Hello and welcome to this Total Motorsport live blog for Qualifying at the F1 2025 Belgian GP from the most beautiful circuit in the world, Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
As the drama of the Sprint has faded, attention now shifts to the main event with drivers and teams preparing for a crucial session that will determine Sunday’s starting grid
For Max Verstappen, it’s another chance to thrill the local fans and carry on from the sprint, while Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris aim to convert McLaren’s promising form into a front-row start. Meanwhile, Ferrari and Mercedes will be desperate to close the gap after being outpaced in recent sessions.
Total-Motorsport.com’s F1 2025 Belgian GP live updates for Qualifying will bring you real-time news, and team developments, as the focus turns to the weekend’s main race. Stay with us as we bring you all the latest from Spa.
F1 Belgian GP 2025 Qualifying LIVE: Latest Updates
Norris reacts to fourth pole of the season
Lando Norris takes his fourth pole position for the F1 2025 season at the Belgian Grand Prix and now has a great opportunity to close up in the drivers’ standings, if he can keep Oscar Piastri behind in what appears to be wet conditions on Sunday in Spa.
How does he feel about the lap? He takes a subtle dig at his critics as he reacts…
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“It was a decent lap, so happy,” Norris told F1 TV. “Everyone was pretty worried after yesterday. I wasn’t even that far off, it was just a couple of little issues that we had.
“So I was confident after yesterday and confident coming into today so it was nice to see I could get back to the top. Three tenths is just slipstream and not being first out of the pit lane.
“So it was nothing to worry about. But people like to make a lot of things up, but I felt good. The car has been flying all weekend, Oscar has been doing a good job all weekend, so we are pushing each other a lot.”
Lando Norris on pole for Belgian Grand Prix!
Lando Norris does just enough on his first run to shrug off the challenge of his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, by 0.085 and that gives him the advantage for Sunday’s race.
Although with the run down to the Kemmel Straight, Piastri will fancy his chances of biting back depending on how the rain interferes with the race…
Meanwhile Charles Leclerc pips Max Verstappen to fourth and that’s an excellent lap from Alex Albon in the Williams to go fifth, ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell! Superb stuff from the Thai-Brit.
Here come the final runs: Who will take pole in Spa?
Lando Norris has the advantage but can McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fight back?
Will we even see a surprise result from further down the field? That’s unlikely but in Formula 1, you never know…
Stay tuned with Total-Motorsport.com.
First runs on the board: Norris on provisional pole
Lando Norris puts a 1:40.562 to go to the top of the times ahead of his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, in what is a big of an upset based on previous one-lap efforts.
Can the Australian respond? Max Verstappen slots into third and is half-a-second off, but he is yet to run a set of new softs and felt his lap was difficult.
Then comes: Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, Alex Albon, Isack Hadjar and Bortoleto.
The latter, running for Sauber, just had his lap time deleted for track limits at the Pouhon corner.
GREEN FLAG: Q3 begins
Drivers have just 10 minutes to get their best times on the boards as they all duel it out for pole position for Sunday’s 2025 Belgian Grand Prix.
Who will be the quickest man at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps? Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris or Red Bull’s Max Verstappen?
Find out here with Total-Motorsport.com.
OUT IN Q2: Double Haas exit in Spa
Haas can’t quite find the time they need to book their spot in Q3 and both Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman are out of qualifying at the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix.
It’s another great performance by Gabriel Bortoleto in the Sauber, as the young Brazilian makes the cut for the Top 10!
OUT in Q2: Sainz (Williams/15th), Hulkenberg (Sauber), Gasly (Alpine), Bearman (Haas), and Ocon (Haas).
Out in Q1: Stroll (Aston Martin/20th), Alonso (Aston Martin), Antonelli (Mercedes), Colapinto (Alpine) and Hamilton (Ferrari).
Final runs starting
This is it now. Do or don’t.
Five more drivers will be kicked out of qualifying but who will it be?
Find out here with Total-Motorsport.com.
Five minutes to go: Who is in trouble in Q2?
The final runs are due up with Oscar Piastri holding a slender advantage over Lando Norris once again, with Max Verstappen, as ever, back in third place.
But the real part of Q2 to watch out for is who is running last in the order as they look to make it through to the final part of qualifying.
So far, the bottom five are: Bearman (Haas/15th), Sainz (Williams), Gasly (Alpine), Bortoleto (Sauber) and Hulkenberg (Sauber).
Eight minutes to go: Huge moment for Bearman
Oliver Bearman has to catch a big snap on his Haas car and almost loses the rear, but the young Brit scoops it up.
He would’ve been straight into the wall if he didn’t manage to gather it together. It does mean he’s the only man without a time on the board.
So it’s going to be a huge lap for him when he comes back out of the pits.
10 minutes to go: Piastri tops times from Norris
Oscar Piastri’s 1:40.626 is good enough to stay ahead of Lando Norris by 0.089, although the McLarens have now pulled away from Red Bull.
Max Verstappen’s 0.325 off – but did he do a conservative lap? The Dutchman is capable of magic so keep an eye on him.
Charles Leclerc slots into fourth in the meantime.
GREEN FLAG: Q2 begins
That was a dramatic end to the first part of qualifying as Lewis Hamilton is kicked out for track limits at the top of Eau Rouge – disaster for Ferrari!
Gabriel Bortoleto is now into Q2 for Sauber and can try his hand to get himself into the Top 10 in Q3 as the session gets underway with 14 minutes on the clock.
Out in Q1: Stroll (Aston Martin/20th), Alonso (Aston Martin), Antonelli (Mercedes), Colapinto (Alpine) and Hamilton (Ferrari).
BREAKING: HAMILTON OUT IN Q1
Lewis Hamilton has his lap-time deleted for track limits at the top of Eau Rouge as he goes fractionally out of track limits.
However, rules are rules and he is out of qualifying and will start the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix from 16th on the grid.
He had solid pace and was narrowly slower than Charles Leclerc but that’s his afternoon over. He now needs to recover on Sunday.
Gabriel Bortoleto is through into Q2 in his place for Sauber.
Q1 ENDS: Kimi Antonelli out of qualifying for Mercedes
The pressure is beginning to mount on Kimi Antonelli in his Mercedes career as he suffers his first Q1 exit since the season opener all the way back in Australia. Will he fight back tomorrow?
Lewis Hamilton improves at the very death to book his passage through to Q2 and George Russell also edged himself away from danger too.
Out in Q1: Stroll (Aston Martin/20th), Alonso (Aston Martin), Antonelli (Mercedes), Colapinto (Alpine) and Bortoleto (Sauber).
Four minutes to go: Who is at risk?
Lando Norris tops the times with a 1:41.010 in Belgium’s Ardennes Forest to lead Oscar Piastri by 0.191, with Charles Leclerc well off in third.
But the important question in this Q1 period is who is at risk of elimination? So far it’s Bortoleto in 20th, then comes Antonelli, Stroll, Russell and Colapinto.
Both Mercedes cars are in trouble…
Six minutes to go: Crazy track evolution
Oscar Piastri’s first lap was a banker to make sure he was safe but the track quickly evolves and they all have to go again in Spa.
The McLaren pair and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull have already been shuffled far down the order as Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari takes over at the top.
Being out there is key to success at the moment.
Nine minutes to go: Solid lap from Verstappen
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is running a higher downforce rear-wing now in a bid to prepare for the rainy conditions expected on Sunday.
It’s the first time he’s had the extra grip on his car and he moves straight between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris with his first run.
It’s a solid lap from the Dutchman.
12 minutes to go: Sainz aborts first lap
Carlos Sainz hasn’t been quite at harmony with his Williams since making the move from Ferrari and he aborts his first lap in Spa.
However, it’s a strategic decision. He was on old softs as the drivers look to figure out where the grip is.
We’ll see what the Spaniard can do shortly as Oscar Piastri goes to the top of the times with a 1:41.998.
GREEN FLAG: Incidents already
Fernando Alonso hits the brakes to avoid running into the back of Oliver Bearman’s Haas as they move into the fast lane in the pits.
The Aston Martin driver claims he had to brake as hard as he could, so we’ll see what the FIA thinks of that.
Whilst Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll manage to tangle as the Sauber tries to barge in. It seems there’s damage for the German whilst the Canadian Aston Martin racer seems as though he’s okay.
Can Oscar Piastri smash his Friday lap?
Oscar Piastri’s lap on Friday was so good that it even eclipsed the pole position record of the W11 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, set back in 2020 by Lewis Hamilton.
With Max Verstappen and Lando Norris close, the Australian will need another big lap if he wants to secure pole for the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix.
So can he do so? Find out in just under 10 minutes in Belgium.
Can Ferrari fight back?
A new rear suspension upgrade offered hopes that Ferrari could find themselves in the mix at the front, but it didn’t work out that way for Lewis Hamilton.
Out in SQ1, the Brit could only go on to finish 16th. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc came home in fourth but a long way behind the leading trio.
With a slight relaxing of parc ferme, can Ferrari get back into the mix at the sharp end of the field?
Lando Norris had to make amends in the Sprint – Can be now bag pole glory?
A tough Lap 1 allowed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to get the jump on McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Although he fought back on Lap 4, it allowed Oscar Piastri to escape up the road and settle into a rhythm as he hunted Max Verstappen.
Can Lando Norris continue making amends by taking pole position for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix?
Find out in 40 minutes. For now, here are the highlights from the Sprint Race.
Welcome to the blog!
Max Verstappen won the Sprint Race at the Belgian Grand Prix earlier on this Saturday, but the true prize is the honour of pole position.
Will the Red Bull driver be able to fend off Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris? That’s a tall order after McLaren took pole by a remarkable half-a-second on Friday.
But if anyone can do it, it’s the four-time world champion.
Where to Watch 2025 Belgian GP Qualifying
For fans in the United States, Qualifying from the Belgian GP will be broadcast live on ESPN2, with streaming available via the ESPN app and ESPN+ for subscribers.
In the United Kingdom, every session from the Belgian GP, including Qualifying, is shown live on Sky Sports F1. Australian viewers can watch Qualifying on Fox Sports 506 (via Foxtel) and stream it on Kayo Sports.
Fans in other regions can also access live coverage through F1 TV Pro where available.
What time is Qualifying at the 2025 Belgian GP?
Qualifying at the 2025 Belgian GP is scheduled for Saturday, July 26. The session begins at 4:00pm local time (CEST) in Belgium.
That means the Qualifying for the 2025 Belgian GP begins at 3:00pm for fans in the UK, while those in the USA can catch Qualifying at 10:00am ET and a very early 7:00am PT on the West Coast. Down Under, it’s a 00:00am on Sunday morning AEST start.
