F1 Belgium Grand Prix LIVE: Mercedes teen on pole; Can Piastri recover from P6?

Key PostsWho will win the Belgian Grand Prix?By Hannah KennellyLatest Posts11.05pmLights out and we are racing By It’s lights out and away we go!It takes mere seconds and MAX VERSTAPPEN HAS taken the lead, overtaking Antonelli. But the Mercedes teenager fights back snatches it back.Moments later George Russell is hit, triggering a yellow flag. Meanwhile, those darkening clouds are looking more ominous. Light rain is starting to show up on the forecast and you’ve gotta feel for any spectators who didn’t bring their ponchos or an umbrella. It’s not just fans who are worried about the rain. Oscar Piastri has asked his engineer if there is any rain. 10.46pmThe all-important weather forecast By Hannah KennellyThe weather forecast doesn’t show any rain, but the darkening skies here at Spa paint a different picture This is bad news for Antonelli – who doesn’t have great history of starts – and fantastic news for Max Verstappen who specialises in wet weather and overtaking on the first corner. Lights out in 10 minutes folks!10.42pmTrivia time: How well do you know the Belgian GP?By Hannah Kennelly10.28pmWhat’s going on with Oscar Piastri?By Hannah KennellyHopes of back-to-back Belgian Grand Prix podiums aren’t impossible, but look far-fetched for Aussie Oscar Piastri, who struggled for pace during Saturday’s qualifying session after suffering mechanical issues earlier in the weekend.The McLaren garage was a flurry of orange shirts and concerned faces on Friday as engineers rushed to fix a hydraulic leak at the end of FP1, which required a gearbox swap and cost the Australian valuable track time.Oscar Piastri before quali. Getty ImagesAt a sun-soaked Spa during Saturday’s qualifying session, Piastri persevered to make Q3, but ultimately didn’t have the pace to challenge for a spot at the front of the grid and qualified seventh, but will move up to sixth due to grid penalties.When asked what was missing from his side, an honest Piastri had a two-word response.“Just speed,” he said in his post-race interview.“It’s not been particularly easy all weekend to be honest, struggling with the balance of the car, but today in particular it’s been a pretty big grind to try and get any lap time out of it, not an easy day, but we will see what we can do tomorrow.”Who will win the Belgian Grand Prix?By Hannah Kennelly10.13pmAntonelli celebrates dad’s birthday with Spa poleBy Formula 1 leader Kimi Antonelli celebrated his father’s birthday by taking pole position for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen alongside on the front row and Mercedes teammate and title rival George Russell right behind.McLaren’s reigning world champion Lando Norris was third fastest, but has a 10-place grid drop, promoting Russell with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, winner of the previous race at Silverstone, next to him in fourth.Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli secured another pole position, ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris.AP Photo/Omar HavanaMercedes have taken pole for all 10 races so far this season and 19-year-old Italian Antonelli has provided six of them.“Nice birthday present for your old man,” his race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington said over the team radio.10.10pmWelcome By Hannah KennellyGood evening folks and welcome to our live coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix. I’m Hannah Kennelly and I’ll be guiding today’s coverage. Normally, I’m tucked away on a couch in Melbourne at 1am doing this blog, but today dear readers, I am here at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps bringing you all the action.We’ve got Mercedes youngster Kimi Antonelli on pole followed by Dutchman Max Verstappen. Can a sixth-placed Oscar Piastri recreate his stunning 2025 Spa win and spoil the party?Grab your popcorn. The race kicks of at 11pm AEDT. 1 of 1