Oscar Piastri secures dominant pole position for Belgian Grand Prix sprint race

Oscar Piastri secured a dominant pole position for Saturday’s sprint race in Belgium as Lewis Hamilton qualified only 18th.

McLaren’s Piastri, who holds an eight-point lead over championship rival Lando Norris at the midway stage of the season, saw off Red Bull driver Max Verstappen at Spa-Francorchamps to take top spot.

Norris could manage only third – a distant six tenths behind team-mate Piastri – while Hamilton’s troubled spell at Ferrari took another sour twist when he spun out of Q1.

Norris arrived in the Ardennes with back-to-back victories but it was Piastri who was in a different league in qualifying for Saturday’s 15-lap dash to the chequered flag.

The Australian will start as the overwhelming favourite to convert his pole into victory on Saturday, and in this form would appear unstoppable for Sunday’s main event, too.

“Let’s go,” he said over the radio after claiming his first sprint pole of the season. “That was mega, very nicely done.”

He added: “I had a scare in Q2 when my lap was deleted, but the car has been great. It is a track I love. It is my favourite of the year so maybe that gave me a couple of extra tenths. The pace in the car is really strong so hopefully we can have a good race tomorrow.”

Hamilton – who revealed here on Thursday that he had recently submitted two documents to Ferrari outlining why he believes they have failed to win a world championship of any sort since 2008 – was already on the cusp of falling at the final hurdle when he approached his last lap.

Hamilton was on course to do just enough to scrape through to Q2 but disaster struck when he lost control of his Ferrari under braking for the concluding bus-stop chicane.

The mistake, possibly provoked by his rear axle locking, sent Hamilton into a spin and scuppered any chance of reaching the next phase.

George Russell won last year’s grand prix but was then disqualified for being underweight. And he will line up from only 13th after he tumbled down the order in the closing stages of Q2.

It marked a disappointing day for Mercedes with Russell’s team-mate Kimi Antonelli spinning through the gravel before ending up 20th and last.

Former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is this weekend absent from a Formula One event for the first time in 20 years following his dramatic dismissal earlier this month.

Horner was released from his position 18 months after he was accused of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female staff member – although he was twice exonerated – and Red Bull’s dramatic slump in form. Four-time world champion Verstappen has won just four of the last 26 races he has competed in.

Occupying Horner’s seat on the Red Bull pit wall is Frenchman Laurent Mekies, and he oversaw Verstappen splitting the McLaren drivers. However, Yuki Tsunoda was only 12th in the other Red Bull.