Oscar Piastri has beaten Max Verstappen to pole position for the sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix as Red Bull began its first Formula 1 race weekend since the firing of Christian Horner as team principal.

New Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies stressed that four-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen is "central" to the project of bringing the team back to the top. "Max is central to the project and he's key to the project and we need his magic at the racetrack.