Sports · 18 July 2026

Antonelli beats Verstappen to pole by season's biggest margin

Lukas Raich via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

Antonelli was more than three tenths of a second quicker than Verstappen, giving Mercedes the biggest pole-winning margin of the season. The 19-year-old set a fastest lap of 1:44.361 in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday, while Lando Norris qualified third but will start lower because of a 10-place grid penalty. George Russell qualified fourth, with Charles Leclerc fifth and Lewis Hamilton sixth.

By BriefTea Editorial · 18 July 2026 at 17:50

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