Oscar Piastri Leads the Starting Grid in the Belgian Grand Prix Sprint
Australian driver Oscar Piastri, representing McLaren and leader of the Formula One world championship, secured pole position for the sprint race of the Belgian Grand Prix. This thirteenth race of the calendar will take place at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Piastri demonstrated his superiority during this Friday’s qualifying session, dominating and securing the first place on the starting grid for the sprint race.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz, competing for Williams, qualified in sixth place, while two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, of Aston Martin, will start from fourteenth position.
Argentinian Franco Colapinto, from Alpine, was eliminated in the first qualifying round and will start from nineteenth position.
Piastri achieved a time of 1 minute, 40 seconds and 510 milliseconds in the decisive SQ3, using soft tires, to cover the 7,004 meters of the legendary Ardennes track.
Dutchman Max Verstappen, four-time world champion, was 417 thousandths of a second behind Piastri, while Lando Norris, Piastri’s teammate at McLaren and currently second in the championship, will start third, 618 thousandths of a second behind the leader.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari will start from fourth position.
Esteban Ocon (Haas) and Carlos Sainz complete the third row of the grid.
The sprint race will award points to the top eight finishers, with eight points for the winner, seven for second place and six for third, decreasing successively to one point for eighth place.
Franco Colapinto, eliminated in the first round, will start nineteenth.
Oliver Bearman (Haas) will start seventh, alongside Pierre Gasly.
Debutants Isack Hadjar (RB) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber) will start from the fifth row.
