Summary

  • Norris takes pole position, Piastri 2nd, Leclerc 3rd

  • Hamilton and Antonelli out in first session

  • Verstappen wins sprint race after overtaking Piastri on first lap

  • Laurent Mekies' first race as Red Bull boss after sacking of Christian Horner

  • Listen to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 commentary at top of page from the Belgium Grand Prix from Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

  • Sprint format explained

  • Get involved #bbcf1

  1. Postpublished at 16:33 British Summer Time

    The McLarens top the order once again going into a race but the weather should provide some unpredictably tomorrow, with rain forecast at various points throughout the day.

    We're wrapping things up here but I'll leave you with Andrew Benson's qualifying report.

    Goodbye!

  2. 'Felt like I couldn't really push' - Verstappenpublished at 16:31 British Summer Time

    Max Verstappen looks on at Spa after qualifying.Image source, Getty Images

    Max Verstappen will start in P4, he spoke to Sky Sports: "I was actually hoping it [the weather] would actually help the driving feeling but it didn't do that, it was a bit draggy and not the right balance so it was a bit weird.

    "It is something that we need to look into because it felt like during that whole qualifying I couldn't really push and at Spa you need to be committed at entry and you want the car to rotate but I couldn't do that basically."

  3. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 16:27 British Summer Time

    #bbcf1, f1@bbc.co.uk, WhatsApp 03301231826

    Andrew: Lap 1 tomorrow is going to be Box Office. The run from La Source to Les Combes, in the expected rain, is going to be feisty. Arguably, that’s not an ideal pole position to secure for Lando Norris.

  4. 'It's a very poor performance for myself' - Hamiltonpublished at 16:24 British Summer Time

    Lewis Hamilton at the Belgian Grand PrixImage source, Getty Images

    Lewis Hamilton was knocked out of Q1 for his first time at Ferrari. He told Sky Sports: "I was the same as I was for the rest of the weekend, we made some changes and the car didn't feel terrible. It was tough for us we had to even put our second set [of tyres] on just to get through Q1 so not great.

    "From my side I made a mistake so I've got to look internal and I've got to apologise to my team because that is just unacceptable to be out in both Q1's. It's a very poor performance for myself."

  5. 'It’s good that we put everything together for qualifying' - Leclercpublished at 16:21 British Summer Time

    Charles Leclerc at the Belgian Grand PrixImage source, Getty Images

    Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start the grand prix in third: "I’m very happy today, it’s strange to say that because it’s still three-tenths and it’s only third place but I did not expect it.

    "I think we thought we were quite a lot more back, we knew we had something more in the car, obviously we had the upgrade this weekend but we still struggled yesterday.

    "That was a really good lap and I’m happy with how the car felt, so it’s good that we put everything together for qualifying.

    On making changes: "It takes a little bit of time to maximise those upgrades that we put on the car so there was a few bits we had changed, but there was nothing major, it was all about putting everything together and I felt comfortable with the car since FP1.

    "It’s good to have a qualifying where you look back and you know you haven’t left anything on the table."

    On Max Verstappen starting in P4: "The race pace looked very strong this morning, I couldn’t keep up with them, but again with the small changes we’ve done I hope that this gives us the upper hand in the main race."

  6. 'It’s nice to see that I could get back to the top' - Norrispublished at 16:19 British Summer Time

    Lando Norris at the Belgian Grand PrixImage source, Getty Images

    McLaren’s Lando Norris after securing pole position: "It was a decent lap, I’m happy and everyone was pretty worried after yesterday, I wasn’t even that far off but there were a couple of little issues that we had.

    "I was confident after yesterday and I was confident coming into today so it’s nice to see that I could get back to the top."

    On where the improved came from: "Three-tenths is just slipstream and not being the first out of the pit-lane. It was nothing to worry about but people like to make a lot of things up but I felt good and the car has been flying all weekend.

    "Oscar [Piastri] has been doing a good job all weekend and we’ve been pushing each other a lot. It’s tough because you see where your strengths and weaknesses are clearly and you learn from each other quickly, it’s good but a tough battle that we have at the minute."

    On the potential wet race: "I prefer it to stay dry honestly, even for the fans I think it’s rained here for the last 10 years or something so it would be nice to have a dry Sunday.

    "I don’t mind whether it’s dry or rain or whatever it is or somewhere in the middle, it’s normal here and I look forward to a fun race."

  7. Qualifying P2 'a bit disappointing' - Piastripublished at 16:14 British Summer Time

    Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after qualifying at Spa.Image source, Getty Images

    Oscar Piastri has given his thoughts on qualifying in P2 behind his teammate Lando Norris for tomorrow:

    "A bit disappointing, the second lap was coming together well and I made a mistake into turn 14 and lost a lot of time. I felt like the car was very good again but it's fine margins out there."

    On whether his P1 qualifying lap yesterday helped Norris today : "We're a good team-mate pairing and we learn a lot from each other each weekend, that's what makes us a good team but also makes it difficult to fight each other."

  8. Postpublished at 16:11 British Summer Time

    Lando Norris celebrates after getting pole at Belgian GP qualifying at Spa.Image source, PA Media

    Lando Norris' 13th career pole position means he is going for a third successive win and he's in the perfect position to achieve that.

    He'll be battling with his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri down into turn one.

  9. Qualifying top 10published at 16:06 British Summer Time

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  10. Postpublished at 16:04 British Summer Time

    Damon Hill
    1996 world champion on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Lando Norris' car during qualifying at Spa.Image source, Getty Images

    This is great news for the McLarens who will consider the threat from Charles Leclerc as not as great as it was from Max Verstappen.

  11. chequered flag

    Chequered flagpublished at 16:02 British Summer Time

    Lando Norris secures pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix!

  12. Postpublished at 16:01 British Summer Time

    Oscar Piastri does improve but not enough to beat Lando Norris! He misses out by just 0.085s.

  13. Postpublished at 16:01 British Summer Time

    Sparks fly off Verstappen's car during qualifying at Spa.Image source, Getty Images

    No improvement for Max Verstappen OR Lando Norris.

    What has Oscar Piastri got?

  14. Postpublished at 16:00 British Summer Time

    Lando Norris produces the best middle sector time so far this weekend...

  15. 'Verstappen opted to get clear air and no traffic'published at 16:00 British Summer Time

    Damon Hill
    1996 world champion on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    I'm interested as to why Max Verstappen has decided to be one of the first one on the track, the track is not going to be at its grippiest I don't think.

    He's opted to go out and get clear air and not get any traffic, I think that is the ambition there.

  16. Postpublished at 16:00 British Summer Time

    Max Verstappen will be the first to cross the line and provide the target for the others, if he can beat the first run times.

  17. Postpublished at 15:58 British Summer Time

    Damon Hill
    1996 world champion on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Lando Norris' fastest lap at the moment is only six-hundredths of a second off of Oscar Piastri's fastest ever lap that he did yesterday in qualifying for the sprint.

  18. Postpublished at 15:58 British Summer Time

    Everyone is on their out lap now preparing for their one shot at taking pole position.

  19. Postpublished at 15:55 British Summer Time

    Damon Hill
    1996 world champion on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    I'm very pleased Lando Norris has done that. This is what I was talking about before, it's a psychological plus one to Norris, he can sit in the garage and get prepared for his final run.

  20. Postpublished at 15:55 British Summer Time

    Lando Norris was half a second quicker than Max Verstappen. The Red Bull was on used softs, however, and will head out for his final run on fresh rubber.