Racing
© fuji.tim
Kimi Antonelli turned Belgian Grand Prix qualifying into a clear statement about Formula 1’s 2026 demands, taking pole at Spa-Francorchamps after Mercedes best combined outright pace with the energy management that now decides lap time on the sport’s longest straights.
Spa had already pointed to the weekend’s central theme: this generation of cars is so sensitive to hybrid use that performance changes from corner to corner depending on how teams harvest and deploy energy. The contrast was most obvious around Pouhon, where one analysis cited speed swings of 15 km/h in Lewis Hamilton’s favor on the downhill approach and then 19 km/h in Max Verstappen’s favor on the exit as the energy picture flipped.
In that environment, Mercedes emerged as the most complete package. The W17 was described as quick where deployment mattered most, competitive through almost every corner, and better than its rivals at using power in the most profitable parts of the lap. That made Antonelli the leading pole contender before qualifying and, once the session settled, the driver to beat.
It was not a clean run from the start. Changing wind and the increasingly narrow operating windows of the 2026 cars complicated Antonelli’s early attempts, forcing him to adapt before he could commit fully. But once he found the right approach and started to push, the advantage was decisive. The summaries describe a lap in which nobody could get close, crediting both a Mercedes suited to Spa and Antonelli’s ability to execute exactly what his engineer required.
That same technical challenge helped define the fight behind him. Verstappen secured the front row by leaning on Red Bull’s distinctive energy choices, which had stood out through practice and qualifying. Red Bull was described as making a different switch at Pouhon, sacrificing speed on the uphill run through Eau Rouge before discharging at the start of the Kemmel Straight, and generally accepting compromises in more driver-dependent sections to arrive later in the lap with stronger energy reserves.
Verstappen also benefited from teamwork. Hadjar’s tow in the third sector was said to be worth more than two and a half tenths, indirectly freeing Verstappen to use more energy in the middle of the lap before recharging more effectively around Blanchimont. Combined with strong new-tyre usage, it gave him the best middle sector and established him as Antonelli’s first challenger.
Ferrari’s picture was less dramatic but still encouraging. Charles Leclerc remained with the lead group on a circuit that exposes any power-unit weakness, even though he was said to lose roughly half a second to Antonelli on the straights. Ferrari’s approach appeared almost the opposite of Red Bull’s, using more of its available energy in the first and second sectors and limiting the damage later in the lap. At Spa, simply staying in contention under those conditions counted as a solid qualifying result.
McLaren also showed that a different answer could work. Its high-downforce setup, built around Spa’s five open aerodynamic zones, allowed the car to be strong through the central corners without paying an unsustainable price on the straights. That made for an effective qualifying package, even if its race picture is complicated.
The bigger uncertainty now is whether qualifying form will carry into Sunday. Red Bull’s single-lap approach still raises questions over tyre degradation on longer runs, while Ferrari expects its SF-26 to be stronger in race trim than over one lap and at least in the podium fight. The soft tyre is considered usable as well, which keeps strategy open.
Antonelli goes into the Grand Prix as the clear favorite, but Spa’s first lap remains a major warning. From La Source to Les Combes, with these cars and their huge energy and speed differences, the gap between pole and trouble may be no more secure than the next deployment phase.