Lewis Hamilton suffered a brutal elimination in the first round of qualifying (Q1) for the Belgian Grand Prix after his fastest lap was disqualified for exceeding track limits.

Lewis Hamilton eliminated in Q1 of the Belgian GP for exceeding track limits at Eau Rouge

The British driver, who initially believed he had comfortably secured his place in Q2 with a time that placed him seventh, was later informed by the FIA stewards that his lap had been disqualified for completely going off the track limits in the iconic Eau Rouge and Raidillon sector at Spa-Francorchamps.

The review, based on footage from an external camera, confirmed that all four wheels of the car crossed the white line defining the permitted track, invalidating his most competitive lap. The onboard footage from the car did not provide conclusive evidence, but it did show that the right wheels were very close to the edge of the circuit.

Initially, Hamilton seemed unaware of the risk of a penalty, but his concern grew when he noticed radio silence from his engineer. “Is everything okay?” he asked, before receiving the harsh news: “Track limits at Turn 4. The lap time has been disqualified.”

This error left him among the bottom five in qualifying, marking one of his worst qualifying performances this season and leaving the Mercedes team with a tough challenge for Sunday’s race.

Max Verstappen wins the Belgian GP Sprint and closes the gap

The Dutch driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull), a four-time world champion, won the sprint race of the Belgian Grand Prix 2025 on Saturday, the 13th round of the Formula 1 World Championship, held at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Verstappen, aged 27, secured the victory after overtaking both McLaren drivers in a short 15-lap, 105-kilometer race. Australian Oscar Piastri, the championship leader, finished second, while his teammate, British driver Lando Norris, completed the podium in third place. With this result, Piastri extended his lead in the overall standings by one point.

Among the Spanish drivers, Carlos Sainz (Williams) held his starting position and finished sixth, while Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) crossed the line in 14th place, unable to score points on this occasion.

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) took fourth place, followed by Esteban Ocon (Haas), while Argentine Franco Colapinto (Alpine) finished in 19th place, far from the points zone.

The 2025 Spa sprint sets the stage for an exciting main race this Sunday, on one of the most iconic circuits in the F1 calendar.