16:20
10 poles from 10 for Mercedes.
Hamilton at Spa
© XPB Images
F1 Belgian GP LIVE: Qualifying reaction after Antonelli takes pole from Verstappen
Live coverage of Saturday at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Norris, Hadjar and Stroll take grid penalties
- Red Bull ditch 'Macarena' wing after Verstappen crash
- Verstappen fastest in FP1; Antonelli in FP2 and FP3
The tenth round of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes place at the Belgian Grand Prix.
One of the most famous tracks on the F1 calendar, Spa-Francorchamps has played host to some truly iconic moments.
As ever, teams have brought a number of updates to the track, with McLaren bringing a new rear wing to test on Friday, making use of the long Kemmel Straight for data gathering. This wing, however, is understood not to be McLaren's 'Macarena' wing, which was taken to Austria but not used.
After Max Verstappen's crash at Silverstone, Red Bull has also elected to bring a more conventional wing to Belgium. In the wake of his off, the Dutchman branded the wing "super-dangerous", with Red Bull committing to a full investigation into the underlying problem.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has warned that the Silver Arrows must fix their reliability woes, with Ferrari now breathing down the neck of points-leader Kimi Antonelli after taking two wins from the last three weekends.
Verstappen initially led the way on Friday, before Antonelli unlocked pace in his Mercedes in the second session, with it appearing as though there is little to separate the top four teams on single-lap pace.
Lando Norris, Isack Hadjar, and Lance Stroll have already had grid penalties confirmed for taking power unit components beyond the pre-set limits, with Fernando Alonso joining this number on Saturday morning.
2026 Belgian Grand Prix Saturday schedule
FP3 11:30am BST - 12:30pm BST
Qualifying: 3:00pm BST - 4:00pm BST
18 Jul 2026
17:00
Goodbye
For now, it's time to say goodbye for the evening. We'll be back with a full live text again tomorrow for the grand prix, but to keep up to date with all the latest news from the Belgian Grand Prix, keep an eye on Crash.net!
Until tomorrow, goodbye!
16:59
Russell at a loss in Antonelli battle
"Coming out of Silverstone, we thought it was in the driving style and technique. But we’ve finally concluded it’s not. And we’ve changed everything. It’s four tenths in the straights in Q3 and it’s frustrating. Every single lap, I’ve come in this weekend, seeing anywhere from two tenths to four tenths or five. In FP2 yesterday, it was seven tenths.
"The team are working so hard to understand what it is. We saw it as early as early as Austria, actually. We saw signs, but we always thought there was a reason. Sprint qualifying in Silverstone, we saw three and a half tenths loss. We thought we found the problem. So we keep going through this process of, 'Ah, we think it’s this'. We change it, 'Oh it’s not this. Oh, maybe it’s the driving style'."
Russell at Spa
© XPB Images
16:53
Leclerc reveals bizarre qualifying problem
"I'm a bit disappointed with that last lap because there was a yellow flag that was supposed to be for the pit entry, but that was too visible, in my opinion, on the track.
"It was very much in the middle [of the track], and, I mean, that probably cost me one position. I wouldn't have done a crazy better lap time, and half a second was still there, but one position would have been possible."
Ferrari could be in trouble with the stewards
16:47
Norris reacts to third place, before grid drop
"I mean, we've not really changed anything. We're just a bit quicker on this track. But, it's nice to be standing here, just not nice knowing I have to go 10 places back tomorrow.
"It's unfortunate that this isn't where we're genuinely starting tomorrow, because it would be nice to have a little fight with these guys. But we made the most of it. It was still a very good qualifying, a very good lap for me.
"So, honestly, I've been pretty happy all weekend. It's a little bit of a home race for me. So, it's always a little boost here, and I performed well all weekend so far. So, hopefully, we can still have a good race tomorrow. We can have some fun."
Norris greets the Silverstone fans
© XPB Images
16:44
Verstappen thanks Hadjar for qualifying assist
"It [the tow] was definitely helping me. Otherwise, I would not be standing here. Otherwise, I think you're like P6 or something. So, I think today, knowing that, of course, he had to start at the back of the grid, he did a really good job giving me a tow in the final sector, and that's why we're standing right here.
"So, for sure tomorrow, I think I'll be looking in my mirrors with the people around me, but at least today, I think we had a really good result. I think the car, honestly, has been quite decent the whole weekend.
"Of course, not on the level maybe as what Kimi was doing, but, yeah, we're happy to be on the front row with how we executed it as a team."
Verstappen at Spa
© XPB Images
16:42
Antonelli reacts to Spa pole
"It's great to be on pole. It was not a very straightforward session. The track changed a lot. But we were able to improve lap by lap to bring home pole, which was nice.
"But, of course, tomorrow is another day. Obviously, I have Max starting next to me, so it's going to be important to get a good start and then try to be ahead into turn five."
Antonelli celebrates his sixth pole of 2026
16:32
2026 F1 Belgian GP: Full qualifying results
2026 F1 Belgian GP: Full qualifying results
Kimi Antonelli will start the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position after topping qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps.
Antonelli put in a last-gasp effort to deny Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, with the former benefiting from a huge tow through the final sector from Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar.
McLaren
© XPB Images
16:25
Kimi Antonelli beats Max Verstappen to pole in red-flagged F1 Belgian GP qualifying
Kimi Antonelli beats Max Verstappen to pole in red-flagged F1 Belgian GP qualifying
Andrea Kimi Antonelli beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix as Mercedes continued its unbeaten qualifying streak in the 2026 Formula 1 season.
F1 championship leader Antonelli secured pole position with a spectacular final Q3 lap to end up 0.317 seconds clear of Verstappen, who threatened to end Mercedes’ run of qualifying success with a late improvement.
Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, 2026 Belgian Grand Prix
16:16
Verstappen is told to thank Hadjar for the tow, and what a tow it was. That really was the main reason that the Red Bull driver made it onto the front row.
16:11
Chequered flag
Antonelli will start from pole position, and the top 10 are:
- Antonelli
- Verstappen
- Norris
- Russell
- Leclerc
- Hamilton
- Piastri
- Lindblad
- Bortoleto
- Hadjar
16:10
Russell is half a second shy and will be fourth fastest at best.
16:10
Red Bull execute the tow but it was too close, and Verstappen lost time. He improves, but Antonelli smashes a 1m44.361s!
16:09
Antonelli is going purple!
16:07
The field all head out onto the track, and Norris will be the last driver across the line. Red Bull will try the same slipstreaming plan again.
16:05
Norris currently leads by 0.039s from Antonelli.
16:04
Green flag
Q3 resumes. Not long to wait to see who will get pole!
16:01
The session will resume at four minutes past the hour, and Norris is pushing to be allowed another lap.
15:58
Red flag
Gravel on the track at Stavelot after Piastri dips a wheel off the track. The clock stops with 6m6s remaining, and this won't be a long stoppage.
15:55
So Antonelli is on provisional pole, but Norris is the fastest driver.
15:55
But Norris, with his 10-place penalty, goes fastest with a 1m44.454s!
15:54
Oh wow, Red Bull has choreographed that nicely, with Hadjar giving the tow in the final sector, but he still is only third. Antonelli goes top with a 1m44.840s.
15:53
Verstappen is positioned directly behind Hadjar, but is too far back to get a tow.
15:52
Leclerc was second in Q2. Could he topple Antonelli?
15:51
Q3 begins
Here we go, and there's no messing about in Q3, as all 10 drivers file out of the pits without hesitation.