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Formula OneFormula One championship leader Oscar Piastri returned to winning ways in the Belgian GP, halting Lando Norris' winning streak in the process. The McLaren cars again delivered a class-leading performance, locking out the front row and cruising to a third successive 1-2 finish. The pair further extended their gap to Max Verstappen's faint title hopes as the 2025 F1 season entered its second half, which is likely to see a new championship winner.
Any Sunday racing around the famed Spa-Francorchamps had to wait, though. Heavy rain delayed the race start by over 80 minutes, frustrating some drivers looking to take advantage of the changeable conditions. Notably, champions Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen took to the radio when the on-track action resumed to complain that they were losing time behind the Safety Car. A rolling start further caused consternation as race control took a rather conservative approach despite the field having Pirelli's Wet and Intermediate tyres available.
Piastri wasted no time in battling for the lead once the Safety Car peeled in four laps into the race. The Australian was pipped to pole by Norris, despite looking the faster driver across Free Practice, Sprint Qualifying, and Saturday's Sprint. Norris opted for a restart before the chicane, but that allowed Piastri to keep close as the pack approached La Source.
The McLaren pair were nose-to-tail through the iconic Eau Rouge-Raidillion corners, with Piastri inching closer to Norris as the duo crested the hill. Piastri's overspeed eased him past his teammate down the Kemmel Straight with plumes of water hurtling off his Intermediate tyres on a track that still had standing water. Charles Leclerc, who beat Verstappen to P3, managed to keep the Red Bull driver behind too, allowing the McLarens to focus on each other instead of the Dutchman.
It was the sister Ferrari of Hamilton that made the most moves in the opening laps, though. Known for his wet-weather prowess, Hamilton was on the hunt after two disappointing days in Belgium. He struggled in Sprint Qualifying and Grand Prix Qualifying, but soon made amends by slicing through the field. Three passes in a single tour of Spa-Francorchamps showed his comfort on Pirelli's grooved tyres as he pushed through the backmarker pack to reach P13 in the drying conditions.
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Hamilton's experience soon had him become the first driver to jump to dry tyres, too, gambling that slick rubber would work better in the conditions. He equipped Medium Pirellis to great effect, passing two more cars on track and undercutting a further four to emerge in P7. Those 11 places in just 10 laps of running would be the limit of his advance, though. Alex Albon had utilised Williams' upgrades to run in the top 10 and spent his Sunday defending from the seven-time champion after earlier falling behind George Russell.
Tyres played a part in the fight for the lead, too. Piastri had switched to Mediums one lap earlier than Norris stopped, with the Briton instead choosing Pirelli's Hard compound. Norris' choice was based on the hope that he could run to the end without stopping, while Piastri would need to make one more trip to the pits. A slow pit stop for Norris lost him some time, though, and he ended 9 seconds adrift of leader Piastri.
Radio messages to both McLaren drivers explained the situation, and Piastri went into tyre management mode, hoping he wouldn't need to pit again. Norris, arguably with the better strategy by not needing to nurse his Pirellis, began to push to close the gap in an attempt to pick up DRS. Without any further rain forecast to fall, Norris would need to make his move for the lead on the tyres he had.
That pushing, however, resulted in the No.4 car making multiple mistakes, which cost valuable seconds to Piastri. A wide moment at Pouhon and two lock-ups into La Source cost Norris around a second per error. With Piasti ending the race 3.4s ahead, those three lost seconds could've made the difference on an otherwise uneventful Sunday. Norris started the race in P1, but this was to be Piastri's day, and the Australian extended his championship lead to 16 points.
A trip to Hungary follows this weekend in the second half of F1's latest doubleheader. The track is where Piastri first won in F1 last year, after a Sunday of radio deliberation between Norris and McLaren after a poor strategy decision. Can Norris halt the march of his younger teammate, who has again matched his win tally? It could be the best chance he has of becoming world champion, so he must look to show the speed he had in Budapest last year to continue the title fight.
