Antonelli takes pole position at Spa-Francorchamps

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the 19-year-old Mercedes driver and championship leader, claimed pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit. This marks Antonelli's sixth pole position of the season and his sixth overall in Formula 1.

Antonelli set a blistering pace in qualifying, completing the 7.004-kilometer track in 1 minute, 44.361 seconds. He finished 0.317 seconds ahead of four-time world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who will start alongside him on the front row in second place.

Lando Norris of McLaren qualified third but will drop ten places due to a battery change penalty, starting from thirteenth. This moves George Russell of Mercedes, who is second in the championship, up to third on the grid. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari will start fourth.

Further down the grid, Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari qualified fifth. Several other drivers, including Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto, and Carlos Sainz, are affected by grid penalties, altering the starting order significantly.