What is the Belgian pole worth? Warning from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff

Kimi Antonelli had already topped the timesheets in Friday’s practice sessions in Belgium and had also been fastest in the final free practice session on Saturday morning. Expectations were consequently high that he would also triumph in qualifying. And the 19-year-old from Bologna ultimately lived up to them – with a lead of just over three tenths of a second over Max Verstappen, who will start alongside him.

However, his first Q3 attempt had not catapulted the championship leader to the top of the timesheets; after the contenders for the top-10 grid positions had each completed one fast lap around the longest circuit on the Formula 1 calendar, Lando Norris had been in the lead. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was puzzled: “The first lap was anything but thrilling because the tyres were overheating. I asked myself: ‘Where on earth has all that lead gone?’”

“Then Kimi slowly but surely caught up again, the track temperatures dropped a little and in the end he was the clear favourite,” said the Viennese, who remains cautious about the race, however. And with good reason, as he explained: “It’s hard to predict what will happen next. Securing pole here on Saturday is brilliant, but I’m not sure I’d be keen to power through Eau Rouge as the pole-setter if I had to tackle that corner for the first time in the race. Because the others are right on your tail there.”

Commenting on the performance of Antonelli’s team-mate George Russell, who finished the session in fourth place, the 54-year-old said: “We need to discuss the issues there. He lost some time in the corners, but also on the straights – the time difference there is considerable. We’ve tried to identify the cause, but so far we haven’t been able to pinpoint it. Our goal is clear: we want both cars to be up there at the front.”

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