Antonelli, what a pole at Spa
Kimi Antonelli is making history on circuits that have made the history of motorsport, indeed. Of the six pole positions obtained by the Bolognese in his career (all in 2026), four came on iconic tracks: Suzuka, Monte Carlo, Silverstone, and Spa-Francorchamps. A very strict graduation committee that Antonelli convinced with fast laps and thrashings inflicted on the competition, primarily a George Russell significantly downsized until a few months ago.
In Belgium, #63 is half a second behind the World Championship leader with the same car. And to think that Antonelli’s Qualifying started very badly, with a car with an unstable rear end that forced him to a thousand corrections in the second sector. Between Q1 and Q2, however, Mercedes finds the right setup, and Antonelli takes off, becoming unbeatable: Max Verstappen, even with the slipstream of Isack Hadjar, is second by three tenths. Tomorrow he will represent the most credible threat for #12, who will have to hold on until the end at Kemmel against a champion hungry for victories.
Antonelli’s words
“Honestly, I don’t even know what happened between Q1 and Q2. We made some setup changes, differential, brake balance, also a bit of wing, because the wind was a bit unpredictable today, it made things a bit more difficult for us“, this is the comment to Sky Sport F1. “After Q1 I thought I was in trouble, but I’m happy, because we had to earn this pole“.
Read more Yellow flag case, Vasseur: “Leclerc lifted his foot and lost position to Russell”
“The car was fast all weekend. We found the right compromise and the car behaved very well. On my side, I did a clean lap, without mistakes, and that definitely helped“, he added. “I fear nothing for tomorrow, I am aware that it will be difficult to stay ahead in turn 5, especially because of the slipstream. For this reason, we will try to make a good start and get out well from turn 1. The pace for the rest seems positive“.
Read more Verstappen thanks Hadjar and Red Bull: “Fundamental slipstream. Without it, I would have been 6th”
