F1 Belgian GP: Verstappen Wins Sprint, Norris Takes Pole in Dramatic Saturday Shake-Up

After Oscar Piastri shattered the track record in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying, Saturday at the Belgian Grand Prix brought a new twist in the tale, with Max Verstappen claiming victory in the Sprint Race and Lando Norris securing a sensational pole position for Sunday’s main event.

Verstappen Dominates Sprint Race at Spa

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen continued his dominance in the Sprint format, taking his 12th career Sprint victory at Spa-Francorchamps. The reigning World Champion led the field to the checkered flag ahead of the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who finished second and third respectively.

Despite Piastri’s record-setting performance in Sprint Qualifying, Norris had the final say in Saturday’s action.

Norris Beats Piastri to Pole in Thrilling Qualifying

In a tightly contested qualifying session, Lando Norris claimed pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, narrowly edging out teammate Piastri by just 0.085 seconds. Norris’ best time of 1:40.562 was just 0.052 seconds shy of Piastri’s record-breaking lap from the day before, but enough to secure his 13th career pole and fifth of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Front Row and Key Starters for Belgian GP

• 1st: Lando Norris (McLaren) – 1:40.562
• 2nd: Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – +0.085s
• 3rd: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1:40.900
• 4th: Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 1:40.903

It marks McLaren’s 12th pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix, and the first since Jenson Button’s pole in 2012.

Special Presentation: Pirelli Pole Position Award

Following his qualifying triumph, Norris was presented with the Pirelli Pole Position Award by Thierry Neuville, the reigning FIA World Rally Champion. Neuville, who clinched his title in Japan last year with Hyundai, has an impressive rally résumé: 175 WRC starts, 21 wins, and 72 podiums.

Tyre Strategy and Performance Insights

Saturday’s Sprint Race saw strategic variation in tyre choices:

• All drivers, except Franco Colapinto, opted for Pirelli Medium (C3) tyres.
• Colapinto ran on the Soft (C4) compound and showed similar degradation patterns to the Mediums across a medium-length stint.

In the main qualifying session:

• All drivers again chose Softs, except Colapinto, who began Q1 on the Medium.
• Twelve drivers used previously run C4 tyres during Q1, adding another layer of tactical nuance.