
5th	Alex Albon	Williams
6th	George Russell	Mercedes
7th	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull
8th	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls
9th	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls
10th	Gabriel Bortoleto	Stake
11th	Esteban Ocon	Haas
12th	Ollie Bearman	Haas
13th	Pierre Gasly	Alpine
14th	Nico Hulkenberg	Stake
15th	Franco Colapinto	Alpine
16th	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin
PIT-LANE	Carlos Sainz	Williams
PIT-LANE	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari
PIT-LANE	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes
PIT-LANE	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin