F1 2026: Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying Recap

Kimi Antonelli edges out Verstappen for Belgian pole

Kimi Antonelli has picked up his sixth pole of the Formula One 2026 after the Mercedes driver took pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix 2026 qualifying session. The Mercedes driver made it back-to-back pole after picking up pole last time around in Silverstone as well and pipped Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the very end in a close Q3 dash.

Verstappen will start on the front row with Antonelli while Antonelli’s teammate, George Russell will start on the second row with Charles Leclerc. Not only did the Mercedes, Ferraris and Red Bull show pace but McLaren were quick as well with Lando Norris threatening the rest but the reigning world champion will be taking a 10-place grid penalty due to PU change which will put him further down the grid at the start on Sunday. 

Here’s a quick recap of the Belgian Grand Prix 2026 qualifying session. 

Q1 – Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon miss out as Norris pips Verstappen to go fastest

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the quickest time of the session early on with his first flying lap before Norris went quickest with a 1:45.865s, which was 0.065s faster than Verstappen’s time. The Red Bulls showed strong pace as Isack Hadjar also was at the top half of the table in third place while it were Ferrari’s mechanics who pulled off an incredible shift to get Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari back on track after a late crash in Free Practice 3. The Racing Bulls, who brought a couple of upgrades to the weekend, also showed immediate pace as Arvid Lindblad were quicker than both the Ferraris, both Mercedeses and Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. 

With five minutes to go, both the Cadillacs, Aston Martins and Franco Colapinto’s Alpine along with Esteban Ocon’s Haas were in the drop zone. As the clock ticked down, Franco Colapinto got himself out of the elimination zone and it was Alex Albon missing out along with Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Pérez, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Albon missed out by 0.007s with Ollie Bearman’s final lap seeing the young Brit squeeze himself into Q2.

Drivers eliminated in Q1:

Alex Albon

Esteban Ocon

Valtteri Bottas

Sergio Pérez

Fernando Alonso

Lance Stroll

Q2 – Antonelli untouchable as Gabriel Bortoleto impresses again

The Alpine duo were first on track in Q2 and it was Kimi Antonelli with the quickest time early on as his 1:45.142s was more than half a second clear than his teammate, George Russell. Verstappen’s first time was him going 0.447s slower than Antonelli. No one was able to touch Antonelli’s time after their first runs as Leclerc came closest, being two-tenths behind Antonelli while Norris slotted in third place with a 0.312s difference to his teammate. Arvid Lindblad meanwhile continued to impress as he put his Racing Bull not only into Q3 but also went quicker than Oscar Piastri and George Russell.

While no one was able to touch Antonelli’s initial time, as the session came to an end, Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto, Nico Hülkenberg, Carlos Sainz and Ollie Bearman failed to make it to Q3. At the end of the session, Nico Hülkenberg’s Audi suffered a hydraulic leak which saw him stop on the track on his way back to the pits, which delayed the start of Q3.

Drivers eliminated in Q2:

Liam Lawson

Pierre Gasly 

Franco Colapinto

Nico Hülkenberg

Carlos Sainz

Ollie Bearman

Q3 – Antonelli pips Verstappen for pole

Verstappen set the benchmark with a 1:44.984s before Kimi Antonelli stole provisional pole with a flying 1:44.840s while Leclerc edged out Verstappen by going 0.53s slower than Antonelli. Antonelli’s time was beaten by Lando Norris, who put up a 1:44.801s, although Norris was set to take a 10-place grid penalty for putting in a new power electronics unit in Norris’ McLaren. There was a momentary red flag with little over six minutes to go as the ground staff were clearing the gravel put on the middle sector. 

The session resumed with a couple of minutes left as Verstappen and Antonelli got things going again. Verstappen stole provision pole but Antonelli answered back with a stunning 1:44361s, going three-tenths quicker than Verstappen to take pole for Mercedes.

Starting grid for the Belgian Grand Prix 2026 (before penalties applied):

1.Kimi Antonelli

2. Max Verstappen

3. Lando Norris* (will take a grid penalty)

4. George Russell

5. Charles Leclerc

6. Lewis Hamilton

7. Oscar Piastri

8. Arvid Lindblad

9. Gabriel Bortoleto

10. Isack Hadjar* (will take a grid penalty)

11. Liam Lawson

12. Pierre Gasly 

13. Franco Colapinto

14. Nico Hülkenberg

15. Carlos Sainz

16. Ollie Bearman

17. Alex Albon

18. Esteban Ocon

19. Valtteri Bottas

20. Sergio Pérez

21. Fernando Alonso* (will take a grid penalty)

22. Lance Stroll* (will take a grid penalty)