Piastri takes dominant sprint pole in Belgium
Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen will join Piastri on the front row for the first race since Christian Horner was dismissed as team boss and replaced with Laurent Mekies.
Piastri lapped the Spa-Francorchamps circuit with a best time of 1:40.510 seconds, 0.477 seconds quicker than Verstappen and 0.618 clear of Norris.
The Australian is eight points clear at the top after 12 of 24 rounds.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc starts fourth but teammate Lewis Hamilton will line up 18th after a difficult afternoon for the seven times world champion, whose most recent win came at the same circuit last year with Mercedes.
The Briton spun on his last flying lap while on course to go through, with the suspicion falling on a failure of the car's rear axle.
George Russell, who finished first last year for Mercedes but was then disqualified for an underweight car, also struggled and qualified 13th.
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eNCA
36 minutes ago
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Hamilton holds hands up after 'unacceptable' qualifying
Lewis Hamilton blamed himself and said he would apologise to Ferrari for an "unacceptable" performance on Saturday after he suffered another qualifying flop, his second in two days, at the Belgian Grand Prix. The 40-year-old seven-time world champion, who was eliminated in first sprint qualifying on Friday when he spun at the chicane, repeated his disappointment as he qualified in a forlorn 16th place for Sunday's race. Team-mate Charles Leclerc qualified third after Hamilton had exceeded track limits in Q1 and had his best lap deleted. "It was the same today as it was for the rest of the weekend," said Hamilton. "We made some changes and the car didn't feel terrible. "It was tough for us. We had to put on our set of tyres just to try to get through Q1 so it's not great. "From my side, I made a mistake so I've got to look internally and I've got to apologise to my team because that is just unacceptable to be out in both Q1s. It's a very poor performance from myself. "I will start from where I am and see what I can do to achieve the best I can with what we have. This season has been a tricky one." Hamilton has won the Belgian race five times including inheriting victory last year when his then-Mercedes team-mate George Russell was disqualified after winning in an underweight car. Leclerc was upbeat and surprised to be third on the grid. "I'm very happy today and it's strange to say that because it's still three-tenths and it's only third place, but I did not expect it,' he said. "I think we thought we were quite a lot more behind (the McLarens). We knew we had something more in the car and obviously we had the upgrade this weekend, but we still struggled yesterday. "I had a really good lap and I'm happy with the car. It takes time to maximise the upgrades that we put on the car.2 Hamilton's success last year was the last of his record 105 wins from 368 race starts in arguably the most successful career of all time, but since leaving Mercedes for Ferrari this year he has struggled and has yet to claim his first podium for the Italian team.


The Citizen
3 hours ago
- The Citizen
Norris on pole as McLaren lock-out front row at Belgian Grand Prix
'Everyone was a bit worried after yesterday, but I wasn't that far off.' Pole position winner McLaren's British driver Lando Norris celebrates after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Spa, on July 26, 2025. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP) Lando Norris resisted mounting pressure from his McLaren team-mate and series leader Oscar Piastri on Saturday to take pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix. The 25-year-old Briton, whose mother Cisca is Belgian, shrugged aside concerns over his struggles on Friday to clock a best lap in one minute and 40.562 seconds, beating Australian Piastri by 0.085 seconds as McLaren reeled off a convincing front row lock-out. It was his fourth pole this year and the 13th of his career. Charles Leclerc qualified third with a late improved lap enabling him to overhaul 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 failed to make it out of the Q1 session for Ferrari and will start Sunday's 44-lap race from 16th on the grid in the company of Mercedes' mercurial rookie Kimi Antonelli, who was 18th and two-time champion Fernando Alonso 19th for Aston Martin. After victories in Austria and Britain, Norris will be seeking a third consecutive win to overhaul Piastri's nine-point lead in the title race. '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 I lost a lot of time. The car was very good again, but it's about fine margins.' Leclerc said he was surprised by his time. 'Really bad' '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 chose to change his 'skinny' rear wing to a bigger high-downforce version in anticipation of Sunday bringing heavy rain to the sweeping 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, the pair showing McLaren's intent under grey skies before a frantic finale during which 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 because of an underweight car, was first out for Q3, but it was Verstappen again on top before the McLarens flexed their muscle, 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 as 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 subdued his performance.


eNCA
3 hours ago
- eNCA
Farrell says win over Australia 'what dreams are made of'
Coach Andy Farrell said the British and Irish Lions' 29-26 comeback win over Australia Saturday was "what dreams are made of", saluting his players for the way they fought back. The tourists looked down and out after slumping 23-5 behind in the first-half at the cavernous Melbourne Cricket Ground. But they conjured an incredible turnaround with two tries in quick succession before half-time -- winger Hugo Keenan's 79th-minute effort sealed the three-Test series and shattered Australian hearts. "It's fairytale stuff. To leave with a win like that, it means everything," said Farrell after the nail-biting triumph. "The lads have dreamed of being Lions all their lives. To get to the point at the MCG with 90,000 odd people and win it with a dramatic finish like that, it's what dreams are made of. "We are absolutely delighted, we showed courage. "The drama and how it unfolded is what makes it so special," he added. Australia was a different team to the one beaten in the first Test at Brisbane, with dangermen Will Skelton, Rob Valetini and Dave Porecki all back from injury. Their added muscle made the Wallabies far more physical in the collisions, rattling the Lions with three tries inside eight first-half minutes before they tired in the second-half. "Australia said they were going to show up, and they did," said Farrell. "It was more than physical. They played some nice rugby and capitalised on our ill-discipline." Valetini failed to show for the second-half while Skelton departed soon after the restart. It was in their absence that the Lions were able to pull off the remarkable comeback. "It wasn't great, especially in the first-half," said Farrell. "We started with back-to-back penalties and yellow cards, and it really cost us on the scoreboard. "But we found a way back into the game, and that gave us confidence heading into the second half. And, wow -- what a finish." The series now heads to Sydney next weekend for what is a dead rubber Test but one the Lions want to win to seal a rare series whitewash.