If you’ve ever doubted that Spa-Francorchamps is the grand old theatre of Formula 1, today’s 2025 Belgian Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying should put those doubts to rest—preferably somewhere in the gravel at Stavelot, alongside the shattered hopes of several big names. In a session that delivered more plot twists than a late-season episode of Drive to Survive, Oscar Piastri seized pole with a lap that will be replayed in McLaren boardrooms for decades, while Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ young prodigy Kimi Antonelli found themselves on the wrong side of history.
Let’s take a walk through the fog, the drama, and the numbers—because at Spa, the stopwatch is never the only judge.
The Lap That Broke the Drought
Oscar Piastri’s 1:40.510 in SQ3 wasn’t just fast—it was seismic. For McLaren, this was more than a pole; it was an exorcism. The team’s last pole at Spa came courtesy of Mika Häkkinen in 2000, back when mobile phones had antennas and Jean Alesi was still being called “the next big thing.” Twenty-five years later, Piastri’s lap was a statement that McLaren’s renaissance is no longer a press release, but a fact.
Piastri produced a stunning lap to claim pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race.
Crash.net
The Australian’s margin—0.477 seconds clear of Max Verstappen—was the kind of gap that makes engineers check their telemetry for errors. Lando Norris, in the other McLaren, was third, but a yawning 0.618 seconds adrift of his teammate. For a team that spent the last decade oscillating between hope and humiliation, this was a moment to savour.
The Table of Triumph and Tears
Here’s how the top ten shook out in the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying:
| Position | Driver | Team | SQ3 Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren F1 Team | 1:40.510 | — |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:40.987 | +0.477 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:41.128 | +0.618 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1:41.278 | +0.768 |
| 5 | Esteban Ocon | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1:41.565 | +1.055 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1:41.761 | +1.251 |
| 7 | Oliver Bearman | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1:41.857 | +1.347 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1:41.959 | +1.449 |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls | 1:41.971 | +1.461 |
| 10 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1:42.176 | +1.666 |
For the full results and session breakdown, see the official report at Crash.net.
Hamilton’s Nightmare: When Legends Stumble
If you’re a seven-time world champion, you expect the odd bad day. But Lewis Hamilton’s SQ1 exit—after a spin at the Bus Stop chicane—was the kind of calamity that makes statisticians reach for their record books. The last time Hamilton was eliminated in Q1 or SQ1? Saudi Arabia, 2022. Before that, you’d have to go back to the days when qualifying was a single hour-long session and the only “track limits” were the laws of physics.
Lewis Hamilton had a nightmare sprint qualifying and was knocked out in SQ1 following a spin at the final corner. The seven-time world champion will subsequently line up 18th in his upgraded Ferrari.
Crash.net
Hamilton’s misfortune was compounded by the fact that Ferrari, a team with Spa in its DNA, hadn’t seen a car eliminated in SQ1 since the sprint format’s introduction in 2023. If you’re looking for a parallel, think of Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari qualifying woes in the late 1990s—except this time, there was no rain to blame, just a rare lapse and a car that looked more “prancing donkey” than “prancing horse.”
Haas: The Surprise of the Season
If you’d predicted two Haas cars in SQ3 at Spa, you’d have been laughed out of the paddock and possibly offered a job at a rival team’s strategy department. Yet here we are: Esteban Ocon in fifth and Oliver Bearman in seventh, both delivering laps that will be replayed in Kannapolis for years. For a team whose best Spa qualifying results previously involved “not being last,” this was a watershed.
A sensational lap from Esteban Ocon secured P5 in his Haas.
Crash.net
It’s worth noting that, prior to today, Haas had never achieved a standout qualifying result at Spa. Their best efforts were usually measured in “how many cars did we beat?” rather than “how close are we to the front row?” Today, Ocon and Bearman changed that narrative.
The Rookie Uprising
Spa has always been a proving ground for young talent—ask Michael Schumacher, who made his debut here in 1991. This year, the likes of Isack Hadjar (ninth) and Gabriel Bortoleto (tenth) muscled their way into SQ3, while established names like George Russell and Fernando Alonso were left to ponder what might have been. The new generation isn’t just knocking on the door; they’re kicking it down.
For a taste of the atmosphere and the raw emotion, check out this YouTube overview of the session.
Verstappen: The Relentless Pursuer
Max Verstappen, Spa’s local hero and four-time world champion, was expected to dominate. Instead, he found himself second best, albeit with a car that looked much improved in the post-Horner era at Red Bull. Verstappen’s 1:40.987 was good, but not good enough—a rare sentence in recent F1 history.
Still, Verstappen’s consistency at Spa is remarkable. He took the first-ever sprint pole here in 2023, and today’s performance shows that, even when Red Bull is in turmoil, Max remains the benchmark. As the Dutchman himself might say, It’s only Saturday.
The Fallen: Mercedes and the Young Pretender
George Russell’s Mercedes was eliminated in SQ2, a result that will do little to silence the critics of the Silver Arrows’ 2025 campaign. But the real heartbreak belonged to Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes’ much-hyped rookie, who spun into the gravel at Stavelot and will start dead last. For a team that once defined qualifying excellence, today was a reminder that Spa takes no prisoners.
A spin through the gravel at Stavelot cost Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, leaving him at the very back of the grid for Saturday’s sprint race.
Crash.net
Historical Echoes: Spa’s Unforgiving Nature
Spa has always been a circuit where reputations are made—and unmade. From Gerhard Berger’s shock front row for Benetton in the 1980s to Johnny Dumfries failing to qualify for Lotus, the track has a habit of humbling the mighty. Today’s session was a reminder that, at Spa, the only certainty is uncertainty.
Consider this: McLaren’s last pole at Spa was in 2000. Haas had never sniffed the top five here. Hamilton’s Q1/SQ1 eliminations are as rare as a dry Friday at Spa. And yet, all these things happened—on the same afternoon.
The Numbers Behind the Drama
Let’s put today’s results in context:
- McLaren’s drought: Last Spa pole was Mika Häkkinen in 2000.
- Hamilton’s Q1/SQ1 exits: Only once before, at Saudi Arabia 2022.
- Haas at Spa: Never before in the top five in qualifying.
- Sprint Qualifying at Spa: Verstappen took the inaugural sprint pole in 2023 with a 1:49.056. Piastri’s 1:40.510 today is a quantum leap.
For more on Spa’s history of upsets, see the detailed analysis at PlanetF1.com.
Waste a Bit More Time
If you’re still hungry for drama, statistics, and schadenfreude, here are some links to keep you entertained:
- Crash.net: 2025 F1 Belgian Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying Results
- MotorsportWeek: F1 2025 Belgian Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying Results
- PlanetF1: F1 starting grid: What is the grid order for the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix sprint?
- RacingNews365: Lewis Hamilton heads big-name casualty list with shock early Belgian sprint qualifying exit
