Kimi Antonelli Shocks Spa, Undermines Red Bull Strategy and Hands Pole to Max Verstappen

Kimi Antonelli doesn’t want this world championship to get complicated. The Italian driver will start from pole at Spa-Francorchamps after a magical lap that stopped the clock at 1:44.361, ruining Red Bull’s strategy that seemed to give Max Verstappen the pole position. Antonelli emerges as the favorite.

The situation at Aston Martin remains dramatic. Nobody expected Fernando Alonso’s team to drop out of the two back rows in Spa, but what happened is increasingly worrying. They have fallen more than two seconds behind the next car, the Cadillac of Sergio Pérez, which leads to the thought that the Hungary upgrades might not amount to much.

Norris and Hadjar, penalized on the grid

Kimi Antonelli takes control of Formula 1 once again. The Italian driver sprinted to pole at Spa, delivering an impressive final lap that left Red Bull stunned, who were already counting their chickens after having nailed Max Verstappen’s strategy.

As Isack Hadjar will also start at the back for an engine change, Red Bull decided to use the French sophomore to give Verstappen a tow. And on the second attempt they nailed it so well that the Dutchman moved to first, but then Antonelli erased that smile. In any case, Verstappen will start second.

The other driver who had real chances to challenge Antonelli was Lando Norris. In fact, the champion finished first on the initial attempt of Q3, but failed on his second lap and ended up third. In any case, Norris carries a ten-position penalty for changing part of the engine, so he will start thirteenth.

The big beneficiary of all this is George Russell, who was further back but thanks to the penalties will start third. The downside for Russell is that he has not shown strong pace all weekend, so more than eyeing Antonelli he will have to defend from the Ferraris behind, with Charles Leclerc fourth and Lewis Hamilton, crashed in FP3, fifth.

In sixth place will start Oscar Piastri, who has been light-years away from his teammate at McLaren all weekend. Seventh goes to rookie Arvid Lindblad, after an impressive qualifying in which he beat Gabriel Bortoleto, the day’s big surprise who squeezed his Audi into eighth and into Q3, knocking Liam Lawson out.

Carlos Sainz cleared Q1, something his teammate Alexander Albon could not do. But he will start fifteenth, mingling with the Haas and hoping for an eventful race to score points. Aston Martin can’t even dream of that, with Alonso twenty-first and penalized for changing the battery, two seconds behind the best Cadillac.

Qualifying results: Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix 2026

Images | Ferrari, Mercedes