Kimi Antonelli: Happy Birthday Papa! Belgian Grand Prix pole seals priceless celebration

The Formula 1 Championship leader produced a 1:44.361 on his final Q3 lap, beating Max Verstappen by 0.317 seconds. George Russell will start third after Lando Norris’ ten-place grid penalty, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc alongside on the second row.

As Antonelli completed his cool-down lap, race engineer Peter “Bono” Bonnington highlighted the significance of his sixth pole position of the season.

Bonnington said over the radio: “Nice birthday present for your old man.”Antonelli immediately replied: "Yeah, happy birthday, Dad."

It was another commanding qualifying result for Mercedes, who have now taken pole position at all ten races this season. Antonelli has claimed six of those poles during an impressive second Formula 1 campaign.

However, the 19-year-old admitted his path to the front was not straightforward. Changing wind conditions and rising track temperatures initially made the Mercedes difficult to balance.

Antonelli said: “It’s great to be on pole position, especially at a track where I struggled last year. Q1 was quite tricky with the changing wind conditions, but we kept making progress throughout the session. The car felt really strong in Q3, and I was happy with my final lap as I managed to put everything together.”

Mercedes had endured a less convincing Friday, but both drivers found improvements during Saturday’s final practice session. Antonelli topped FP3, while Russell finished fourth before the warmer qualifying conditions created fresh problems.

As temperatures dropped, the Mercedes returned to its preferred operating window. Antonelli then delivered when it mattered, while Russell improved on his final lap to qualify fourth.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff explained: “At the beginning of Q3 we hadn’t quite managed to put our lap together. We were overheating the tyres too much and, as always with these cars, there’s so much to manage. Once we were able to get the tyres into a better window though, both drivers were able to put in good laps. For Kimi that was enough to take pole position.”

Antonelli will start alongside Verstappen, who required a tow from Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar to secure his front-row position. The Mercedes driver expects Verstappen to attack during the long run from La Source towards Les Combes. The slipstream traditionally makes the pole-sitter vulnerable before the braking zone at Turn Five.

Antonelli summed up: “It was not a very straightforward session, the track changed a lot. But tomorrow is another day and obviously I have Max starting next to me, so it’s going to be important to get a good start and then be ahead into Turn Five.”

Wolff echoed that concern, warning Mercedes cannot assume its strong starting positions will translate into control of the race: “While pole position and P3 are great places to start from, the long run down the Kemmel Straight usually means there is plenty of overtaking on the opening lap. Our aim will be to get away cleanly, show good pace and maximise points for the team.”

Antonelli leads Russell by 25 points after winning five of the opening nine races. However, he has also failed to score in two of the previous three Grands Prix, placing greater importance on converting his Spa pole into another strong result.

Norris initially appeared capable of joining the fight after setting the provisional benchmark during the first Q3 runs. The McLaren driver eventually finished third fastest but will drop to 13th because of an engine-related penalty.

That promotes Russell onto the second row and gives Mercedes two cars inside the top three. Leclerc, who won the previous race at Silverstone, will start fourth and remains another potential threat.

Antonelli is taking nothing for granted, particularly with high tyre degradation expected during the Grand Prix: “Pole on Saturday is a great result, but the points are scored tomorrow. A good start will be crucial, especially with the long run to Turn Five, so our focus is on finishing the job in the race.

“The team has done a tremendous job overnight to improve the car, and I have confidence in the package we have. Tyre degradation is expected to be high, so we’ll analyse everything carefully this evening to make sure we’re in the best possible position for the Grand Prix," added the sport's youngest ever World Championship leader.

Antonelli gave his father the perfect birthday present on Saturday. Victory on Sunday would make the family celebration even sweeter.