Andrea Kimi Antonelli produced a remarkable half-second improvement in the middle sector to secure Belgian Grand Prix pole position, while Ferrari had to settle for fourth and fifth after Spa-Francorchamps once again exposed the limitations of the SF-26’s power unit and energy deployment. The Italian driver transformed a difficult start to qualifying into a commanding result, delivering his best performance precisely when it mattered most.
This is a very different Spa from previous years, with several sections diminished by the counterintuitive demands of energy management under the 2026 regulations. Despite that challenge, Andrea Kimi Antonelli still found a way to make the difference. Ferrari, meanwhile, was forced to acknowledge not only its engine-related limitations but also a frustrating paradox: the Scuderia may have built the right car for the wrong set of regulations. The SF-26 remains highly effective through genuine corners, but Spa’s complex MGU-K and energy-management demands prevent it from fully exploiting that strength.
How Kimi Antonelli found half a second in Q3
Mercedes had long been considered the team to beat at Spa, although it took time for the W17’s full potential to emerge. The weekend did not begin particularly well for the Brackley squad, which appeared to have overestimated the grip available at the Belgian circuit and initially arrived with an excessively low-downforce configuration.
Mercedes responded by adjusting its approach without completely abandoning its new low-downforce package. That specification further reinforced the Silver Arrows’ already significant straight-line advantage, one of the central themes to emerge from the technical upgrades introduced at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The work continued during qualifying. After Q1, Andrea Kimi Antonelli complained about the car’s balance, with the rising wind adding another complication. A five-degree drop in track temperature helped during the subsequent sessions, but the biggest gains came from changes to the front-wing angle and several steering-wheel settings, including the differential configuration.
Those corrections allowed Andrea Kimi Antonelli to reach Q3 with far greater confidence in the W17. He produced a strong opening lap, which then encouraged him to take even more risks on his final attempt.
It was at the decisive moment that the Italian made the difference, finding an extraordinary half a second in the middle sector alone. With greater confidence in the car beneath him, Andrea Kimi Antonelli carried more speed through every corner while successfully managing the resulting consequences for the energy strategy.
By pushing harder, he caused the control system to intensify both clipping and energy-recovery phases to compensate for the altered deployment pattern. That changed his braking references, but Andrea Kimi Antonelli adapted superbly. The result was a hugely significant pole position for the Italian, who finished half a second ahead of a George Russell increasingly struggling to match his team-mate.
McLaren’s hidden step forward with energy management
During the post-qualifying interviews, George Russell focused mainly on the time he had lost along the straights, particularly in the third sector. Oscar Piastri encountered a similar problem and also finished a long way behind his team-mate.
The Australian was affected by an anomaly in the car’s energy management, estimated to have cost him approximately two tenths of a second. George Russell may have suffered from a similar issue. However, driving style may also have played a part, as the driver’s inputs can have a major influence on the effectiveness of the energy strategy.
Both George Russell and Oscar Piastri have previously found it difficult to adapt to low-grip conditions. In some respects, that style of driving is similar to what the current cars require: a cautious and progressive approach is necessary to avoid disrupting the battery-management strategy.
Energy control is also the area in which McLaren appears to have made its most important progress, as demonstrated by Lando Norris’s virtual third place before the application of his grid penalty. According to the original analysis, McLaren has now received unspecified tools from Mercedes that allow the team to simulate and optimise power unit control strategies more effectively, helping it recover some of the ground lost at the beginning of the season.
McLaren also adapted well to the characteristics of Spa-Francorchamps, where the MCL40’s shortage of downforce is less damaging. The reigning world champions even introduced a new low-downforce rear wing, which was estimated to be worth between one and two tenths of a second on the straights.
Nevertheless, Lando Norris also deserves considerable credit for his qualifying performance. The British driver described his first Q3 run as one of the best laps of his career and suggested that he would have struggled to improve it even without the mistake he made on his second attempt.
Max Verstappen strikes but expects Mercedes to lead the race
Max Verstappen will start alongside Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the front row. The Dutchman is one of the Italian driver’s greatest admirers, but he has no illusions about his chances of staying with Mercedes during the race.
Max Verstappen finished three tenths away from pole despite receiving a tow from Isack Hadjar. He estimated that his team-mate’s assistance had been worth between two and three tenths, without which he would probably have qualified on the third row.
The most encouraging news for Max Verstappen was that he had felt comfortable with the RB22 throughout the weekend. He praised the balance from the beginning, although he also found it difficult to make significant progress. The Red Bull improved only slightly with each new attempt, leading Max Verstappen to describe the car as having reached a performance ceiling.
Red Bull will therefore reassess its setup choices and consider whether it should have removed slightly more downforce. Max Verstappen noted that several corners had become almost too easy to take flat-out, suggesting that the team may have been carrying more aerodynamic load than necessary.
Racing Bulls upgrades deliver another breakthrough
There was further satisfaction within the wider Red Bull group as Racing Bulls secured seventh and ninth positions on the grid. Arvid Lindblad was the most impressive of the two drivers.
After beating his team-mate in qualifying at Silverstone, Arvid Lindblad earned the right to receive the substantial upgrade package introduced in Belgium before the second car. The package included several important changes, including modifications to the chassis.
Racing Bulls has made significant progress over the course of the season. Its improvement was initially triggered by the new floor introduced in Canada and was later consolidated through stronger race pace in Austria and Britain.
The Faenza team’s objective in the Belgian Grand Prix will be to recover the single point separating it from Alpine in fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship. Only a month ago, that target did not appear to be within reach.
Ferrari’s Spa paradox leaves the SF-26 fourth and fifth
Ferrari could manage no better than fourth and fifth, although the result came with some minor regrets. Charles Leclerc was frustrated after hesitating in response to a yellow flag in the pit lane, an incident he later explained when discussing why he lifted during his final Spa qualifying lap.
Lewis Hamilton’s SF-26 was also not in ideal condition following the frantic rebuild required after his FP3 accident. The seven-time world champion admitted that the reconstructed Ferrari felt different and cost him performance compared with the car he had driven before the crash.
Overall, however, Ferrari can consider fourth and fifth to be a positive result, particularly when compared with the situation it faced on Friday. There was no official confirmation, but based on the team’s normal power unit rotation, it is plausible that Ferrari installed its updated engine on Saturday and gained a small amount of additional power. The potential impact of the latest Ferrari engine specification had already been one of the key technical questions surrounding the Belgian weekend.
Ferrari’s improvement did not come from the engine alone. The team also made progress with its energy management after several unsuccessful experiments during Friday afternoon practice. Ferrari had attempted to use more electrical energy in the first and third sectors, but that approach resulted in excessive losses through the middle part of the lap, contributing to the hybrid deployment problems exposed during FP2.
Why Spa neutralises Ferrari’s greatest strength
Ferrari can now approach the race with cautious optimism after receiving encouraging tyre-degradation data from its long-run simulations in practice. Securing a podium would allow the team to limit the damage at a circuit that is particularly unforgiving for the SF-26. Ferrari’s long-run performance has nevertheless provided realistic hope of fighting for a Belgian Grand Prix podium.
Rival teams continue to describe the Ferrari as the best car through the corners. Unfortunately for the Scuderia, Spa no longer offers enough of the high-speed corners in which the SF-26 made the difference at Silverstone and compensated for its lack of power unit performance.
Pouhon’s transformation is a particularly important example. With the new generation of cars, it has effectively stopped functioning as a true corner and has instead become a sweeping bend taken at full throttle. That has further reduced the influence of one of the SF-26’s main strengths.
The modern version of Spa therefore presents a revealing image of Ferrari’s situation. The SF-26 is aerodynamically effective and highly competitive through genuine corners, but energy-management requirements prevent it from expressing its full potential. More than ever, Ferrari appears to have produced the right car for the wrong regulations.
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