Kimi Antonelli secured his sixth pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 season with a superb final lap in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, beating Max Verstappen by more than three tenths of a second at Spa-Francorchamps.

The Mercedes driver posted a session-best 1:44.361 to claim pole ahead of Verstappen, while Lando Norris qualified third but will drop 10 places on the grid after exceeding his allocation of power unit components. George Russell qualified fourth, with Charles Leclerc fifth and Lewis Hamilton sixth after Ferrari repaired the damage sustained in his FP3 crash earlier in the day.

“It’s great to be on pole,” said Antonelli. “It was not a very straightforward session. The track changed a lot but we were able to improve lap by lap and bring home pole, which was nice. Of course, tomorrow is another day. I have Max starting next to me so it’s going to be important to get a good start and then try to stay ahead into Turn 5.”

Hamilton’s return to the track was a notable achievement after Ferrari’s mechanics worked to repair his SF-26 following his accident in the final practice session. The Briton ended qualifying just 0.532 seconds off pole and only 0.002 seconds behind team-mate Leclerc.

Oscar Piastri finished seventh ahead of Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, who continued his impressive weekend by reaching the final shootout. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto qualified ninth, while Isack Hadjar completed the top 10, although the Red Bull driver will start from the back of the grid due to a 20 place grid penalty.

Q1

Norris set the pace in the opening phase of qualifying ahead of Verstappen and Hadjar, while Antonelli comfortably progressed despite not featuring at the very top of the timesheets.

Alex Albon suffered an early exit for Williams and was joined in the elimination zone by Esteban Ocon, Cadillac pair Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez, along with both Aston Martin drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who are also carrying grid penalties.

Eliminated: Albon, Ocon, Bottas, Pérez, Alonso and Stroll.

Q2

Antonelli responded emphatically in the second session, setting the fastest time ahead of Leclerc as Mercedes’ qualifying pace began to emerge.

Lindblad continued to impress by comfortably progressing into Q3, while Bortoleto narrowly denied Liam Lawson a place in the top 10 shootout. Nico Hülkenberg’s session ended prematurely after suffering a hydraulic issue following the chequered flag, briefly delaying the start of Q3.

Eliminated: Lawson, Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto, Hülkenberg, Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman.

Although Antonelli will start from pole alongside Verstappen, the grid behind them will change before Sunday’s race. Norris’ 10-place grid penalty and Hadjar’s 20-place penalty will promote several drivers up the order despite both qualifying inside the top 10.

full results: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2026/races/1290/belgium/qualifying