FRIDAY DEBRIEF: Piastri looks a step ahead but can rivals and rain stop the McLaren driver conquering Spa?

Oscar Piastri looked like the man to beat at Spa on Friday, but his title rivals and the weather could yet stop the Australian.

F1 Correspondent & PresenterLawrence Barretto
SPA, BELGIUM - JULY 25: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on track

Oscar Piastri delivered a lap of the very highest quality to take Sprint pole position ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix and put an ominous marker in the sand ahead of the weekend. But with rain still forecast for Sunday afternoon as it stands, do his rivals have a chance to topple the Australian?

Piastri goes from near zero to hero in minutes

Piastri was on the brink of getting kicked out of Sprint Qualifying in the second session after he had his first lap deleted for track limits at Turn 4.

But he made it through to fight another day and having been the most impressive driver in the field all day, he subsequently made no mistake when it mattered most in SQ3 to snatch pole by nearly half a second.