Pole position and championship contextLando Norris has secured pole at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix, while championship leader Oscar Piastri will join him on the front row. Coming off back-to-back wins, Norris is pushing hard to cut Piastri’s lead — currently just nine points — as they head into round 13 of the 2025 season. Meanwhile, Red Bull enters the race under new leadership: Christian Horner has been replaced by Laurent Mekies as team principal.
Qualifying drama at SpaIn a tightly contested session, Norris edged out his McLaren teammate by under a tenth of a second with a stellar 1:40.562 lap. Charles Leclerc impressed with P3 at Ferrari, while Alex Albon and an upgraded Yuki Tsunoda also shone for their teams. In remarkable contrast, Lewis Hamilton suffered Ferrari’s first-ever Q1 exit of the season after his final lap was invalidated for exceeding track limits.
Points and championship standingsMcLaren continues to dominate the constructors’ championship, holding a commanding lead over Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull. Red Bull moved closer to rivals thanks to Verstappen’s sprint win, while Haas also gained ground mid-pack. On the drivers’ front, Oscar Piastri leads Lando Norris by nine points, with Verstappen lurking in third. Behind them, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, and Lewis Hamilton battle for position, with Nico Hülkenberg surprising many in ninth place.
Race conditions and strategy outlookThe weather at Spa looks treacherous, with damp conditions prompting drivers to don rain gear ahead of the parade lap. Hamilton will begin from the pit lane, alongside Kimi Antonelli and Fernando Alonso, after Ferrari changed major power unit elements—allowing setup tweaks before the race. With unpredictable Ardennes weather and a high-downforce setup likely playing to Ferrari’s strengths, strategy could make or break the outcome.
Circuit legacy and season pacingSpa‑Francorchamps, one of F1’s original Grands Prix venues since 1950, offers the longest lap and wild elevation shifts, from Eau Rouge to Pouhon. It remains one of the most revered—and dangerous—tracks on the calendar. As the season nears its halfway point, Belgium kicks off the European middle leg, leading next to Hungary and then the doubleheader in Zandvoort and Monza before
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