The British driver, fresh off his victory at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, set the fastest time in qualifying at Spa with a 1:40.562 lap, for his 13th career pole position.

He narrowly edged out the young Australian, Piastri, for pole by just 0.085 seconds.

Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri . Photo: F1

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured the third-fastest time with a 1:40.900 to edge out reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull. Verstappen, who lost time in the first sector, was just 0.003 seconds slower than Leclerc, but will still start from the second row alongside the Monegasque driver.

Alex Albon delivered a superb qualifying session for Williams, clocking the fifth-fastest time with a 1:41.201 to beat George Russell of the more fancied Mercedes team.

Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda enjoyed his best qualifying performance of the season, clocking the seventh-fastest time with a 1:41.284 – just 0.381 seconds off the pace of his teammate, Verstappen.

Max Verstappen. Photo: F1

Lewis Hamilton, driving for Ferrari, was knocked out in the first round of qualifying. The seven-time world champion will start 16th on the grid, while Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli will line up in 18th.

Aston Martin endured a disastrous qualifying, with both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll set to start from the back of the grid in 19th and 20th, respectively.

Speaking after securing pole position and gunning for a third straight win, Norris said being back on top has boosted his confidence heading into Sunday’s race.

Alex Albon. Photo: X

“It was a decent lap, I’m happy,” said Norris.

“I don’t know why everyone was so worried after yesterday. I wasn’t even that far off. It was just a couple of small issues we had. I was confident coming into today, so it’s nice to see I could get back to the top.”

Lights out for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa is scheduled for 15:00.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg