Kimi Antonelli in the Belgian qualifying session: the perfect pole position present for Dad

“Happy Birthday, Dad,” Kimi Antonelli radioed after securing pole position on the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The teenager from the Mercedes team had once again demonstrated his pace and talent, securing the best starting position for the tenth Grand Prix of the season. He had completed the 7.004 km lap in 1:44.361 minutes.

Afterwards, the driver from Bologna – whose father is celebrating his 62nd birthday today, Saturday – said beaming: “It’s brilliant to be on pole. It wasn’t a smooth session; the track conditions changed a lot. But I was able to improve lap by lap and take pole. That was brilliant, of course, but tomorrow it’ll be all about getting everything right.”

“Max Verstappen will be starting next to me, so it’ll be important to get off to a good start and be in front by the fifth corner,” said the 19-year-old, who gave himself a good assessment. “My final lap was good; I managed to improve significantly, particularly in the first sector. It was a good lap, but of course I could have found a bit more here and there. Overall, though, it was a pretty clean lap, and I’m very happy with it.”

Here’s how qualifying went:

It took just under two minutes for the first drivers to take to the track in the first qualifying segment. The grey rain clouds from the morning had cleared, so the battle for lap times took place under a bright blue sky and with an outside temperature of just under 22 degrees Celsius. The first to appear on the 7.004 km circuit were the two Cadillac drivers, who were practising slipstreaming, with Valtteri Bottas being the first to act as the ‘water carrier’ for his team-mate Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez. The Mexican then set the first fastest time of 1:49.307 minutes, a mark that was quickly beaten.

As the duo put their foot down, more and more drivers took to the track, and Red Bull Racing star Max Verstappen initially took the lead. The four-time world champion completed the lap in 1:45.930 minutes, making him the fastest – until world champion Lando Norris set a new benchmark with a time of 1:45.865 minutes. He remained at the top for the time being; even after all the other drivers had completed their first fast laps, he still led the timesheets.

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However, all the drivers still had the chance to improve their times. And apart from Norris, Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, who occupied the top three positions, everyone else headed out again. There were no further changes to the top three. Lewis Hamilton moved up to fourth place, followed by George Russell, Arvid Lindblad, Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli, Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson, who rounded out the top ten.

Gabriel Bortoleto, Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto, Nico Hülkenberg, Carlos Sainz and Ollie Bearman also made it through to Q3 in positions 11 to 16, whilst the battle for times saw Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Pérez, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who finished in positions 17 to 22, came to an end. It was a particularly bitter blow: Albon missed out on a place in Q2 by seven thousandths of a second.

A bitter end for Audi driver Nico Hülkenberg

Antonelli, who had finished Q1 in eighth place, went out early in the second session of qualifying and set a time of 1:45.142 minutes, which was 1.2 seconds faster than his best time in Q1. Verstappen was in second place after his first attempt, 0.447 seconds off the pace, but was relegated to third by Norris, who was just 0.312 seconds behind. The champion’s joy was short-lived, however, as Leclerc closed the gap to Antonelli’s time to just 0.255 seconds.

After the first Q2 attempt, it was clear that Lawson, Gasly, Hülkenberg, Colapinto, Sainz and Bearman would have to improve their times if they were to have any say in the battle for the top 10 grid positions. Hamilton also caused a stir when he pulled out four minutes before the end of Q2. He had secured fourth place behind Antonelli, Leclerc and Norris. Verstappen, Lindblad, Piastri, Russell, Hadjar and Bortoleto occupied the remaining top-10 positions.

In the end, Antonelli, Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton, Verstappen, Lindblad, Piastri, Russell, Hadjar and Bortoleto were delighted to have secured their places in the top 10 and progressed to Q3, whilst Lawson, Gasly, Colapinto, Hülkenberg, Sainz and Bearman, in positions 11 to 16, were unable to continue. Hülkenberg pulled over at the side of the track and got out. He then helped the marshals remove the car from the track. Radio communication with his race engineer revealed that the German had been instructed to stop the car due to a hydraulic leak.

In the final qualifying segment, everyone set off almost simultaneously and Piastri was annoyed by an Audi that cut in front of him. “That was three dodgy runs in one, I reckon,” the Australian remarked dryly over the radio. Verstappen set an initial time of 1:44.984, which was immediately beaten by Antonelli with a time of 1:44.840.

Strong pole-setting lap from Mercedes star Kimi Antonelli

Leclerc was also faster than the Red Bull Racing driver, coming within 53 thousandths of Antonelli’s time. Norris took the lead with a time of 1:44.801. The McLaren star had already secured pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix last year. The Briton topped the timesheets ahead of Antonelli, Leclerc, Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell, Piastri, Lindblad, Bortoleto and Hadjar.

Six minutes before the end, the session was briefly interrupted because there were pebbles on the track at Stavelot. These were quickly cleared from the track, so drivers were soon able to get back up to speed. After five minutes, the session resumed and, in the end, Antonelli was the lucky pole-setter. He covered the 7.004 km in 1:44.361. Verstappen had previously completed his lap, which was 0.317 seconds slower, despite getting a slipstream from Hadjar.

Norris, Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, Piastri, Lindblad, Bortoleto and Hadjar rounded off the top 10. Hadjar will have to start the race from the back of the grid anyway due to exceeding his engine parts allocation. Norris will also be demoted for this reason; he will start the race from 13th position.