Kimi Antonelli raced to an emphatic pole position for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix to leave his world championship rivals trailing in his wake.The 19-year-old Mercedes F1 driver headed into qualifying as the man to beat after topping two of the three practice sessions in Spa-Francorchamps and he delivered on his status with a brilliant lap. Antonelli saved his very best to last to see off Red Bull driver Max Verstappen by 0.317 seconds.Lando Norris qualified third, four tenths down on Antonelli, but the world champion will line up from 13th as he serves a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his allocated number of engine parts.“It is great to be on pole,” said Antonelli. “It was not a straightforward session, but we were able to improve lap by lap. Tomorrow is another day, but I have Max starting behind me so it is imperative to get a good start and lead into turn five. It is going to be fun tomorrow.”Follow live F1 updates from the Belgian Grand Prix with The Independent. SAFETY CAR (Lap 2/44) Russell is out - beeched in the gravel! A nightmare for the Mercedes driver and his world championship charge. He was struggling for speed going up Eau Rouge - but made contact with Hamilton at turn 5! Safety car is out. Kieran Jackson19 July 2026 14:07Verstappen leads and then loses it! Drama at the start! Antonelli lost the lead at turn 1 but then regained it heading into turn 5 with a massive slipstream! But Russell and Hamilton have touched and Russell has spun and is in the gravel! Kieran Jackson19 July 2026 14:06Belgian Grand Prix - formation lapKimi Antonelli leads the pack away then for the longest formation lap of the season. All the top-12 are on mediums but Lando Norris, in P13, is on hards. He’s looking to go long. The back three, including Isack Hadjar, also on hard tyres. Here we go then! Kieran Jackson19 July 2026 14:02A reminder of the grid:1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)3. George Russell (Mercedes)4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)7. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)8. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)11. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)12. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)13. Lando Norris (McLaren)*14. Ollie Bearman (Haas)15. Alex Albon (Williams)16. Esteban Ocon (Haas)17. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)18. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)19. Carlos Sainz (Williams)*20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)*21. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)**22. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)****Norris, Stroll and Sainz have a 10-place grid penalty and will start in 13th**Hadjar has a 30-place grid penalty and will start in 21st***Alonso had a 20-place grid penalty and will start 22ndKieran Jackson19 July 2026 13:58Mercedes boss Toto Wolff: On weather: “We really don't know what to expect in Spa.” On Russell speed issue: “I really hope we've found the root cause on the engine, there's something we saw.”On Verstappen at start: “It's a bit of an unknown about the slipstream, but energy management will be the prevailing factor, it will be a surprise box but curious to see how it will pan out.” Kieran Jackson19 July 2026 13:53Max Verstappen, who starts P2: “Looks like a bit of rain around, I don't think it's going to rain, I might jinx it! “I want a decent start but the race-pace is unknown.”(Getty)Kieran Jackson19 July 2026 13:49Belgian national anthemAs the skies turn a bit dark over Spa-Francorchamps, the Belgian national anthem is beautifully sung by singer Typh Barrow.Kieran Jackson19 July 2026 13:45A reminder of the grid: 1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 3. George Russell (Mercedes) 4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)7. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) 8. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) 9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 11. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)12. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) 13. Lando Norris (McLaren)*14. Ollie Bearman (Haas)15. Alex Albon (Williams) 16. Esteban Ocon (Haas) 17. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) 18. Sergio Perez (Cadillac) 19. Carlos Sainz (Williams)*20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)*21. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)**22. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)****Norris, Stroll and Sainz have a 10-place grid penalty and will start in 13th**Hadjar has a 30-place grid penalty and will start in 21st***Alonso had a 20-place grid penalty and will start 22ndKieran Jackson19 July 2026 13:42Top-10 - driver standings:Antonelli’s lead is 25 points.1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 179 points2. George Russell (Mercedes) - 154 points3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 147 points4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 108 points5. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 97 points6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 82 points7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 76 points8. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - 52 points9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 42 points10. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 39 pointsKieran Jackson19 July 2026 13:30Lewis Hamilton, who starts P5: “Cold. I love it here, we’ve got a great turnout, today is a lot of opportunities; it will be tough to catch Kimi. “Every second you get on this track – I remember growing up watching at home with Michael [Schumacher] racing, Formula 3 came here in 2005. Every time you come here, there’s nothing like this track, I wish we had more sessions!”(Reuters)Kieran Jackson19 July 2026 13:20