Oscar Piastri laid down the first marker on a hectic weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix, claiming pole position for the sprint race on Saturday morning.
The Australian, who leads the world championship by eight points to McLaren teammate Lando Norris, is without a win in three races but was on the money from the get-go at Spa-Francorchamps, a circuit he has repeatedly labelled his favourite on the calendar.
After going quickest in practice, Piastri secured pole by more than five-tenths of a second to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who split the McLarens with Norris a notable six-tenths off his fellow papaya driver.
As for Lewis Hamilton, a day on from his passionate rallying cry amid a disappointing start to his Ferrari career, he spun at the final chicane in the opening session of qualifying and will start a measly 18th on the grid for the sprint.
With only the top eight securing points, a fruitless 15 laps await Hamilton before the main event of grand prix qualifying later on Saturday.
But for Piastri, who has seen Norris claw back at his championship lead with two wins in a row, it was the perfect start to round 13 at this mighty old-school track.
“That was a good lap,” he said, after setting a time which is now the new lap record here, beating Hamilton’s time for Mercedes in 2020 by more than seven-tenths.
“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.
“The car has been in a good window from lap one. I feel like the last few weekends have been good from a performance perspective but not a result perspective, so it’s nice to get a result.”
TOP-10 - BELGIAN GP SPRINT QUALIFYING
1. Oscar Piastri
2. Max Verstappen
3. Lando Norris
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Esteban Ocon
6. Carlos Sainz
7. Ollie Bearman
8. Pierre Gasly
9. Isack Hadjar
10. Gabriel Bortoleto
Verstappen, in Red Bull’s first competitive session without Christian Horner at the helm, was satisfied with his afternoon’s work.
“Being P2, between them, is a good result for us,” he said. “We maximised that, I enjoyed it out there. The gap is very big, but it’s not a big surprise.
“When you’re five-tenths off, we have to do our own race and see what we can do.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton endured a day to forget as he trialled Ferrari’s new rear suspension for the first time.
After complaining in the weekend’s only practice session of “rear locking and instability,” he then impeded Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto at the top of the formidable Eau Rouge corner.
The 20-year-old Brazilian did not hold back: “What the f*** is Hamilton doing? He’s always in the middle of the track.”
What followed in sprint qualifying was calamitous. In need of a final push lap to make the top-15, Hamilton was set to progress before spinning at the final chicane, though replays show the error was likely mechanical.
“I spun, there’s not much to say,” he said afterwards. His teammate Charles Leclerc showed more promise and will start the sprint in fourth.
“Tomorrow is a new day,” Hamilton added, with rain on the forecast for both Saturday and Sunday. “Obviously, I’m massively frustrated. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.”
Neither Mercedes driver made the top-10 shootout, with George Russell impacted by gravel on track caused by a spin from teammate Kimi Antonelli. Russell will start 13th, with Antonelli right at the back in last place.
