Lando Norris once again showed his excellent form by taking pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, which takes place this Sunday at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The British McLaren driver, second in the Formula 1 standings, will start from the front after setting a stunning lap time of 1:40.562, edging out his teammate, Australian Oscar Piastri, by just 85 thousandths of a second. Piastri currently leads the World Championship.

With this result, Norris claims his fourth pole of the season and the 13th of his career in Formula 1. The Brit is coming off back-to-back wins in Austria and at home in Silverstone, and he’ll be aiming for a third consecutive victory in Belgium.

Sainz, Alonso and Colapinto struggle in qualifying

In contrast to McLaren’s dominance, the Spanish-speaking drivers had a disappointing qualifying session. Carlos Sainz (Williams) could only manage 15th place, while Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) finished 19th, and Argentine Franco Colapinto (Alpine) will start from 17th. All three were eliminated in the first round of qualifying (Q1), seriously hindering their hopes for Sunday’s race.

Another major surprise was seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), who had a lap time deleted for exceeding track limits. Lance Stroll, Alonso’s teammate, also failed to advance from Q1 and will start last on the grid.

Thrilling battle expected for the win

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) secured third place, 338 thousandths behind Norris, and will share the second row with Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who was fourth in qualifying but won the earlier sprint race. Just behind them will be Alex Albon (Williams) and George Russell (Mercedes), lining up on the third row for what promises to be a competitive race.

Completing the top 10 on the grid are Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull), rookie Isack Hadjar (RB), Liam Lawson (RB) and Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber), all of whom will be looking to capitalize on any mistakes ahead of them over the 44-lap contest.

The Belgian Grand Prix, the 13th round of the season, will get underway on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. local time (13:00 GMT), covering a total distance of 308 kilometers on the longest track of the calendar.