Kimi Antonelli Takes Super Spa Pole

Kimi Antonelli was the fastest driver of the day, securing pole position at Spa-Francorchamps. The young Italian lapped more than three tenths quicker than Max Verstappen in second place, while Lando Norris finished third.

Antonelli completed 15 laps, stopping the clock at 1:44.361. Verstappen recorded a best time of 1:44.678 across 12 laps, while Norris set a 1:44.801 after 11 laps in qualifying. All drivers used the Soft C4 compound exclusively. The top three each used four sets of tyres.

The Italian driver had already impressed in the third free practice session, finishing fastest with a time of 1:45.990 ahead of Norris and Verstappen. Among the top three, the McLaren driver was the only one to use the Medium compound as well, a choice also made by Hadjar and both Alpine drivers.

Track conditions were slightly warmer in qualifying compared to FP3. Track temperature reached 38.5°C, compared to 36°C recorded in the morning session. Ambient temperature remained stable at around 21°C throughout the day.

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented by Barry Baltus. The Belgian Moto2 rider competes for the REDS Fantic Racing team, the reigning world champions in the category.

Kimi Antonelli – Pole

“It’s great to be on pole position, especially at a track where I struggled last year. Q1 was quite tricky with the changing wind conditions, but we kept making progress throughout the session. The car felt really strong in Q3, and I was happy with my final lap as I managed to put everything together.

Pole on Saturday is a great result, but the points are scored tomorrow. A good start will be crucial, especially with the long run to Turn 5, so our focus is on finishing the job in the race. The team has done a tremendous job overnight to improve the car, and I have confidence in the package we have. Tyre degradation is expected to be high, so we’ll analyse everything carefully this evening to make sure we’re in the best possible position for the Grand Prix.”

Dario Marrafuschi – Pirelli Motorsport Director

“Everything suggests that tomorrow’s race will be a one-stop, with strategy mainly determined by the new tyre sets available to each team. The opening stint could be completed on either the Medium or the Soft, depending on which new sets teams have chosen to keep.

“The top teams may start on the C3 before switching to the Hard between laps 17 and 23. Those who have saved a new set of C4 could instead use it at the start, bringing their stop forward into the 14 to 20 lap window.

“The Soft was extensively tested during the first hour of free practice and, on some cars, appears to give drivers better feedback under braking. For this reason, it could be preferred, also thanks to the grip advantage it offers.

“Two-stop strategies are approximately eight to ten seconds slower. Possible options include Soft-Hard-Hard and Soft-Hard-Medium. As already noted yesterday, some teams have kept an additional set of C2 as a precaution, which could prove useful to have a fresh tyre available in the event of a neutralisation.

“Tyre behaviour is in line with our expectations. Lap times are also now close to simulations, with just a one tenth gap between the pole time and our projections. The track has evolved quickly and thermal degradation on the rear axle is now the only factor that will need to be taken into account during the race.”

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Written by

Jarrod Partridge

Jarrod Partridge is the Co-Founder of F1 Chronicle and an FIA accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following Formula 1. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered F1 races at circuits around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every race report, driver profile, and technical analysis he writes.

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