The Saturday Formula 1 event at Spa-Francorchamps ended with Kimi Antonelli on pole position and Gabriel Bortoleto among the eight fastest on the grid. Max Verstappen secured second place, while penalties shuffled the starting order for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Antonelli confirmed the strength Mercedes has shown since the practice sessions and beat Verstappen in Q3. The Dutch driver acknowledged that the tow provided by Isack Hadjar was decisive in placing him on the front row, estimating a gain of about three tenths. Without the help of his teammate, Verstappen believes he could have finished only sixth.
Lando Norris registered the third-best time, but fell to 13th place due to a ten-place penalty for power unit component changes. As a result, George Russell rose to third, followed by Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Hadjar, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were also penalized, with the Red Bull and Aston Martin drivers occupying the back of the grid.
Bortoleto advanced to Q3 with Audi and finished the session in ninth, but inherited the eighth place on the grid after the penalties. The Brazilian again outpaced Nico Hülkenberg and will start close to the front group, behind Arvid Lindblad and ahead of Liam Lawson.
Hamilton enjoyed a recovery Saturday after a heavy impact in FP3. Ferrari managed to rebuild the car in time for qualifying, and the Briton secured fifth on the grid, though he said the balance wasn’t the same as it had been before the crash. Off the track, Red Bull designated Tom Hart as the replacement for Gianpiero Lambiase in Verstappen’s race engineer role.
