Championship leader Kimi Antonelli took his sixth pole position of the season and his career in Qualifying for the 2026 Belgian GP.
The young Italian advanced through Qualifying with relative ease, but the pole didn’t look to be a done deal with Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari looking close throughout the session. In the end, it was once again Antonelli who took the top spot, clocking in a 1:44.361, which put him three tenths ahead of second-placed Max Verstappen.
Speaking in the post-qualifying press conference following Qualifying for the 2026 F1 Belgian GP, Antonelli was pleased with his lap after struggling with the wind-affected balance of the W17 in the early stages of the session.
“It was a real qualifying because in Q1 I felt a bit lost because wind picked up a little bit and balance was a bit more on the edge.
“But then, obviously, the session came to us, and the Q3 was good because we did a decent first lap, and then the second lap found a lot of time.
“I feel like also the track was cooling down, and it was helping us a little bit.
“But it was a good lap, and now we’ll focus on tomorrow.”
Antonelli on the changes that allowed him to gun for pole in Belgian GP Qualifying
After struggling in the early stages of Qualifying for the Belgian GP, Antonelli said the team adjusted the front wing, but it was a “tidier” lap that put the Championship leader back into the fight for top positions.
“Front wing, just changed a little bit the flap, and that’s it. And also the lap was much tidier. Q1 was a bit all over the place.”
Since the start of the 2026 F1 season, the W17 has been the car to beat, particularly in straight-line speed. Despite their package already being strong, Antonelli says that Mercedes opted to bring a “package” that added to the already impressive straight-line speed. For the final Qualifying session, Mercedes tweaked the “settings,” enabling Antonelli to confidently push for the Belgian GP pole with an all-around strong W17.
“Well, we brought a little package that helped us a little bit even more on the straights. But sector two, the car still felt good. And especially in Q3, we did minor changes on settings and it helped me to gain confidence to push even more.
“So, it was good that we were strong in all the sectors.”
Looking ahead to the 2026 F1 Belgian GP
Asked whether he was expecting a battle for position during tomorrow’s 2026 F1 Belgian GP, Antonelli expressed his hope of being able to drive off.
“Well, I don’t know. Hopefully not. Hopefully, it’s just off in the distance.”
With the weather being a wildcard at the Circuit Spa-Francorchamps and overtaking opportunities right after the start, Antonelli feels it’s important to have a “good start” and management of the tyres.
“But I mean, we’ll see tomorrow. We’ll see what the weather is going to be like. For sure, it’s a long run into Turn 5.
“And then, of course, we’ll try to get a good start. But also, that is going to be fairly big. So just going to try to also manage those tyres the best way as possible.”
