Kimi Antonelli overcomes Red Bull tactics to claim Belgian GP pole

Kimi Antonelli has taken pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, storming to the top spot by three-tenths of a second.

The championship leader appeared to be under pressure in the latter stages of the session by Max Verstappen, who was using the slipstream of Isack Hadjar to gain lap time.

However, the attempt from Red Bull wasn't enough, with Antonelli setting a 1:44.361 on his final attempt to jump to the head of the field.

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With Antonelli and Verstappen first and second, Lando Norris ended the session in third place for McLaren.

However, with a grid penalty to come, the reigning world champion will drop down the order when the cars line up on Sunday.

His penalty will promote George Russell into the top three for the start of the race, with the Briton's lap time marginally down on Norris' at the end of Q3.

Charles Leclerc was the faster of the two Ferrari drivers, albeit there was little in it. Leclerc was 0.002s faster than Lewis Hamilton as they finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

Oscar Piastri was seventh in the second McLaren, having lacked pace all day compared to his team-mate.

Arvid Lindblad took eighth on the road but appeared to be frustrated behind the wheel after completing his lap, having set a purple first sector.

Gabriel Bortoleto was ninth, ahead of Isack Hadjar whose sole focus in Q3 was to assist his team-mate, as a big grid penalty for engine components is coming his way.

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Liam Lawson couldn't join his team-mate in the top 10 and had to settle for 11th, ahead of the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.

Nico Hulkenberg was the trailing Audi as he could climb no higher than 14th before he ground to a halt after the chequered flag.

The German was informed he had a hydraulic leak, forcing him to pull over on his return lap.

Carlos Sainz was 15th, out-qualifying Oliver Bearman by just 0.002s.

Alex Albon failed to escape the Q1 drop zone and ended the session in 17th, ahead of Esteban Ocon in the Haas.

The bottom four had a Noah's Ark formation as Cadillac locked in 19th and 20th, with Valtteri Bottas out-pacing Sergio Perez.

The American squad once again managed to beat Aston Martin, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll footing the timesheet at the end of Q1.

As it still awaits its first upgrade of the campaign, Aston Martin languished two seconds down on Cadillac.