F1 Sprint Qualifying Results: Lewis Hamilton in DISASTER early exit at Belgian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton made a shock SQ1 exit at the Belgian Grand Prix as the F1 champion prepares for a tough sprint race on Saturday at Spa.

The 40-year old made an early error at the wheel of his Ferrari, where a snap of oversteer at Turn 14 cost him half a second and was unable to set a competitive time.

On his second attempt at a flying lap, Hamilton spun in the final sector and thus ended his chances of progressing into SQ2, meaning he will start the sprint race at Spa from P18.

Rather than being a driver error, Hamilton's spin appeared to be a technical issue where the engine stalled out and forced the mistake, although Ferrari are yet to confirm the official cause of the exit.

Elsewhere, Oscar Piastri claimed sprint pole ahead of his team-mate Lando Norris, as Max Verstappen split the two McLarens with an impressive lap in SQ3.

Mercedes star Kimi Antonelli also endured a nightmare session, and was knocked out of SQ1 after a costly spin into the gravel, meaning neither of this season's sprint polesitters made it past the first knockout stage on Friday.

The mistake ruined the Italian's tyres and meant he was unable to set a time fast enough to make it into SQ2, forcing him to start Saturday's sprint race plum last.

His Silver Arrows team-mate George Russell also made a premature exit at Spa, unable to lift his Mercedes out of SQ2 as rival drivers enjoyed the track evolution.

F1 Sprint Qualifying Results: Belgian Grand Prix 2025

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How does F1 Sprint Qualifying work?

The sprint qualifying session is split into three finite windows, which provide a dramatic prelude to Saturday's short race.

The bottom five drivers are eliminated at the end of SQ1, with a further five eliminated after SQ2.

Then, SQ3 gives us a shootout between the remaining 10 drivers in the battle for positions at the front of the grid.

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Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

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