McLaren’s Lando Norris secured pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, beating title rival Oscar Piastri by 0.085 seconds in a tense qualifying session. Norris’ lap time of 1:40.562 earned him the top spot on the grid, while Piastri struggled with mistakes that cost him crucial seconds.
The McLaren teammates have been engaged in a heated battle all season, and this qualifying session only added to their rivalry. Norris expressed satisfaction with his performance, saying he was “happy” after executing a decent lap despite some minor issues. He praised his teammate Oscar Piastri for doing a good job throughout the weekend, and they are pushing each other hard.
Piastri’s struggles continued as he finished second, just shy of pole position. Despite his disappointment, he acknowledged that it’s fine margins in qualifying and expressed hope to improve in the final qualifying session. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc surprised everyone with a third-place finish, just 0.003 seconds behind Max Verstappen.
Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton was eliminated from Q1 after exceeding track limits, securing a grid position of 16th. Williams’ Alex Albon and Mercedes’ George Russell made strong performances, qualifying fifth and sixth respectively. Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda showed potential with his seventh-place finish, while Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson secured eighth and ninth spots.
Racing Bulls rookie Gabriel Bortoleto and Sauber driver Nico Hülkenberg rounded out the top 10, while Haas drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were eliminated. The grid is set for a thrilling Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, with Norris looking to extend his winning streak.
Source: https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/45803066/belgian-gp-lando-norris-leads-mclaren-one-two-qualifying