What time is F1 qualifying at Belgian GP 2025?
Lando Norris won his home race last time out at the British Grand Prix, capitalising on teammate Oscar Piastri 's penalty to claim his second victory in a row. Piastri's lead in the world championship is now just eight points at the halfway stage of the season.
Nico Hulkenberg secured his first-ever podium in F1 at Silverstone, while Lewis Hamilton once again finished fourth as he continues to chase a first podium in Ferrari red.
Hamilton won last year's race at Spa-Francorchamps after George Russell was disqualified. This weekend's race will also be the first since Christian Horner's dismissal at Red Bull, with Laurent Mekies taking charge for the first time.
Follow live coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix with The Independent
When is the Belgian Grand Prix?
All times BST
Saturday 26 July
Qualifying: 3pm
Sunday 27 July
Race: 2pm
How can I watch it online and on TV?
The Belgian Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom - and ESPN in the United States. Sky's coverage of Sunday's race starts at 12:30pm (BST).
Sky Sports subscribers can watch all the action at Spa-Francorchamps on the Sky Go app. If you're not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
If you're travelling abroad and want to watch the Belgian Grand Prix then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help.
F1 driver standings
1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 234 points
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 226 points
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 165 points
4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 147 points
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 119 points
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 103 points
7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 63 points
8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 46 points
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 37 points
10. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 23 points
12. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 21 points
12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 20 points
13. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 19 points
14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 16 points
15. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 13 points
16. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 12 points
17. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 10 points
18. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 6 points
19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 4 points
20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points
21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points
F1 constructor standings
1. McLaren - 460 points
2. Ferrari - 222 points
3. Mercedes - 210 points
4. Red Bull - 172 points
5. Williams - 59 points
6. Sauber - 41 points
7. Racing Bulls - 36 points
8. Aston Martin - 36 points
9. Haas - 29 points
10. Alpine - 19 points
2025 F1 CALENDAR IN FULL:
ROUND 13 - BELGIUM (sprint weekend)
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 25-27 July
ROUND 14 - HUNGARY
Hungaroring, Budapest - 1-3 August
ROUND 15 - NETHERLANDS
Circuit Zandvoort - 29-31 August
ROUND 16 - ITALY
Monza Circuit - 5-7 September
ROUND 17 - AZERBAIJAN
Baku City Circuit - 19-21 September
ROUND 18 - SINGAPORE
Marina Bay Street Circuit - 3-5 October
ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES (sprint weekend)
Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 17-19 October
ROUND 20 - MEXICO
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City - 24-26 October
ROUND 21 - BRAZIL (sprint weekend)
Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 7-9 November
ROUND 22 - LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas Street Circuit - 20-22 November
ROUND 23 - QATAR (sprint weekend)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Rip up the benefits system and start again
As a fan of Jeremy Clarkson's writing I asked ChatGPT to compose, 'in the style of Jeremy Clarkson', some thoughts on a monstrosity reported often enough in this newspaper: the state-funded Motability scheme. AI's Clarkson impersonation began. 'Disabled? Have a BMW on me.' Sharp and amusing; but not what I want to say. You cannot (I maintain) get to grips with where state assistance has ended up without getting to grips with where it started. My column takes the Motability scheme as an illustration of this wider argument. Let me set out how we got to a situation in which one fifth of all new car sales in Britain are Motability cars, and disabled claimants whose conditions range from acne to neurodiversity may indeed get all or part of the cost of a new car that is replaceable every three years. Outrageous? Well, I think so. But we got here by a series of 'if — then' judgments, each of which has seemed fair and rational at the time. Read on, and tell me which was a misstep … • Just 900 people on top-level benefits joined work coach scheme in June We start just after the end of the Second World War, from which many servicemen returned disabled. The Labour government hit upon what became known as the Invacar (older readers may remember those weird little one-person, pale blue three-wheelers) for those war-wounded who could neither walk easily nor afford a conventional private car. Fair enough, don't you think? Invacar production continued for decades as governments of both parties introduced disability benefits for those who struggled to get about; and whether a disability stemmed from war service or some other cause seemed irrelevant. A system of disability benefits evolved which entitled all seriously mobility-impaired claimants access to an Invacar. Fair enough, don't you think? But the Invacar was dangerously unstable, underpowered and could take no passengers. What if a disabled mum wanted to take her toddler with her? The mobility allowance that was introduced in 1976 started at £5 per week (more than £40 at today's prices) and has crept up to the present rate for 'enhanced' impairment to mobility: £77.05. Naturally, many claimants entitled to these regular extra benefits have wanted to use the money to get a proper car. Fair enough, don't you think? • Artist misled NHS about disability when seeking £3m payout So the government arranged for a company to be set up. Motability Operations Ltd deploys claimants' benefits to lease cars for them. Using economies of scale and financed by the individual's benefits, it gets a better deal with a simpler process than a claimant could manage individually. It oils the wheels and costs the taxpayer nothing. If the whole Motability scheme were abolished tomorrow, there would be no saving for the taxpayer. The mobility-impaired would still get the same benefits, but if they wanted a car they would have to make their own arrangements, probably on worse terms than the company can get them. Fair enough, don't you think? So here we are today. The company operates the largest fleet in Europe, spending almost £3 billion of taxpayers' money last year on car leases, insurance and breakdown cover. TikTok influencers boast about how you can get a new car virtually free; online critics mock a scheme to benefit 'bed-wetting boy-racers'; the benefit is available for acquiring even BMWs and Ford Mustangs; complaints abound about Motability cars' use for purposes beyond transporting the disabled; and The Times reports that the 'scheme now has vast eligibility, allowing people with anxiety, dyslexia, severe acne and Munchausen syndrome to claim. Hundreds of thousands of people receive the enhanced mobility award on Pip (personal independence payment) for mental health conditions, learning difficulties and skin conditions to get around.' Few across the whole political spectrum would fail to be disturbed. We on the right speak of 'the bloated state'. We talk about trimming, snipping, pruning, reforming, cutting back. But how? Reduce the benefits? That hits even the most appallingly impaired claimants. Stop the misuse of Motability cars for purposes unrelated to disability? How? Fitting vehicles with transponders would be impossible. Oblige owners to have the Motability logo painted in large letters on the side of their cars? Invite neighbours to squeal, or make DWP swoops? Cries of 'shaming' or 'Stalinist' would fill the air. So how about removing mental problems as a qualifying disability? But the most common, from autism to anxiety to depression may in severe cases be genuinely confining without a car. • Pensions sector seeks Gen Z talent amid recruitment challenges I've zeroed in on Motability only as a parable for the expanding reach and ballooning cost of benefits right across our welfare state. I read, for instance, that the Welsh government is introducing a prepaid subsidy card for those whose food intolerances add to their food costs. Things are spinning out of control. Indignant at manifest abuse, we call for a 'crackdown on scroungers'. We argue that the welfare state should 'sharpen its focus' so that it can 'address genuine need' and exclude 'the undeserving'. Yes, the undeserving predictably muscle in, and whenever the government gives there will be scroungers among those who take. But the core problem is not the undeserving but the deserving. The weight of their numbers and the burden of meeting their entitlements is in danger of toppling the whole economy supporting them. Kemi Badenoch was right to say last month that it's 'not about cutting bits of the state' or 'top slicing' spending. 'It's about looking at what the state does; why it does it.' I take my triple-locked state pension and concessionary travel pass, though I could easily manage without. But even as every such snipping around the edges dies in the Commons voting lobbies or falls victim to second thoughts at No 10, we still shrink from the alternative: abandoning the pruning shears and pulling things up by the roots. The scandal is that there is no scandal. Though cheating, gaming the system and over-claiming do exist, they're not the root of the problem. The root is that the state has taken on responsibilities it should not bear. Governments have tried to level the ups and downs with which time and fate may curse or bless any human being, but we cannot level that landscape; and even if we could, we wouldn't like the result. We cannot entitle everyone to compensation for their difficulties. Entitlement has crept, step by understandable step, too far. Hearts must harden. But I'm convinced that our fellow citizens are not yet ready for this. Your choice and mine, therefore, is between joining the bandwagon as it careers towards the abyss or adding our voices to a small chorus doomed to be drowned out until after the crash.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Motor finance victims urged to complain as compensation could hit £18bn
Millions of drivers could be owed a share of up to £18bn after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it will consult on an industry-wide compensation scheme. Motorists could receive a pay-out after it emerged many motor finance firms were not complying with rules or the law by not providing customers with relevant information about commission paid by lenders to the car dealers who sold the loans, the FCA said. The authority estimates that most individuals will probably receive less than £950 in compensation. The final total cost of any compensation scheme is estimated to be between £9 billion and £18 billion, the FCA added. Consumer champion Martin Lewis said in a video posted to X that millions of people are likely to be due a share of up to £18 billion. He told Sky News the consultation is 'likely to mean 40% of people who got a car finance deal between 2007 and 2021 will be due some form of redress, likely to be hundreds not thousands of pounds'. The consultation will be launched by early October. If the compensation scheme goes ahead, the first payments should be made in 2026. It comes after Friday's ruling by the Supreme Court on cases in which the FCA had intervened. While some motor finance customers will not get compensation because in many cases commission payments were legal, the court ruled that in certain circumstances the failure to properly disclose commission arrangements could be unfair and therefore unlawful, the FCA added. People who have already complained do not need to do anything, the FCA said. Consumers who are concerned that they were not told about commission and think they may have paid too much to their motor finance lender have been urged to complain now. Consumers do not need to use a claims management company or law firm and doing so could cost them around 30% of any compensation paid, it added. To make an initial complaint, the FCA says people should get in touch with their lender or broker, then the provider should send an acknowledgement within eight weeks. Under the FCA's current rules, it will not have to send a final response until after December 4 2025. But as the FCA is consulting on a compensation scheme, the deadline may be extended. If customers are unhappy with their provider's response, they can then complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service, the FCA added. The authority will propose rules on how lenders should 'consistently, efficiently and fairly' decide whether someone is owed compensation and how much. It will monitor if firms are following the rules and act if they are not. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, said: 'It is clear that some firms have broken the law and our rules. It's fair for their customers to be compensated. 'We also want to ensure that the market, relied on by millions each year, can continue to work well and consumers can get a fair deal. 'Our aim is a compensation scheme that's fair and easy to participate in, so there's no need to use a claims management company or law firm. If you do, it will cost you a significant chunk of any money you get. 'It will take time to establish a scheme but we hope to start getting people any money they are owed next year.'
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Premier League 2025-26 preview No 1: Arsenal
Guardian writers' predicted position: 2nd (NB: this is not necessarily Ed Aarons' prediction but the average of our writers' tips) Last season's position: 2nd Mikel Arteta vowed this would be a 'big summer' after finishing as runners-up in the Premier League for a third season in succession and the new sporting director, Andrea Berta, has delivered on a number of signings in his first transfer window. The question now for Arsenal supporters is whether Martin Zubimendi, Christian Nørgaard, Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyökeres, Cristhian Mosquera and Kepa Arrizabalaga can help them take that elusive final step to becoming champions for the first time since the Invincibles in 2004. The arrival of Gyökeres will certainly quieten the clamour for a new No 9 that has rumbled on for several years, although the pressure will immediately be on the Sweden striker to hit the ground running. Longstanding target Zubimendi should provide metronomic accuracy at the base of a new-look midfield that Arteta will hope can continue to get the best out of Declan Rice and rejuvenate the captain Martin Ødegaard, while Madueke will surely provide much better back-up for their talisman Bukayo Saka than Raheem Sterling managed last season and could also push Gabriel Martinelli for a starting place on the left flank. But even with the teenage sensations Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri having committed their futures to the club after enjoying outstanding breakthrough seasons, there remain concerns about a lack of creativity in the squad. A move for Crystal Palace's FA Cup hero Eberechi Eze could depend on players departing before the end of August to balance the books. Yet while Arsenal may end up paying more than £200m for the additions to their squad so far, seeing champions Liverpool comfortably outspend them after finishing 10 points ahead last season has left many fans wondering if they have gone far enough. The squad definitely looks stronger than this time last year but with other rivals also closing in, it could be make or break for Arteta. Ending yet another campaign without silverware was a bitter pill to swallow for Arteta, who celebrated his fifth anniversary in charge just before Christmas. A solitary FA Cup a few months later is not a fair reflection on the progress Arsenal have made since then – especially given the run to the Champions League semi-finals last season – but Arteta knows he will be ultimately judged on delivering titles. He made no secret of his frustration over the lack of cover in Arsenal's squad as the injuries mounted up last year. With plenty of reinforcements now added, Arteta must seize his opportunity. The surprise departure of Edu Gaspar in November disrupted plans for the January transfer window but Berta has provided some fresh perspective since joining in March. Arsenal's American owners, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, were rated as the most valuable sports ownership group on the planet in July at an estimated $21.3bn (£16.1bn) thanks to a portfolio that also includes the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and the NBA's Denver Nuggets. So funding another summer spending spree wasn't an issue after keeping their powder relatively dry last year. They – like Arsenal's supporters, who pay for one of the most expensive season tickets in the country – however, will want a return for their investment at some point. No Arsenal player managed 10 goals in the Premier League last season so the onus is on Gyökeres – who scored a staggering 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting – to fill the void. The only issue is that the 27-year-old never played in English football's top flight despite being on Brighton's books and then excelling in the Championship for Coventry. He will be expecting to get plenty of opportunities in a side that usually dominates their opponents in midfield but struggled to break teams down last season, drawing 14 times in the league. Having eventually opted for Gyökeres rather than RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko or Alexander Isak of Newcastle, Arsenal must now find a way to utilise his obvious strengths. It is highly probable that only Premier League regulations prevented Max Dowman from taking Nwaneri's record as the competition's youngest ever player last season. The attacking midfielder has been training with Arsenal's first team squad since celebrating his 15th birthday at the turn of the year and was described as 'special' by Arteta after coming off the bench to win a penalty in their pre-season win against Newcastle in Singapore. 'What he's done against this team in the time that he had on the pitch is something certainly not common to witness for a 15-year-old,' he said. Dowman is expected to be handed an opportunity sooner rather than later and it will be intriguing to see what impact he can have. Martin Ødegaard was the first to admit that his performances last season lacked their usual sparkle, with a return of three league goals his lowest since moving to north London permanently in 2021. The 26-year-old captain was also substituted on 12 occasions after missing part of the season due to an ankle injury as he struggled to find his best form. The Norwegian must rekindle his relationship with Saka that has proved so effective down the years, while Arteta will be hoping that Gyökeres can finish off some of the chances Ødegaard will inevitably create given the lack of other options besides the inexperienced Nwaneri and Dowman.
