Max to start Sprint from P2: 'We maximised it'

Published on 25 July 2025 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen will line up second for the Sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps, which is scheduled to start at 12:00 local time on Saturday. The Dutch Oracle Red Bull Racing driver finished Sprint Qualifying nearly half a second behind Oscar Piastri’s time. The other McLaren driver, Lando Norris, finished in P3.

“Being in P2, between the McLarens, is already a good result for us. I think we maximised it. I enjoyed it out there. The lap itself was fine,” Max begins. “The gap of course is very big, but that’s been the case since FP1, so it’s not a big surprise. We just have to focus on ourselves and work on the balance of the car to try and go faster.”

When asked whether a lower downforce setup, and therefore higher top speed, might be an option, Max responds: “If you’re almost five tenths off, I don’t think being faster or slower on the straights is going to make much of a difference. We just need to run our own race and see what we can do.” As for whether the updates on the RB21 have helped improve the car, Max isn’t sure yet: “I guess so, but it’s always difficult to say during a Sprint weekend. We keep improving and trying to find more performance.”

Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix Sprint takes place under partly cloudy skies and with a pleasant 22 degrees. With just one hour of free practice earlier in the day, finding the perfect setup could be difficult.

Kimi Antonelli spins his Mercedes 360 degrees through the gravel at Stavelot but is able to continue. Lewis Hamilton also has a moment and slides off track: locking up into the Bus Stop chicane, he spins and fails to continue to the SQ2. Eliminated in SQ1 are Antonelli, Franco Colapinto, Hamilton, Nico Hülkenberg, and Alex Albon. Piastri tops the timesheets in SQ1, two tenths clear of Verstappen and Norris.

After a short delay to clear gravel from the track, SQ2 gets underway. All 15 remaining drivers are required to run the medium compound. Norris goes fastest, 0.17s ahead of Max, with Charles Leclerc slotting into P3. Out in this phase are Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, and Liam Lawson. Piastri narrowly makes it through in P10.

In the final and decisive segment for Sprint pole, drivers bolt on the soft tyres for a single flying lap. As the chequered flag is waved, it is Piastri who comes out on top, nearly half a second faster than Verstappen and six tenths ahead of his McLaren teammate Norris, who will share the second row for the start of tomorrow’s Sprint with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Contest Belgian GP: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing 2025 cap!

Results sprint qualifying Belgium: