Belgian Grand Prix 2025: Lando Norris Claims Pole, McLaren Lock-Out Front Row
Lando Norris fended off increasing pressure from his McLaren teammate and series leader Oscar Piastri on Saturday to secure pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix. The 25-year-old Briton, whose mother Cisca is Belgian, put aside his struggles from Friday to achieve a best lap of one minute and 40.562 seconds, narrowly beating Australian Piastri by 0.085 seconds as McLaren secured a convincing front-row lock-out.
This marked Norris's fourth pole position of the year and the 13th of his career. Charles Leclerc qualified third with a late improved lap, enabling him to surpass defending world champion Max Verstappen's best effort for Red Bull.
Alex Albon was fifth for Williams, ahead of Mercedes' George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull, Racing Bulls' rookies Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, and Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton did not make it out of the Q1 session for Ferrari and will start Sunday's 44-lap race from 16th on the grid. He will be alongside Mercedes' rookie Kimi Antonelli, who was 18th, and two-time champion Fernando Alonso, who will start 19th for Aston Martin.
'It was a decent lap and I'm happy," said Norris. 'Everyone was a bit worried after yesterday, but I wasn't that far off. There were just a few little issues we had. I was confident that I could get back to the top."
Piastri, who had been faster than Norris in Friday's action, said: 'It's a bit disappointing. The second lap was coming together well and then I made a mistake into turn 14 and lost a lot of time. The car was very good again, but it's about fine margins."
Leclerc expressed surprise at his time. 'I didn't expect it. We thought we were a lot more behind. We thought we had something more in the car with the upgrade, but it was a good lap. It takes time to maximise those upgrades."
After a masterclass from Verstappen in the sprint race earlier, Red Bull opted to change his 'skinny' rear wing to a larger high-downforce version, anticipating heavy rain on Sunday at the Ardennes circuit. Norris found his pace to clock 1:41.010, six-tenths better than the Ferrari, followed by Piastri two-tenths down in second, with the McLaren duo showcasing their intent under grey skies before a frantic finale. Hamilton found a late survival lap which was promptly deleted for exceeding track limits.
That left Gabriel Bortoleto 15th for Sauber and eliminated the Ferrari driver along with Alpine's Franco Colapinto, Mercedes' rookie Antonelli, who replaced Hamilton, and the two Aston Martins of Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Q2 began with everyone on softs and Verstappen fastest, trimming Norris's time, before Piastri and Norris took over for the opening runs. The Dutchman chose not to run again, leaving the usual suspects a clear run to the top-ten shootout while the Haas pair Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman exited along with Alpine's Pierre Gasly, Hulkenberg, and Sainz.
Russell, who was stripped of victory last year due to an underweight car, was first out for Q3, but Verstappen once again topped the times before the McLarens showcased their strength, with Norris beating Piastri by 0.189 on their first runs.
Verstappen's final run on fresh softs was not enough to resist an improved lap from Leclerc. Piastri also failed to improve, leaving Norris to claim pole position.
'Oh my god, that was really, really bad," said Verstappen, as a rise in track temperature beyond 40 degrees hampered his performance.
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