Kimi Antonelli Raih Pole Position di Formula 1 GP Belgia 2026

Pebalap remaja Mercedes Kimi Antonelli sukses mengamankan posisi start terdepan dalam sesi kualifikasi Formula 1 Grand Prix Belgia di Sirkuit Spa-Francorchamps pada Sabtu, 18 Juli 2026. Menurut laporan The Guardian, pebalap berusia 19 tahun tersebut mencatatkan waktu tercepat 1 menit 44,361 detik untuk mengungguli rival terdekatnya dari tim Red Bull, Max Verstappen.

Keberhasilan ini menjadi pole position keenam bagi Antonelli dari sepuluh seri yang telah berjalan musim ini. Capaian tersebut sekaligus mempertegas dominasi Mercedes dalam sesi kualifikasi satu putaran sepanjang musim balap 2026.

Dalam sesi konferensi pers setelah kualifikasi usai, Antonelli membagikan pandangannya mengenai performa jet darat milik Mercedes yang ia kemudikan di lintasan sepanjang 7,004 kilometer tersebut.

"I’ve been feeling good with the car all year and it’s good to be more and more confident whenever I jump in it," kata Kimi Antonelli, pebalap Mercedes.

Di sisi lain, Max Verstappen mengamankan posisi kedua setelah mendapatkan bantuan hambatan angin atau slipstream dari rekan setimnya di Red Bull, Isack Hadjar, pada sektor terakhir sirkuit.

"Isack helped me a lot with the tow in the final sector," ujar Max Verstappen, pebalap Red Bull.

Verstappen juga mengakui jarak performa yang cukup lebar dengan posisi terdepan menjelang balapan utama pada hari berikutnya.

"Otherwise it could have easily been P6 because the gaps behind were so close," kata Max Verstappen, pebalap Red Bull.

Ia menambahkan analisisnya mengenai peluang menghadapi jet darat Mercedes dalam balapan di sirkuit pegunungan Ardennes tersebut.

"The gap even in qualifying with a massive tow is still over three-tenths. So I don’t really expect to race them tomorrow," kata Max Verstappen, pebalap Red Bull.

Rekan setim Antonelli di Mercedes, George Russell, harus puas menempati posisi keempat setelah tertinggal lebih dari setengah detik akibat kendala kecepatan di jalur lurus.

"It’s frustrating, we thought we found the problem," tutur George Russell, pebalap Mercedes.

Russell menjelaskan upaya teknis yang telah dilakukan oleh dirinya bersama tim mekanik untuk mengatasi masalah keseimbangan mobilnya tersebut.

"We go through the process, we think it this, so we change it. I thought it was driver style, I changed it. It’s not the driving style. It feels like your battling with one hand behind your back, it’s a challenge," kata George Russell, pebalap Mercedes.

Ia mengungkapkan ketidakpuasannya terhadap perbedaan performa mobil di trek lurus dibandingkan saat melintasi tikungan.

"Yesterday, I was losing eight tenths in the straights, today I'm losing four tenths," kata George Russell, pebalap Mercedes.

Russell menegaskan bahwa masalah utama pada kendaraan yang dikemudikannya bukan bersumber dari sektor dapur pacu.

"I don't think it's the power unit, to be honest," ujar George Russell, pebalap Mercedes.

Pebalap asal Inggris tersebut juga menceritakan keyakinannya bahwa gaya mengemudi bukan menjadi pemicu hilangnya waktu krusial.

"We saw this from Silverstone, we thought we found the problem. We thought it was something with the brakes, it wasn't the brakes. Then we thought it was my driving style, with the throttle. I convinced myself that it was something with me, the driving style," tutur George Russell, pebalap Mercedes.

Ia berharap kendala teknis ini dapat segera diselesaikan oleh seluruh kru tim sebelum seri balapan berikutnya di Hungaria.

"Now we're very confident it's not the driving style, and that there's a serious issue at play here. And the team are working so hard to resolve it. Every lap I do and I see I'm down anywhere from two tenths to six tenths, straights, it's pretty infuriating," kata George Russell, pebalap Mercedes.

Russell menutup penjelasannya dengan menyatakan optimisme terhadap performanya di tikungan sirkuit.

"I was pleased with my lap. When I look at the corners, there's a lot of corners that I was faster. There were definitely corners that we needed to improve.

The corners look like a normal fight you'd have for a pole. The straights... it's not. I don't know what the solution is.

But I'm praying ahead of Budapest, we'll find it," kata George Russell, pebalap Mercedes.

Sementara itu, pebalap Scuderia Ferrari Lewis Hamilton menempati posisi start kelima setelah mobilnya mengalami kerusakan akibat kecelakaan pada sesi latihan bebas ketiga (FP3).

"I think something wasn't the same on the rear suspension, so the balance wasn't the same as I had in FP3, when the car was feeling really great," jelas Lewis Hamilton, pebalap Ferrari.

Hamilton menyampaikan apresiasi tinggi kepada seluruh tim mekanik Ferrari yang bekerja cepat memperbaiki kendaraannya sebelum kualifikasi dimulai.

"The guys did a great job repairing the car and these things happen, you move on. I did the best I could in qualifying, I think my laps were pretty decent," kata Lewis Hamilton, pebalap Ferrari.

Ia berharap kondisi kestabilan mobilnya tidak mengalami penurunan performa saat sesi balapan utama berlangsung.

"They pushed right until the last minute to get the thing fixed, so I'm just grateful they did and I hope the car is still OK in the race," tutur Lewis Hamilton, pebalap Ferrari.

Di kubu Racing Bulls, pebalap pendatang baru Arvid Lindblad menunjukkan performa impresif dengan berhasil menempati posisi start kedelapan di grid.

"definitely our best qualifying of the year," ucap Arvid Lindblad, pebalap Racing Bulls.

Berdasarkan catatan waktu resmi dari FIA, juara dunia bertahan Lando Norris dari tim McLaren meraih waktu tercepat ketiga, namun harus mundur ke posisi start ke-13 akibat penalti penggantian komponen baterai.

Berikutnya, para pebalap dijadwalkan bersiap menghadapi balapan utama F1 GP Belgia 2026 yang akan berlangsung sepanjang 44 putaran.