Antonelli puts Mercedes on pole at Belgian GP
NXTbets Pro | Published On: July 19, 2026
Antonelli pole at Spa
Kimi Antonelli put down the fastest lap in Belgian Grand Prix qualifying and will start from pole at Spa-Francorchamps after a 1:44.361 effort that beat Max Verstappen by 0.317 seconds. Antonelli earned the top spot on a day when he already looked sharp, after leading both FP2 and FP3 in final practice. Verstappen will line up beside him on the front row, which gives the race an immediate battle at the front. The result also extended a trend from the weekend, with Antonelli carrying pace into every major session once the cars rolled out at Spa. His pole lap landed in a session that kept changing shape as drivers searched for clean air, grip and a lap without mistakes on a circuit that punishes even the smallest error. The Belgian Grand Prix track at Spa-Francorchamps is long, fast and unforgiving, and Antonelli handled it better than anyone when the pressure was highest.
Norris penalty reshapes
Lando Norris finished qualifying third on raw pace, but a 10-place penalty dropped him to 14th on the starting grid and turned the front part of the field upside down. George Russell moved up to third, Charles Leclerc rose to fourth and Lewis Hamilton inherited fifth after the shakeup. Norris had been in the mix through much of the session and briefly held provisional pole in Q3 before he ran wide in the gravel at Turn 13 and brought out a red flag. That moment changed the tone of the session, because it stopped a lap that had put him in contention for the top spot and left him with no route to improve. Oscar Piastri qualified seventh after a difficult weekend, and his final Q3 attempt ended when he ran wide at Stavelot and dragged gravel onto the circuit. Hamilton’s day also carried risk before qualifying even began. He crashed at Fagnes in final practice and damaged the rear wing and suspension on his Ferrari, then the team repaired the car in time to send him back out for qualifying. Verstappen set the early pace in final practice too, topping FP1 with a 1:47.070 lap, 0.145 seconds clear of Hamilton. That gave the weekend a spread of leaders across the sessions, but the grid still settled around Antonelli, Verstappen and the drivers who stayed clean when it mattered.
Spa strategy and F2
Sunday’s race was set up to hinge on strategy more than changing weather, with dry conditions expected and Pirelli projecting a one-stop run. The default plan pointed to a start on the medium C3 tyre and a switch to the hard C2 between laps 17 and 23, which puts a premium on pit-stop timing and tyre management over the full distance. Spa’s 7-kilometer lap and long straights leave little margin for error, and slipstreaming should play a major role once the field sorts itself out on the opening lap and through the pit cycle. That gives Antonelli a clean chance from pole, but it also keeps Verstappen, Russell and the rest of the front-runners in striking distance if they can stay with the lead car through the first stint. The support races also delivered clear winners at Spa. Joshua Duerksen won the Formula 2 Sprint Race from fourth on the grid, passing Martinius Stenshorne and holding on through a final-lap Safety Car restart. Rafael Câmara took the Formula 2 Feature Race victory at Spa-Francorchamps, with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak second and Nikola Tsolov third after penalties.
