Piastri Powers to Pole in Thrilling Sprint Qualifying Shootout

By Camille Lebez Leroy

Sprint Qualifying got underway with tension already high because of how demanding is this track. All the drivers went back after a few minutes and all eyes turned to Red Bull as Max Verstappen’s car had a rear wheel issue that delayed his start. Meanwhile, early drama unfolded in the pit lane as Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg clashed for track space.

With eight minutes left, times began to roll in. Hadjar set the first benchmark with a 1:42.711. Piastri then quickly went on top with a 1:41.769, comfortably ahead of his teammate Norris, while George Russell slotted into third. Verstappen joined the party soon after, positioning himself between the McLarens.

Antonelli went off at Stavelot, flat-spotting his tyres, while Bearman had a lap time deleted. With the session coming close to an end, Lewis Hamilton spun at the Bus Stop chicane, ending his hopes of qualifications.

Eliminated in SQ1:


16. Albon
    17. Hulkenberg
        18. Hamilton
            19. Colapinto
                20. Antonelli

Due to Antonelli’s incident, before SQ2 was delayed for gravels on the track. Norris was the first out, willing to recover after finishing behind his teammate earlier. Piastri’s fastest time got deleted for track limits. The rest of the field went for single flying laps.
Verstappen came to the top by six-tenths. While Piastri finished a safer lap that put him in third position, but it wasn’t enough to stay safe. With the clock ticking, Norris went for a final lap that put him first, just as Piastri dropped to tenth, safely through by just 0.041s.

Eliminated in SQ2:


11. Lawson
    12. Tsunoda
        13. Russell
            14. Alonso
                15. Stroll

In the final session, everyone waited until the final four minutes for a one-lap shootout. Norris led the pack, with Verstappen and Piastri just behind. Verstappen went quickest in Sector 1, but Norris took the second one. Verstappen edged Norris by a tenth, but then came Piastri.
The Australian delivered an amazing lap, keeping Verstappen in sight through Sector 1 and dominating the rest. He crossed the line with a 1:40.510, nearly half a second quicker than Verstappen.

Top 10 for Sprint:

1. Piastri
2. Verstappen
3. Norris
4. Leclerc
5. Ocon
6. Sainz
7. Bearman
8. Gasly
9. Hadjar
10. Bortoleto