F1 Belgian GP LIVE: Qualifying start time after Verstappen claims sprint victory

F1 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES

• Max Verstappen wins the sprint race in Spa; Piastri 2nd; Norris 3rd
• Qualifying at the Belgian GP is at 3pm (BST)
• Click here for the top-8 in the sprint
• PREVIEW: What does Red Bull without Christian Horner look like?

What is the start time for qualifying?

Qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps gets underway at 3pm (BST).

Max Verstappen celebrates in Belgium (Bradley Collyer/PA) (PA Wire)

F1 driver standings after the sprint

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 241 points

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 232 points

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 173 points

4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 147 points

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 124 points

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 103 points

7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 63 points

8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 46 points

9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 37 points

10. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 27 points

12. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 22 points

12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 20 points

13. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 19 points

14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 16 points

15. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 16 points

16. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 12 points

17. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 10 points

18. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 8 points

19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 4 points

20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points

21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points

SPRINT RACE REPORT: Red Bull start life after Christian Horner with sprint win for Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen won the first Formula One race staged following Christian Horner’s dismissal as Red Bull team principal in Saturday’s sprint race in Belgium.

Eighteen days after Horner was told his two-decade reign was over, Verstappen claimed the Red Bull’s first win of any sort since he raced to victory in Imola on 18 May.

Verstappen started second, but batted aside pole-sitter Oscar Piastri on the opening lap before keeping the world championship leader at bay.

Max Verstappen after winning the sprint:

“It worked out really well, we got it into turn 5. I knew it would be tough to keep them behind, cat and mouse, I couldn’t afford to make big mistakes. It’s a great result, very happy with what we did out there.

“You have to drive over the limit of what you think is possible, I’m doing 15 qualifying laps to keep them behind.”

(Getty Images)

TOP-8 IN SPRINT RACE:

1. Max Verstappen

2. Oscar Piastri

3. Lando Norris

4. Charles Leclerc

5. Esteban Ocon

6. Carlos Sainz

7. Ollie Bearman

8. Carlos Sainz

Oscar Piastri after finishing P2:

“I tried my best to snake my way through the straights and not give too much of a tow but didn’t have enough straight-line speed. Still a good result and points, it’s only the sprint race. A bit frustrating I couldn’t get past.

“The weather is looking pretty bad for tomorrow. We’ll have a look and see what we can do.”

Where did Hamilton finish?

From P18, Hamilton finished 16th - 30 seconds behind Verstappen.

A sprint stint to forget for the Ferrari driver...

Lando Norris, after finishing P3 in the sprint:

“A bit of fun at the start, maybe could’ve positioned myself better, but otherwise too difficult to get past Max.

“They drove a good race, looking forward to tomorrow.

“The Red Bull is too quick in the straight for us to catch-up, maybe some tweaks for us in qualifying.

“I’m not too fussed about sprint races.”

Max Verstappen on team radio:

“Very well done. Great job with the gaps and the battery, it was really nice.”

Max Verstappen wins sprint race!

Verstappen holds on to win the sprint at Spa!

An impressive victory for Red Bull - and a first under Laurent Mekies!

Piastri and Norris follow in second and third.

4-8: Leclerc, Ocon, Sainz, Bearman, Hadjar

(Getty Images)

Verstappen heading for sprint win (Lap 15/15)

The Dutchman doing so well here to keep Piastri at bay.

With a lead of around 0.6 secs, he has one more lap to survive!

Piastri under pressure from Norris (Lap 12/15)

It’s very tight between the top-three, with Norris now just seven-tenths off Piastri, who remains around six-tenths off Verstappen.

Can anyone make a move in the closing 5 laps?

Top-10: Verstappen, Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Ocon, Sainz, Bearman, Hadjar, Bortoleto, Lawson

Verstappen:

“I can’t brake on the peak!”

Issues for Verstappen at the top of the hill.

Piastri is very close now...

Verstappen staving off Piastri (Lap 7/15)

Piastri is within DRS range - around seven-tenths down - but can’t get close enough to Verstappen out in front.

Can the Red Bull driver hold on?

Meanwhile, Hamilton down in P16: “I’ve got no rear already.”

Top-10: Verstappen, Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Ocon, Sainz, Bearman, Hadjar, Bortoleto, Lawson

Lando Norris takes back third place (Lap 4/15)

Piastri can’t quite squeeze past Verstappen out in front but Norris takes back third place from Leclerc, cruising past on the Kemmel Straight!

The McLarens have such superior speed.

Verstappen leads (Lap 3/15)

Verstappen remains in the lead, but Piastri is right on his tail here...

Further back, just one spot made up from Hamilton (now 17th) and Russell (now 12th) at the start.

Top-10: Verstappen, Piastri, Leclerc, Norris, Ocon, Sainz, Beaman, Hadjar, Bortoleto, Lawson

Lights out!

Piastri keeps the lead at the start but Verstappen takes top spot on the Kemmel Straight!

It almost looked inevitable!

And Leclerc takes Norris for P3! They’re all away smoothly...

(Getty Images)

Formation lap!

This sprint race will be 15 laps long around a circuit with 102m elevation throughout!

Piastri leads the pack away - 18 cars, with both Alpines in the pit-lane - for the long formation lap around Spa-Francorchamps!

A reminder of the starting grid for the sprint race:

1. Oscar Piastri

2. Max Verstappen

3. Lando Norris

4. Charles Leclerc

5. Esteban Ocon

6. Carlos Sainz

7. Ollie Bearman

Pit lane. Pierre Gasly

9. Isack Hadjar

10. Gabriel Bortoleto

11. Liam Lawson

12. Yuki Tsunoda

13. George Russell

14. Fernando Alonso

15. Lance Stroll

16. Alex Albon

17. Nico Hulkenberg

18. Lewis Hamilton

19. Kimi Antonelli

Pit lane. Franco Colapinto

Sprint race coming up!

We’re less than 10 minutes away from the sprint race in Belgium!

Oscar Piastri is on pole and the huge favourite here, but he’ll have a tough job staving off Max Verstappen heading to the short run down to turn 1!

Lando Norris starts in third, with Charles Leclerc fourth.

With George Russell in 13th and Lewis Hamilton in 18th, there should be plenty of action at the back too!

Gasly to start in pit-lane

Gasly is going to have to start the sprint from the pit-lane!

Alpine say Gasly will not start the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race from the grid because of a suspected water leak on his car.

Given he qualified P8, that’s a nightmare for Alpine...

His teammate Franco Colapinto is also in the pits...

REPORT: Oscar Piastri on pole for Belgium GP sprint race on day to forget for Lewis Hamilton

Oscar Piastri laid down the first marker on a hectic weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix, claiming pole position for the sprint race on Saturday morning.

The Australian, who leads the world championship by eight points to McLaren teammate Lando Norris, is without a win in three races but was on the money from the get-go at Spa-Francorchamps, a circuit he has repeatedly labelled his favourite on the calendar.

After going quickest in practice, Piastri secured pole by more than five-tenths of a second to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who split the McLarens with Norris a notable six-tenths off his fellow papaya driver.

Full report below:

Lando Norris after qualifying P3:

“Not quick enough, I guess. It wasn’t the cleanest of laps but still quite a big gap to the top, not too disappointed or worry, just the sprint.

“I’m not too fussed, not the happiest of course, it is the way it is, just got to do some more work tonight - that’s all.”

Sprint race winner odds!

• Oscar Piastri - 1/4
• Max Verstappen - 9/2
• Lando Norris - 5/1
• Charles Leclerc - 25/1
• George Russell - 125/1
• Esteban Ocon - 225/1
• Lewis Hamilton - 225/1
• Carlos Sainz - 225/1

Jacques Villeneuve backs Red Bull this weekend in Belgium

“Spa could be a good Red Bull track,” said the 1997 world champion. “It's always been a surprise which car is quick and where this year.

“They're all so close. They're all so close to each other that if they hit it wrong, a couple of tenths lost, and instead of being in pole, you're P5, P6.

“You always know that McLaren will be there even on the bad weekend. They will still be in the fight. And then the rest, it's up and down. There will always be another team fighting for the pole, but you don't know which one.

“The reason I say Red Bull is because Max has shown also in Silverstone, he's capable of running with lower downforce. And on tracks like that it works, unless it rains.”

F1 constructor standings heading into Belgian GP:

1. McLaren - 460 points

2. Ferrari - 222 points

3. Mercedes - 210 points

4. Red Bull - 172 points

5. Williams - 59 points

6. Sauber - 41 points

7. Racing Bulls - 36 points

8. Aston Martin - 36 points

9. Haas - 29 points

10. Alpine - 19 points

Max Verstappen without his engineer this weekend:

For the second time in three races, Max Verstappen will be without his usual race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.

Lambiase is absent from the Belgian GP this weekend due to personal reasons.

Simon Rennie takes his place as the man in Verstappen’s ear in Spa.

Gianpiero Lambiase (left) is absent this weekend (Getty Images)

Full starting grid for the sprint race:

1. Oscar Piastri

2. Max Verstappen

3. Lando Norris

4. Charles Leclerc

5. Esteban Ocon

6. Carlos Sainz

7. Ollie Bearman

8. Pierre Gasly

9. Isack Hadjar

10. Gabriel Bortoleto

11. Liam Lawson

12. Yuki Tsunoda

13. George Russell

14. Fernando Alonso

15. Lance Stroll

16. Alex Albon

17. Nico Hulkenberg

18. Lewis Hamilton

19. Franco Colapinto

20. Kimi Antonelli

Laurent Mekies makes Christian Horner admission in first Red Bull press conference

New Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies admitted he does not know why Christian Horner was relieved of his duties a fortnight ago.

French engineer Mekies, previously team principal at Red Bull’s sister F1 team Racing Bulls, has taken over from Horner and is at the helm this weekend for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Mekies previously enjoyed a near-decade stint at Toro Rosso, the old name for Red Bull’s sister team, and also has experience to his name at Ferrari and the FIA.

Yet a brief Red Bull statement announcing Horner’s departure did not spell out the specific reason why the Briton lost his job, with drivers Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda also unable to give a clear cause on Thursday.

Full quotes below:

Toto Wolff: 'I will miss Horner... in a way'

Toto Wolff speaks to Sky Sports after practice, and he is asked whether he will miss his old rival Christian Horner following his sacking by Red Bull.

"In a way, yes. He was one of the main cast. I don't think he's gone forever, he could pop up in some other function – I need to be careful, he could rock up in the FIA then I'm really in the s***!

"He was someone that was controversial, polarising and not soft-washed. That was good from the entertainment factor and from that perspective he will be missed. His track record speaks for itself."

Toto Wolff and Christian Horner butted heads for many years (Getty Images)

VIDEO: Verstappen has spoken to Horner

Hamilton determined to deliver for Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton said he will refuse to join the list of champions who have failed to win the world title at Ferrari after claiming his new team is not firing on all cylinders.

Speaking ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton, 40, said: “I see a huge amount of potential within this team.

“But it’s a huge organisation, and there are a lot of moving parts. And not all of them are firing on all the cylinders that they need to be.

“That’s ultimately why the team has not had the success that I think it deserves. So, I feel that it’s my job to challenge absolutely every area, to challenge everybody in the team, particularly the guys that are at the top who are making the decisions.

“If you look at the team over the last 20 years, they’ve had amazing drivers. Kimi (Raikkonen), Fernando (Alonso), Sebastian (Vettel) — all world champions. However, they didn’t win a world championship. (Raikkonen did in 2007).

“I refuse for that to be the case with me. So, I’m going the extra mile. If you take the same path all the time, you get the same results. So I’m just challenging certain things. There’s still a lot of improvements to be made, but they’ve been very responsive.”

Lewis Hamilton is determined not to fail at Ferrari (Getty Images)

Sprint race grid:

1. Oscar Piastri

2. Max Verstappen

3. Lando Norris

4. Charles Leclerc

5. Esteban Ocon

6. Carlos Sainz

7. Ollie Bearman

8. Pierre Gasly

9. Isack Hadjar

10. Gabriel Bortoleto

11. Liam Lawson

12. Yuki Tsunoda

13. George Russell

14. Fernando Alonso

15. Lance Stroll

16. Alex Albon

17. Nico Hulkenberg

18. Lewis Hamilton

19. Franco Colapinto

20. Kimi Antonelli

Lewis Hamilton after his spin:

“I spun, there’s not much to say.”

“Tomorrow’s a new day. Obviously I’m massively frustrated. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.”

Yuki Tsunoda, who starts P12:

“Still probably struggling to drive, missed out by six-hundredths. Very tight. Tried my best.

“It’s getting there.”

Max Verstappen, after qualifying P2:

“Being P2 between them is a good result for us, we maximised that, I enjoyed it out there. The gap is very big but it’s not a big surprise.

“When you’re five-tenths off, we have to do our own race and see what we can do.”

Oscar Piastri after claiming pole:

“That was a good lap, a little scare in SQ2 with the lap deletion, but the car has been mega all day. This is a track I love, it’s my favourite one of the year, maybe that gave me a few extra tenths.

“The car has been in a good window from lap one. I feel like the last few weekends have been good from a performance perspective but not a result perspective, nice to get a result.”

CONFIRMATION: Sprint qualifying positions

Belgian GP 2025 sprint qualifying result (FIA)

Lap record for Piastri!

Piastri’s pole-setting lap time in SQ3 of a 1:40:510 is a new lap record around Spa-Francorchamps.

That’s 0.7 seconds quicker than Lewis Hamilton’s 2020 lap.

Some statement that!

Start times at the Belgian GP this weekend:

Times BST

Saturday 26 July

• Sprint race: 11am
• Qualifying: 3pm

Sunday 27 July

• Race: 2pm

(Getty Images)

Piastri:

“Let’s go baby. Big up, that was mega!”

Oscar Piastri on pole for the sprint!

It’s Piastri’s pole!

By more than four-tenths, Piastri takes top spot over Max Verstappen in second!

Lando Norris is only third, six-tenths behind Piastri.

4-10: Leclerc, Ocon, Sainz, Bearman, Gasly, Hadjar, Bortoleto

(Getty Images)

SQ3:

It’s not until four minutes to go that we have cars on track.

It’s going to be a one-lap shootout here - no margin for error!

SQ3 underway!

Eight minutes then as we decide the top-10 for the sprint race. All on soft tyres this time, compared to mediums before.

10 drivers involved: Norris, Verstappen, Leclerc, Ocon, Bortoleto, Gasly, Bearman, Sainz, Hadjar, Piastri

FIA:

“SQ3 will start at 4:18pm (BST).”

George Russell, after qualifying 13th:

“My laps felt terrible. We saw some damage in the car, we need to see if that’s the reason.

“As soon as I went through the gravel, the car didn’t feel the same. It’s only the sprint race, can make some progress tomorrow.”

VIDEO: Lewis Hamilton's spin at the final chicane

FIA:

“Start of SQ2 is delayed by a few minutes in order to allow marshals to sweep gravel on track in a couple of areas.”

Kimi Antonelli on team radio:

“Yeah, sorry I had no grip.”

F1 constructor standings

McLaren are dominating the constructor standings thus far.

1. McLaren - 460 points

2. Ferrari - 222 points

3. Mercedes - 210 points

4. Red Bull - 172 points

5. Williams - 59 points

6. Sauber - 41 points

7. Racing Bulls - 36 points

8. Aston Martin - 36 points

9. Haas - 29 points

10. Alpine - 19 points

McLaren have been dominating podiums this season (Getty Images)

F1 driver standings

Here is how they stand at the halfway point this season, with 12 races completed at 12, including Spa this weekend, to come:

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 234 points

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 226 points

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 165 points

4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 147 points

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 119 points

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 103 points

7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 63 points

8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 46 points

9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 37 points

10. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 23 points

12. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 21 points

12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 20 points

13. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 19 points

14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 16 points

15. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 13 points

16. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 12 points

17. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 10 points

18. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 6 points

19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 4 points

20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points

21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points

Still to come this weekend

Sprint qualifying is coming up this afternoon, ahead of tomorrow’s sprint race. Here’s what’s coming up this weekend at Spa:

All times BST

Friday 25 July

• Sprint qualifying: 3:30pm

Saturday 26 July

• Sprint race: 11am
• Qualifying: 3pm

Sunday 27 July

• Race: 2pm

Wolff dismisses Verstappen links: 'That's Prost-Senna'

Could Verstappen and Russell be teammates at Mercedes next season?

"This is all a long-shot, far-fetched. I want to stay with Kimi and George as it stands. Everything else is not realistic. If you have a Russell-Verstappen line-up, that's Prost-Senna."

Wolff defends Mercedes' role

Did Mercedes’ attempts to woo Verstappen force Red Bull’s hand?

"No. There is much more in the background that we probably don't know with Red Bull.

"Looking after drivers, in my position as team principal of Mercedes, I need to explore what Max is going to do in the next few years, not only next year."

Racing for Anthoine

The annual run in memory of Anthoine Hubert (2019) and Dilano van ‘t Hoff (2023), who both passed away while racing at Spa, took place on Thursday evening.

Around 200 people across the paddock ran (or cycled) a lap of the 7km track, pausing at the spots where Hubert and van ‘t Hoff crashed.

It was one of the most touching moments I’ve experienced in the sport.

(Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

F1 driver standings heading into Belgian GP:

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 234 points

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 226 points

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 165 points

4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 147 points

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 119 points

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 103 points

7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 63 points

8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 46 points

9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 37 points

10. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 23 points

12. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 21 points

12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 20 points

13. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 19 points

14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 16 points

15. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 13 points

16. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 12 points

17. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 10 points

18. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 6 points

19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 4 points

20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points

21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points

Belgian Grand Prix:

A foggy drive on the way in, through the wonders of the Ardennes forest, has now made way for sunshine at Spa-Francorchamps.

Fog suspended the F3 practice session this morning, given the medical helicopter couldn’t fly in, but the F2 practice session is in full swing as we speak.

A few hours until FP1, at 11:30am BST.