The Formula 1 qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps delivered a fascinating battle among four leading teams, with the fight for pole position remaining uncertain until Kimi Antonelli secured it by a margin of over 0.3 seconds in his final lap on Saturday morning.

It turned out to be a day of contrasting emotions for teammates across the leading teams, with some drivers satisfied while others were left frustrated—Mercedes providing a prime example of such mixed fortunes.

Antonelli maintained his impressive form, topping the timesheets on Friday and again during Saturday’s FP3 before clinching pole position. Meanwhile, his teammate and championship rival George Russell spent much of the weekend trying to close the gap.

Russell, who was only eighth fastest and more than a second behind Antonelli on Friday, ultimately qualified fourth. Due to Lando Norris’s penalty, he will start one place higher. However, a significant time deficit to his teammate remained, leaving him puzzled.

“Could be worse, could be much better,” Russell told Road & Track about his qualifying run. “Yesterday, I was losing eight-tenths on the straights. Today I’m losing four-tenths. That’s progress! We saw this from Silverstone. We thought we found the issue—first we suspected the brakes, then my throttle application. I even convinced myself it was my driving style.”

He continued, “Now we’re quite sure it’s not the driving style, but a deeper technical problem, and the team is working extremely hard to resolve it. Every lap when I see the deficit—between two-tenths and six-tenths on the straights—it’s really frustrating.”

Although the issue didn’t impact qualifying as severely as it did practice, it remained unresolved and puzzling for both driver and engineers.

“My entire focus for the last 36 hours has been on straight-line speed,” Russell explained. “I haven’t been thinking about setup, tyres, or anything else, because we’re all trying to get to the bottom of it. Even on my final lap, I lost another tenth and a half just on the straight.”

He added, “You’re flat out, watching your steering wheel, and still losing speed. You feel helpless. I don’t think it’s the power unit, but something is definitely slowing us down on the straights. The team is fully committed to fixing it.”

Similar challenges arose at McLaren, where Oscar Piastri struggled to match Lando Norris as the weekend unfolded.

Norris entered the weekend knowing he would serve a 10-place grid penalty for taking new power unit components. Spa is often the ideal track for such strategic penalties due to its overtaking opportunities and unpredictable races that often feature safety cars. Despite this, Norris impressed by consistently running near the top during practice and qualifying. He was on course for a possible pole before a mistake on his final lap confined him to third place—dropping to P13 after the penalty.

Although that setback is disappointing, Norris takes comfort in knowing the car’s pace is strong, with further upgrades expected for Hungary. He remains optimistic about climbing through the field on race day.

Piastri, by contrast, found the weekend difficult, though he closed the gap slightly in qualifying, aided by Norris missing his final lap. The Australian will start sixth after his teammate’s grid drop.

“I spent the whole day trying to make the car behave how I wanted, but it’s been tough to push it to the limit,” Piastri said. “It hasn’t been an easy weekend. The car’s been tricky to drive. When you can balance it right on the edge, the lap time is there, but keeping it on that edge is really difficult.”

Asked to elaborate, he explained, “It’s a bit of everything—wind direction, corner type, track position. There isn’t one clear issue. When you struggle with a bit of everything, it probably shows that’s just what the car is capable of right now. To go faster, we simply need more downforce.”

At Red Bull, there was a stark contrast between Max Verstappen, who qualified second, and teammate Isack Hadjar, who will start from 21st. However, this time the gap wasn’t down to performance differences.

Like Norris, Hadjar used the Spa weekend to introduce new power unit components, a move Red Bull has used before with Verstappen. Unlike Norris, Hadjar took a 30-place grid penalty, guaranteeing him a start from the back—though Fernando Alonso’s penalty spared him from being dead last.

Given the value of slipstreaming at Spa, Red Bull executed a clever plan by getting Hadjar into Q3 and deploying him to tow Verstappen on both qualifying runs. The strategy paid off, helping the Dutchman secure second on the grid, higher than he had anticipated.

However, Hadjar experienced technical challenges while slowing down to provide the tow, as his Ford power unit became “confused” by the inconsistent input—a reminder of the complexity of the 2026-spec cars and how teams are still mastering them.

“What’s tricky is predicting what the engine will do,” Hadjar told Road & Track. “When you stop after Turn 14, the software gets confused because you’ve paused unexpectedly. On my first Q3 attempt, I had too much power and pulled away. On the second, I didn’t have enough, and Max caught me instead. It was very hard to get right.”

Although Hadjar accepted the need for the penalty, it came just as Red Bull’s car performed at its best, leaving him frustrated at the missed opportunity.

“It’s probably the best the car has felt all season,” he said. “So starting from the back is really frustrating. I’d love to be fighting up front. Tomorrow, apart from overtaking slower cars, there isn’t much to learn.”

Determined to enjoy himself regardless, he added, “No pressure—just try to have the fastest race possible, overtake cars, and bring home points.”

Finally, Ferrari remains the only top team with both drivers starting close together on the grid—Charles Leclerc in fourth and Lewis Hamilton in fifth, separated by an incredibly slim 0.002 seconds. It hasn’t been a smooth weekend for either, with Hamilton’s car requiring an urgent rebuild after a heavy crash in FP3.

“I think something wasn’t quite the same with the rear suspension,” Hamilton told Road & Track when asked if the car felt as good as before. “The balance wasn’t like it was in FP3, where the car felt amazing. But the team worked flat out to get it rebuilt, and I’m just thankful for their effort. Hopefully, the car stays strong in tomorrow’s race.”