Belgium - Sprint Qualifying

After a three week break, Formula One returned to the TV sets, this time allowing the viewers to virtually visit the beautiful Belgium. The McLarens, not for the first time this season, were expected to be the cars to beat. But did they manage to prove their worth in the sprint qualifying?

SQ1 was stressful for all teams, save for the seemingly unbeatable McLaren. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were quickest of all after their first runs. They stayed near the top of the leaderboard until the end of the session, split by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. The session wasn't such smooth sailing for Mercedes and Ferrari. While Charles Leclerc and George Russell managed to move on to SQ2 relatively easily, their teammates both ended their day much earlier than they may have hoped to. 

Kimi Antonelli went off track during his first flying lap and ended up with no time set. He did try again, but had no grip on his tires and his effort wan't good enough to put him in front of any other driver. Lewis Hamilton managed to set any early time, but it was rather poor compared to his competitors. If he wanted to get out of the elimination zone, he needed to improve. Unfortunately for all his fans, during his second flying lap, he spun out of the track and parked his Ferrari in the runoff area. The incident brought out a yellow flag, which disrupted the laps of the drivers who were still trying to improve. In the end, Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, and Franco Colapinto joined Antonelli and Hamilton in the elimination zone. 

In SQ2, only a few teams decided to let their drivers onto the track from the very beginning of the session. While the McLarens, Ferraris, and Red Bulls tried set their first times, the others waited for their moment to come. While the first part of the afternoon was all but perfect for McLaren, the second quickly devolved into a nightmare. Piastri's first lap was deleted for exceeding track limits, and although he did end up going through to the next session, he did so in P10, only one place away from the elimination zone. The situation was even worse for Norris. His early effort was not good enough and his slowly tumbled down the order. He fell all the way to P11 before recovering through his second flying lap. Verstappen and Leclerc finished the session on top of the order, while Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, George Russell, Fernando Alonso, and Lance Stroll ended it at the very bottom. 

For the short SQ3, all drivers decided for a one lap strategy. The top ten of the weekend had only one chance to set the best lap they could and secure a good starting position for Saturday's race. Norris was the first car to finish his flyer, but Verstappen, who followed right behind, ended up being quicker and stole the provisional pole away from the Brit. His great effort, however, wouldn't be enough to convert it into the real thing. The driver starting from the very front of the sprint grid will be none other than Piastri. 

Order of the grid:

1. Oscar Piastri

2. Max Verstappen

3. Lando Norris

4. Charles Leclerc

5. Esteban Ocon

6. Carlos Sainz

7. Oliver 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