Oscar Piastri delivered a stunning performance at the Belgian Grand Prix, securing pole position for the sprint race with a record-breaking lap. The McLaren driver dominated the sprint qualifying session, outpacing his rivals by a significant margin.
Piastri's path to pole wasn't without its challenges. In SQ2, he had a close call after his initial lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits. However, he managed to scrape through to SQ3 by the skin of his teeth, finishing just 0.041s ahead of Liam Lawson.
In the final phase of sprint qualifying, Piastri unleashed his full potential. He set a blistering lap time of 1m 40.510s, which was a new lap record at Spa-Francorchamps. His time beat the previous record set by Lewis Hamilton in 2020 by more than seven-tenths of a second. Piastri's lap was a remarkable 0.477s faster than Max Verstappen's Red Bull, who will start the sprint race from second place. Piastri's McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, will start third, a further 0.141s behind Verstappen.
Speaking after his record-breaking lap, Piastri expressed his delight with the car's performance. "That was a good lap," he said. "The car has been mega all day. This is a track I love, it's my favourite one of the year, maybe that gave me a few extra tenths". He also acknowledged the scare he had in SQ2, telling his team over the radio, "Sorry for the heart attack. That wasn't in the plan, but the car was mega".
The result marks a significant turnaround for Piastri, who lost out on a win at the British Grand Prix due to a penalty. He has been in impressive form throughout the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, having also topped the practice session.
Several drivers struggled in sprint qualifying, including Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. Hamilton, who endured a disastrous first outing with Ferrari's key suspension upgrade, will start the sprint race from 18th place after spinning. Russell and Antonelli also failed to make it to SQ3, classifying in 13th and 20th respectively. Russell blamed damage picked up from gravel thrown onto the track by his teammate Antonelli in SQ1.
The stage is now set for an exciting sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix. Piastri will be looking to convert his pole position into a victory, while Verstappen and Norris will be eager to challenge him. The race will also be an opportunity for those who struggled in qualifying to make up ground.
