While championship leader Oscar Piastri led the way in the sprint qualifying session, it was his team-mate Lando Norris' turn to set the benchmark in the standard qualifying. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers drivers' reactions after Day 2 at the Belgian Grand Prix.

McLaren

“It was a decent lap and I’m very happy. I was confident after yesterday and confident coming into today and it’s nice to see that I could get back to the top. The car has been flying all weekend and I feel good. Oscar's been doing a good job all weekend too, we’re pushing each other a lot. It’s a good but tough battle that we have at the minute.

“The weather looks interesting for tomorrow. I don’t mind if we have sun, rain or a bit of both. It’s normal here at Spa and I’m looking forward to a fun race whatever we get.”

“Starting P2 tomorrow. I’m a little bit disappointed as I didn’t put the lap together in the final run of Q3, losing time at Turn 14, but it’s incredibly fine margins out there, and it felt like the car was in a really good place again.

"The weather tomorrow means it’s tricky to predict what will happen, but starting on the front row is always a good thing. We’ll work through it all overnight and be ready to go racing tomorrow.”

Red Bull

“It was amazing to get the Sprint win here today and finishing P1 at my favourite track is always great. It was good for us to have the top speed advantage that we had; I wasn’t sure if we could keep the McLarens behind but we didn’t make many mistakes and had really good battery management.

"It was a nice surprise, we worked really well as a Team and it was a good boost for everyone today going into the rest of the weekend. For Qualifying, honestly, I was hoping for a little bit more. For some reason in Q3 I just didn’t have the same grip and feeling in the car. I was hoping that the set up that we had would help the driving feeling, but this wasn’t the case and the balance wasn’t where we wanted it to be.

"I felt like I couldn’t push the car to the limit and attack the corners how I like, which you really need to do here in Spa. I had a wheel spin on the last corner of the first lap and, on the second lap, I was down on my lap time already on turn one which wasn’t ideal. We were pretty close to the McLarens, so it was a shame to finish P4 as we were at least hoping to be P3.

"Fighting for the win will be tough as both McLarens will still be fast in the wet, so we don’t expect any miracles. We want to fight back for a podium and lot could happen in the race with the weather."

“The Sprint wasn't the start to the day that we were wanting and my pace really didn't stack up against my management of the car but the Team really turned things around very quickly ahead of Qualifying. P7 for my 100th start tomorrow is so exciting, it feels like yesterday that I had my first ever race in Bahrain and it really has been an interesting journey these past five years.

"The F1 environment can be hard but all you can do is keep pushing which is what we did today. It is a great feeling being back to the place where I should be, but I would like to say a huge thank you to my mechanics who managed to make the upgrade to the floor ahead of Qualifying.

"The upgrade allowed me to really push and drive much closer to the limit than has been possible previously, the car is sliding less and is a lot more forgiving, really it’s a huge credit to the Team. I really enjoyed the drive today and am feeling more confident going into race day tomorrow, we know that it is likely to rain but our hybrid set up means that we are prepared for the wet or the dry but obviously I would prefer the dry.

"My main focus now is on scoring points tomorrow and extracting as much performance as possible from the car. Seeing Laurent at the end of Qualifying gave me flashbacks from when we worked together at Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, he smiled directly at me as soon as I pulled in today and it really boosted my confidence."

Ferrari

"I'm very happy today, despite us still being three tenths off pole. We put it all together and it feels good to look back at qualifying knowing that we haven't left anything on the table with the potential we had today. I've felt comfortable in the car since FP1 and we've learned a lot about our upgrades.

"Our competitors in the front look strong but with the small changes we've made to the car with the race in mind, I hope we can put up a good fight tomorrow."

"It’s not been a great day but we got some valuable insight into the new suspension and upgrades during the Sprint. The team made further adjustments ahead of qualifying based on what we learned. Unfortunately, my lap time was deleted for track limits, and I take full responsibility for that.

"Tomorrow’s race will be challenging, with overtaking being quite difficult here, but I’m fully focused on making up ground and fighting for points to reward the hard work everyone’s done back at the factory to bring these updates."

Mercedes

George Russell, Sprint: 12th, Qualifying: 6th, 1:41.260
"Today was a better day than Friday in terms of the result but, if you take out yesterday, then this was one of our worst Qualifying performances of the year.

"We are struggling here in Spa this weekend and we are working hard to understand why. We were potentially slightly light on rear wing level, given we were fastest in sectors one and three, but that is really just a compromise of where you gain lap time across the circuit.

"Starting P6 tomorrow still gives us a chance of fighting for decent points for tomorrow. We set the car up today so we could maximise Qualifying, so we will have to see what the weather does tomorrow. If it does rain, we may be slightly compromised but I’d much rather be starting in P6 with that than outside of the top 10. Let’s see what happens on Sunday."

"That was another difficult day in what has been a tricky period for us over the past few races. I was struggling with the car balance on Friday and that continued into Qualifying today. The confidence wasn’t there and that showed in the lap time. It is frustrating as we know we have more pace than we showed today.

"We are working hard to improve so we can get back on track and putting in good results. Whilst Qualifying didn’t go the way we want, we have a chance to do that tomorrow. The weather forecast is changeable, and we may have rain. That would give us a chance to make up more positions than may be possible in a standard dry race."

Williams

"I’m really happy. We fixed the issue we had on Friday, which made the biggest difference. The lap felt tricky, and it was difficult to see where I could find the lap time, so I wasn’t expecting to make such a big step forward in Q3.

"The working window for the tyres is very narrow and we did a good job to find that sweet spot to pull it all together. Our race pace feels strong, so I’m hoping for a relatively straightforward race tomorrow."

"Disappointed with this result. I had a strong lap in Q1 but didn’t manage to go any faster in Q2, as I didn’t manage to find grip. We’ve tried different directions with car balance and experimented a bit with set-up throughout the weekend, but obviously today didn’t go our way and we need to analyse it. Hopefully tomorrow there will be opportunities as it could be wet, so let’s keep focused as the weekend is not over yet."

Racing Bulls

"It was a good Sprint for us this morning. We showed a really good pace and we managed to score a point. In Qualifying, both Liam and I got into the rhythm very quickly.

"I’m very satisfied, but I just expected a bit more than a P8, as we started the session really strong and Alex in P5 is just a tenth away from us, so I feel like I could have done a better job. Overall, we have a stable car, which has worked really well, and it gave me confidence from the beginning, so I’m definitely proud of the team.

"We have a strong pace and we also start within the points tomorrow. We know that there’s a chance for a wet race but I’m happy with our car setup, so the aim is obviously to be in the fight to try and get some points.”

"It was a good session for the team having both cars reach Q3, but it's tough when you see P5 was so close. The speed was building and we were learning throughout the session, but a moment at the end of the lap meant we lost some time, so with such close margins it's frustrating. Regardless of the conditions tomorrow, we need to try and have a clean race while extracting everything out of the car.”

Haas

“I’m super pleased with the Sprint, six points for the team today is a really good result. We can be satisfied with that as the cars in front were out of reach, so we finished on top of our race, so to speak. úű

"It was very close out there in qualifying this afternoon, but there are some positives as we’ve fixed some issues with the balance of the car. It’s still a decent starting position and we’re only one place away from a point which is pretty good, so we need to maximise the potential there.”

“I lost three tenths in Turn 1 as my tyres were just not ready. After that, I managed to bring it back and do a very good lap, but it was a big shame as we really had the pace to be in Q3. We added a lot of downforce so hopefully that plays into our hands tomorrow. The Sprint was good, and it was nice to score some points – getting both cars into the points in a Sprint is no mean feat.”

Kick Sauber

“Qualifying didn’t quite go our way today – I was lacking a bit too much on the straights, and without a proper tow, we left a couple of tenths on the table, which made the difference in the end.

"On the positive side, the car felt much better today compared to Friday. We already made a step forward in the Sprint this morning, which gave me more confidence heading into qualifying. Sprint weekends are always a bit of a challenge – limited track time, and if you're out early in SQ1, you miss out on valuable laps.

"We approached the Sprint more like an extended practice session: with the data we gathered we made solid progress and I found a better rhythm on this particular track layout. In terms of setup, we also factored in the possibility of rain tomorrow – probably like everyone else. Now let’s see what the race brings.”

"I am happy to have made it back into Q3! I think it's safe to say sometimes you do need a little bit of luck in this sport, and today it was my turn: Hamilton's lap got deleted, and that allowed me to make it into Q2.

"I hadn't given my best in Q1 – I was honestly pretty frustrated about it – and I knew I had to reset and focus on improving in Q2, giving everything I had: I am glad it worked out. Looking back at this morning, it was a rather uneventful Sprint from my end, although it still allowed me to get some more track time. Sprint weekends can pose some extra challenges, but also a chance to learn something more, too.

"Overall, I am feeling more comfortable in the car every weekend: I would like to thank the team – both trackside and back home in Hinwil - for this. Looking at tomorrow – rain or dry – we’ll be ready and give it our best."

Alpine

“It has been a tricky day with the Sprint Race and Qualifying. Frustratingly, the Sprint was over before it started as we had a water leak on the car on the way to the grid. The team managed to repair it so we did some laps – almost like a Free Practice 3 for us – but not anything meaningful in the end.

"These things happen and the team did a great job to even turn things around to have some track time. For Qualifying, everything felt quite good. We progressed through Q1 and then in Q2 the final lap was decent. We probably just needed someone in front of us for a tow but we were the first car on track so missed out.

"A tenth or two would have been enough to reach Q3, and we know all the little details count. We will see what we can do tomorrow. We know some teams have opted for different set-ups but we will focus on ourselves and give it everything to come away with the best possible result.”

“Taking the day as a whole it has been a frustrating one, but with the work we've done as a team since yesterday, the car has improved a lot and felt like a good step forward. It felt more alive today, particularly in Qualifying but the margins are so tight that we unfortunately narrowly missed out on getting to Q2 by a tenth of a second.

"It's a pity as that's something you can find over a lap, but I think ultimately, we're still lacking a little bit of pace compared to the others and, with such a condensed field, it shows. Starting from the Pit Lane in the Sprint, it turned into more of a practice session for us, which gave us some useful insight and data for tomorrow.

"We now turn our attention to the Grand Prix tomorrow and will see what we can get out of it. With rain forecast hopefully we'll be a bit stronger and more competitive, and here at Spa anything can happen. So, we'll prepare for all eventualities.”

Aston Martin

"This weekend hasn't gone our way so far. We made some set-up changes for the rain, but we just lacked pace today. We need to go back and understand why our package isn't performing here. Starting near the back is never easy, and this performance doesn’t reflect where we are as a team this season. I still feel quick in the car, and we'll keep pushing to see what we can do tomorrow."

"We simply didn't have the pace today and qualified in P20. I'm not too surprised about the result as we've been struggling with pace all weekend. We'll look into it and see what we can learn. It looks like it's going to rain tomorrow so anything can happen."