Max Verstappen claimed the lead of the sprint race of the Belgian Grand Prix on the opening lap, with an incredible overtake on Oscar Piastri at Les Combes. Lando Norris also lost a place to Charles Leclerc on the long run down the Kemmel straight, as all 19 drivers managed to finish the first lap cleanly.

Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda was outqualified by Verstappen for the 12th time in as many qualifying sessions since he joined Red Bull, failing to reach Q3/SQ3 for the seventh time in a row; his deficit on the Dutchman was six tenths, and he ended up 12th. It is worth noting that he was not given the upgrades that Verstappen is running this weekend.

Oscar Piastri has beaten Max Verstappen to pole position for the sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix as Red Bull began its first Formula 1 race weekend since the firing of Christian Horner as team principal.