SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Formula One champion Max Verstappen won a "cat and mouse" Belgian Grand Prix sprint on Saturday in Red Bull's first race under the leadership of Laurent Mekies following Christian Horner's dismissal.

Lando Norris took pole position Saturday for Formula 1's Belgian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen won the sprint race earlier in the day. Norris set the fastest time early in the final session. His McLaren teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri couldn't quite beat it on his final run,

However, the Dutchman failed to take the momentum into qualifying for Sunday's Grand Prix race as he only managed to put his Red Bull fourth, behind Charles Leclerc, Piastri and Norris. It has to be said that Verstappen 's car underwent a set-up change during the break between the sprint and the Grand Prix qualifying.

Lando Norris slipped from eight to nine points behind his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri after the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race, but the Briton will be confident of closing the championship gap after beating Piastri to pole position for the main race.

Lando Norris will start from pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix in his bid to seal a hat-trick of consecutive victories after beating championship rival Oscar Piastri to top spot.

Ferrari has ruled out a technical problem on the SF-25 F1 car that likely caused Lewis Hamilton to spin out during sprint qualifying.

In 2023, Dutch driver Dilano van 't Hoff was killed after a multi-car crash at the exit of Raidillon, just before the Kemmel Straight. Van 't Hoff was racing in the Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) and the crash also involved Joshua Dufek, Adam Fitzgerald, Enzo Scionti, and Tim Tramnitz.

Oscar Piastri topped the Belgian Grand Prix’s sole practice session with a comfortable margin over Max Verstappen ahead of Sprint qualifying later today.