Not even the red flag can stop Kimi Antonelli—he’s on pole at Spa. Leclerc and Hamilton have to play catch-up.

Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix, the tenth race weekend of the 2026 Formula 1 season: The Bologna-born Mercedes driver made the most of his final lap in a Q3 session that was interrupted—just as it was reaching its climax—by a red flag displayed to clear gravel from the track. Max Verstappen will start alongside the World Championship leader, finishing second by 317 thousandths.

Third place went to Lando Norris in his McLaren: a penalty will force the British driver to start from 13th position for changing his engine. The second row will therefore feature the other Mercedes, driven by George Russell (+0.508), and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, which edged out Lewis Hamilton by two thousandths of a second (+0.532 for the Monegasque driver, who, incidentally, was misled by a yellow flag displayed in the pit lane rather than on the track; the Briton was +0.534).

Between sixth and eighth on the grid will be Oscar Piastri (McLaren, +0.655), Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls, +0.782), and Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi, +1.267), while Isack Hadjar—already certain to start 21st due to an engine component replacement—failed to set a valid time in Q3. Eliminated after Q2 but still in the Top 10, in ninth and tenth place, are Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine). In eleventh through fifteenth place are Franco Colapinto (Alpine), Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), Carlos Sainz (Williams), and Ollie Bearman (Haas).

Meanwhile, Alex Albon (Williams), Esteban Ocon (Haas), Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac), and Sergio Perez (Cadillac), who will start between sixteenth and nineteenth place. The Aston Martins driven by Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, both penalized for engine component changes, will start in 20th and 22nd place, with Hadjar’s Red Bull sandwiched between them.