F1 Belgian GP LIVE: Sprint qualifying updates and start time as Lando Norris eyes pole
Lando Norris won his home race last time out at the British Grand Prix, capitalising on teammate Oscar Piastri 's penalty to claim his second victory in a row. Piastri's lead in the world championship is now just eight points at the halfway stage of the season, and the Australian was quickest in FP1 as he laid down a marker at the start of the weekend.
Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, George Russell and Charles Leclerc rounded out the top five in practice.
Nico Hulkenberg secured his first-ever podium in F1 at Silverstone, while Lewis Hamilton once again finished fourth as he continues to chase a first podium in Ferrari red.
Hamilton won last year's race at Spa-Francorchamps after George Russell was disqualified. This weekend's race will also be the first since Christian Horner's dismissal at Red Bull, with Laurent Mekies taking charge for the first time.
Hamilton determined to deliver for Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton said he will refuse to join the list of champions who have failed to win the world title at Ferrari after claiming his new team is not firing on all cylinders.
Speaking ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton, 40, said: 'I see a huge amount of potential within this team.
'But it's a huge organisation, and there are a lot of moving parts. And not all of them are firing on all the cylinders that they need to be.
'That's ultimately why the team has not had the success that I think it deserves. So, I feel that it's my job to challenge absolutely every area, to challenge everybody in the team, particularly the guys that are at the top who are making the decisions.
'If you look at the team over the last 20 years, they've had amazing drivers. Kimi (Raikkonen), Fernando (Alonso), Sebastian (Vettel) — all world champions. However, they didn't win a world championship. (Raikkonen did in 2007).
'I refuse for that to be the case with me. So, I'm going the extra mile. If you take the same path all the time, you get the same results. So I'm just challenging certain things. There's still a lot of improvements to be made, but they've been very responsive.'
Lawrence Ostlere25 July 2025 14:59
Laurent Mekies makes Christian Horner admission in first Red Bull press conference
New Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies admitted he does not know why Christian Horner was relieved of his duties a fortnight ago.
French engineer Mekies, previously team principal at Red Bull's sister F1 team Racing Bulls, has taken over from Horner and is at the helm this weekend for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Mekies previously enjoyed a near-decade stint at Toro Rosso, the old name for Red Bull's sister team, and also has experience to his name at Ferrari and the FIA.
Yet a brief Red Bull statement announcing Horner's departure did not spell out the specific reason why the Briton lost his job, with drivers Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda also unable to give a clear cause on Thursday.
Full quotes below:
Laurent Mekies makes Christian Horner admission in first Red Bull F1 press conference
The French engineer has taken over duties as Red Bull team principal and F1 CEO from Horner
Kieran Jackson25 July 2025 14:44
F1 constructor standings
McLaren are dominating the constructor standings thus far.
1. McLaren - 460 points
2. Ferrari - 222 points
3. Mercedes - 210 points
4. Red Bull - 172 points
5. Williams - 59 points
6. Sauber - 41 points
7. Racing Bulls - 36 points
8. Aston Martin - 36 points
9. Haas - 29 points
10. Alpine - 19 points
Lawrence Ostlere25 July 2025 14:13
F1 driver standings
Here is how they stand at the halfway point this season, with 12 races completed at 12, including Spa this weekend, to come:
1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 234 points
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 226 points
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 165 points
4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 147 points
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 119 points
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 103 points
7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 63 points
8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 46 points
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 37 points
10. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 23 points
12. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 21 points
12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 20 points
13. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 19 points
14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 16 points
15. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 13 points
16. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 12 points
17. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 10 points
18. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 6 points
19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 4 points
20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points
21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points
Lawrence Ostlere25 July 2025 14:01
Still to come this weekend
Sprint qualifying is coming up this afternoon, ahead of tomorrow's sprint race. Here's what's coming up this weekend at Spa:
All times BST
Friday 25 July
Sprint qualifying: 3:30pm
Saturday 26 July
Sprint race: 11am
Qualifying: 3pm
Sunday 27 July
Race: 2pm
Lawrence Ostlere25 July 2025 13:46
Wolff dismisses Verstappen links: 'That's Prost-Senna'
Could Verstappen and Russell be teammates at Mercedes next season?
"This is all a long-shot, far-fetched. I want to stay with Kimi and George as it stands. Everything else is not realistic. If you have a Russell-Verstappen line-up, that's Prost-Senna."
Lawrence Ostlere25 July 2025 13:33
Wolff defends Mercedes' role
Did Mercedes' attempts to woo Verstappen force Red Bull's hand?
"No. There is much more in the background that we probably don't know with Red Bull.
"Looking after drivers, in my position as team principal of Mercedes, I need to explore what Max is going to do in the next few years, not only next year."
Lawrence Ostlere25 July 2025 13:26
Toto Wolff: 'I will miss Horner... in a way'
Toto Wolff speaks to Sky Sports after practice, and he is asked whether he will miss his old rival Christian Horner following his sacking by Red Bull.
"In a way, yes. He was one of the main cast. I don't think he's gone forever, he could pop up in some other function – I need to be careful, he could rock up in the FIA then I'm really in the s***!
"He was someone that was controversial, polarising and not soft-washed. That was good from the entertainment factor and from that perspective he will be missed. His track record speaks for itself."
Lawrence Ostlere25 July 2025 13:14
FP1 report
Formula One leader Oscar Piastri showed impressive speed in sole practice for the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday with Max Verstappen starting Red Bull's new era by denying champions McLaren the one-two.
Piastri was a hefty 0.404 quicker than four-times world champion Verstappen, whose team are racing without Christian Horner in charge for the first time since they entered the sport in 2005.
McLaren's Lando Norris was third on the timesheets, 0.504 off the pace and with work to do if he is to reduce Piastri's eight point lead.
With Belgium running to the sprint format, qualifying for Saturday's 100km race replaces the usual second Friday practice session.
Mercedes George Russell, who won last year before being stripped of victory for an underweight car, was fourth fastest with teammate Kimi Antonelli sixth and separating the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Canadian Lance Stroll was eighth for Aston Martin with teammate Fernando Alonso ninth and Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar completing the top 10 as his former boss Laurent Mekies started work as Horner's replacement.
Horner was dismissed after this month's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Lawrence Ostlere25 July 2025 13:03
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Powys County Times
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The drivers completed a formation lap behind the safety car at Spa-Francorchamps before the red flag was waved. An FIA spokesperson said: 'Most drivers have reported poor visibility during the formation lap, hence the red flag.' Pole-sitter Lando Norris was asked to report on the conditions. He said: 'They are not ideal. I can't see a lot behind the safety car so I can't imagine what it is like for everyone else.' 🔴 RED FLAG 🔴 It's very wet out there and visibility is poor. The drivers will head back to the pit lane to wait for conditions to improve #F1 #BelgianGP — Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2025 The FIA has issued no update as to when the 13th round of the season will get under way. The 2021 race in here in Belgium was abandoned after two laps behind the safety car – the shortest race in Formula One history. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen took aim at the decision to suspend the start of the race. 'That's a bit silly,' said Verstappen on the radio. 'We should just run, like chillax. Jesus. 'They're way too cautious. And now the rain is coming, the heavy rain. It's going to be a three-hour delay.' Championship leader Oscar Piastri was warned of a lengthy delay. 'In about 10 minutes, they expect rain to be heavy, as it was in the last batch,' said Piastri's race engineer, Tom Stallard. 'Then a 30 to 40 minute delay while we wait for that. (McLaren sporting director) Randy (Singh) and the FIA expect we will have to wait for that 30 to 40 minutes before we get going.' An FIA spokesperson later said: 'We anticipate the rain to stop at 16:00 (15:00 BST). We will then target a start as soon as the standing water has been cleared from the track.' A race start of 16:20 local time (15:20 BST) was later confirmed by the FIA.
