Piastri dominates for Sprint Qualifying pole position at Spa ahead of Verstappen and Norris

Oscar Piastri took Sprint pole position ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, beating Max Verstappen by nearly half a second as McLaren team mate Lando Norris could only salvage third.

With teams only able to use one set of soft Pirelli tyres in the final part of Qualifying, all 10 drivers waited until the final moments to head out for a one-lap shootout around the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, with Verstappen and the two McLaren drivers favourite for top spot.

Norris was the first to post a lap time, the Briton setting a 1m 41.128s which was headed by Verstappen, as the Dutchman set a 1m 40.987s, but both were unable to beat Piastri, the Australian setting a 1m 40.510s to finish top.

Best of the rest was Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, nearly eight tenths in arrears, from the impressive Haas of Esteban Ocon as team mate Oliver Bearman grabbed seventh with the Williams of Carlos Sainz splitting the pair.

Alpine's Pierre Gasly finished eighth after an impressive SQ2 time to reach the final stage of Qualifying, while Isack Hadjar's Racing Bulls and the Kick Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10 ahead of Saturday's Sprint.

While Norris topped SQ2 with a 1m 41.412s, Piastri only just made it through to the final part of Qualifying, the McLaren driver having been stripped of his first effort after being deemed to have exceeded track limits at the top of Eau Rouge.

His best eligible effort, a 1m 42.169s, next time round left him just 0.041s clear of Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls in 11th come the chequered flag, as the second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda also failed to make the cut and was joined by George Russell's Mercedes, while the two Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished 14th and 15th.

Lewis Hamilton was the shock exit from SQ1, with the Ferrari driver in the drop zone ahead of the final runs and suffering a high-speed spin into the final chicane which left him 18th in the final order.

Also missing the cut by just 0.041s was Williams' Alex Albon from Kick Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, Hamilton and Alpine's Franco Colapinto.

Kimi Antonelli completed the order after the young Italian suffered a high-speed spin through the gravel at Stavelot on his opening flying lap, the damage and requirement to continue using his flat-spotted medium Pirelli tyres meant the Mercedes driver finished several seconds away from reaching the next stage of Qualifying.

AS IT HAPPENED

SQ1 – Piastri fastest as Hamilton and Antonelli eliminated after spins

After only a single one-hour practice session, drivers headed out on the mandatory medium tyre for the 12-minute SQ1 session with Hadjar the first to venture out on the 4.350-mile circuit.

His Racing Bulls team mate Lawson had to immediately back off behind, though, with Hulkenberg noted for an unsafe release into the path of the Kiwi driver in the pit lane.

While most drivers hit the circuit in the opening minutes after stacking up in the pit lane to generate a gap to the car in front, frantic work continued on the right-rear of Verstappen's Red Bull as Hadjar set the early benchmark with a 1m 42.711s.

Antonelli's opening flying lap was derailed after a high-speed 360-degree spin through the gravel at Stavelot before rejoining and slightly impeding Mercedes team mate Russell, who was following close behind.

The McLaren duo of Piastri and Norris moved to the top of the times, the former on a 1m 41.769s, before Verstappen's opening lap split the pair and left him just under three tenths behind the Australian.

Hamilton was left in the drop zone as the final runs commenced but failed to improve his opening sector time and, despite having set a personal best in the second sector, the seven time World Champion suffered rear-locking and a high-speed spin at the final chicane.

It left the Briton classified down in 18th while the yellow flags impeded several drivers behind on their final flying laps, although Bearman improved up to 14th having lifted through the caution area ahead of Alpine's Gasly.

Williams' Albon was the first driver to miss the cut by just 0.041s after setting a 1m 43.212s from Hulkenberg, who had the start of his lap compromised by Lawson as both prepared to exit the final corner.

Colapinto finished 19th as Alpine lacked straight line speed ahead of Antonelli, the young Italian rookie finishing 3.652s behind Piastri's best after complaining of car damage and flat-spotted tyres from his earlier spin.

Knocked out: Albon, Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Colapinto, Antonelli

SQ2 – Norris fastest as Piastri just makes the cut, while Russell exits

The McLaren duo were the first out on track, Norris setting a 1m 42.182s before Piastri posted a 1m 41.736s but he was stripped of his time after being deemed to have exceeded track limits at the top of Eau Rouge.

Both drivers were beaten by Verstappen, though, the four-time World Champion setting a 1m 41.583s as Leclerc slotted into second with a 1m 41.786s as all drivers were using medium tyres in the second part of Sprint Qualifying.

Piastri moved up to third with his second lap on a 1m 41.128s, but it left him dangerously close to elimination as the remaining drivers improved with their final laps.

As the chequered flag flew, Norris jumped back to first with a 1m 41.412s having fallen into the drop zone ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc, while impressive laps from Ocon, Bortoleto, Gasly, Bearman, Sainz and Hadjar guaranteed them a spot in the final part of Sprint Qualifying.

Piastri survived by just 0.041s from Lawson, as Tsunoda, Russell and the two Aston Martins of Alonso and Stroll failed to make the cut.

Knocked out: Lawson, Tsunoda, Russell, Alonso, Stroll

SQ3 – Piastri blitzes the opposition for Sprint pole

SQ3 essentially became a one-lap shoot-out as drivers were limited to just one set of Pirelli soft tyres, with Norris the first to set a benchmark on a 1m 41.128s.

But the Briton ended up more than half a second behind his team mate, Piastri posting a 1m 40.510s for his first Sprint pole of the season as Verstappen split the pair.

With the leading contenders having set their laps it was left to the remaining drivers to register their laps, with Leclerc best of the rest but 0.768s behind Piastri's fastest lap.

Haas enjoyed a strong showing, Ocon setting the fastest sector one time and finishing fifth, with team mate Bearman seventh as Sainz split the duo.

Gasly took eight from Hadjar and Bortoleto, the Brazilian's 1m 42.176s leaving him 1.666s slower than Piastri's pole position time.

Key quote

"It was a good lap," said Piastri. "A little scare in SQ2 with the lap deletion but the car’s been mega all day and I feel like I’ve been able to put in a lot of good laps. Thanks to the team, the car’s been great and this is a track I love. It’s my favourite one of the year and, I don’t know, maybe that gave me a couple of extra tenths! It’s always good fun around here, when the car’s handling as well as it is today it’s a pleasure."

What's next

With the grid decided, the drivers will line up for the Sprint at 1200 local time on Saturday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action.