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.

Series leader Oscar Piastri secured pole position for Saturday’s sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix when he beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.477 seconds with a devastating record lap in his McLaren.

SportsLine's model analyzes Red Bull's Max Verstappen, McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and the rest of the starting grid's chances at the 2025 F1 Belgian GP

During sprint qualifying in Belgium, Max Verstappen held his own against Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, but in the end, he was still half a second off the pace of the Australian. Here's his explanation.