2026 Belgian GP Qualifying: Antonelli Storms to Pole at Spa

Kimi Antonelli produced another statement performance in the fight for the 2026 F1 World Championship by claiming pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix after a thrilling qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps. The Mercedes driver delivered when it mattered most, producing a sensational final lap to deny Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, while several grid penalties ensured the starting order would look very different from the raw qualifying classification.

Antonelli secured his sixth pole position of the season with a blistering lap of 1:44.361, finding his best pace at exactly the right moment after spending much of the hour building into the session. His final effort proved untouchable, finishing three tenths of a second clear of Verstappen, whose own decisive run was compromised by a near miss with Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar despite benefiting from a well-timed tow around the long Spa circuit.

Formula One History Recommends

• 

  2026 Belgian GP FP1: Verstappen strikes first as Ferrari lead the chase

• 

  2026 Belgian GP FP2: Antonelli hits back with fastest time

• 

  2026 Belgian GP FP3: Antonelli Fastest as Hamilton crashes

• 

  2026 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Behind the front-row battle, Norris once again demonstrated McLaren’s outright speed by qualifying third. The Briton had briefly looked on course for pole after topping the opening runs in Q3, but could not improve enough on his final attempt as Antonelli and Verstappen found more pace. His reward, however, was largely symbolic, with a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his power unit component allocation dropping him to 13th on Sunday’s starting grid.

2026 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

2026 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying, 18 July 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:46.304	1:45.142	1:44.361	15
2	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:45.930	1:45.589	1:44.678	12
3	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:45.865	1:45.454	1:44.801	11
4	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:46.185	1:45.689	1:44.869	18
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:46.278	1:45.397	1:44.893	18
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:46.124	1:45.543	1:44.895	15
7	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:46.433	1:45.671	1:45.016	17
8	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:46.191	1:45.629	1:45.143	18
9	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:46.609	1:46.082	1:45.628	18
10	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	1:46.062	1:45.823	DNF	13
11	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:46.501	1:46.120		12
12	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:46.679	1:46.331		12
13	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:46.795	1:46.392		12
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:46.893	1:46.671		12
15	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:47.080	1:46.777		12
16	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:47.113	1:46.779		12
17	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:47.120			6
18	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:47.801			6
19	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:47.823			8
20	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:47.971			8
21	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:50.002			6
22	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:50.177			8

Ferrari Lock OuT The Third Row

George Russell ensured both Mercedes cars finished inside the top four after another solid qualifying performance, while Ferrari locked out the third row with Charles Leclerc narrowly edging team-mate Lewis Hamilton in an exceptionally close fight among the leading teams.

The margins throughout the top 10 were once again remarkably tight. Oscar Piastri claimed seventh place for McLaren ahead of impressive Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, while Gabriel Bortoleto continued Audi’s encouraging weekend by qualifying ninth. Hadjar rounded out the top 10 on the road, although the Frenchman will fall to the rear of the grid after serving a 20-place penalty for taking additional power unit components, promoting every driver behind him by one position.

Qualifying once again underlined just how competitive the field has become around Spa-Francorchamps, where every tenth of a second proved crucial throughout all three knockout sessions.

One of the closest battles came in Q2, where Liam Lawson missed out on progressing to the pole-position shootout by just 0.038 seconds. The Racing Bulls driver was edged out by Bortoleto and will start ahead of the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, who qualified 12th and 13th, respectively.

Audi experienced mixed fortunes during the second phase of qualifying. While Bortoleto comfortably advanced into Q3, Nico Hülkenberg’s session came to an abrupt end after a sudden hydraulic leak forced the German to stop on track. The incident briefly delayed the beginning of the final qualifying segment before the car was recovered, leaving Hülkenberg classified 14th.

Williams also endured a frustrating afternoon. Carlos Sainz progressed into Q2 but could do no better than 15th, while team-mate Alex Albon suffered a surprise elimination in the opening segment and will line up only 17th after failing to escape Q1.

Haas driver Ollie Bearman split the Williams duo by qualifying 16th, while Esteban Ocon’s difficult weekend continued with another early exit. On the 10th anniversary of his Formula 1 debut, the Frenchman could manage only 18th after being knocked out in the first phase of qualifying.

Cadillac filled the next two positions, with Valtteri Bottas qualifying 19th ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez in 20th as the American squad continued to search for performance around the demanding Belgian circuit.

Aston Martin completed a disappointing session by locking out the final row, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll qualifying 21st and 22nd, respectively. However, like Hadjar, both drivers are already carrying substantial grid penalties, meaning Sunday’s final starting order will differ significantly once all post-qualifying penalties have been applied.

While the revised grid will create several intriguing recovery drives, the headline belonged to Antonelli. The Mercedes driver once again demonstrated the composure and outright speed that have defined his breakthrough campaign, delivering another pole position under pressure and giving himself the perfect opportunity to strengthen his advantage in the championship when the lights go out for the Belgian Grand Prix.