Oscar Piastri achieved his sixth victory of the 2025 Formula 1 season following an excellent tyre management to finish ahead of McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris at Spa-Francorchamps.

On different strategies, Piastri made a one-stop from intermediates to medium tyres work to stay ahead of a chasing Norris on a drying track, with Charles Leclerc finishing in front of Max Verstappen to third.

The start to the Belgian Grand Prix was suspended due to poor visibility reported by many drivers on the formation lap.

Fresh showers further affected the organisers’ efforts to get the race going so we waited for improve track conditions, but after a break in the weather there was an opportunity to start the race.

Race control eventually commenced over an hour after the original start time, at 16:20 local, with four laps behind the safety car followed by a rolling start.

As the field was released on lap 5 of 44, Norris suffered a slide out of La Source, with allowed Piastri to stick to his teammate’s gearbox with a brave run through Eau Rouge and Raidillon, before easily slipstreaming past on the Kemmel Straight to take the lead into Les Combes.

Further back, George Russell got past fifth-starting Alex Albon in the same corner on the following lap. Norris stuck with Piastri as the pair broke clear from third-placed Leclerc, who soon started holding up Verstappen with a lower downforce setup on his Ferrari.

The biggest early mover was Lewis Hamilton, who started from the pitlane with a brand-new Ferrari power unit and was flying through the midfield from P16 to P13 in the space of four laps. The seven-time world champion also made the first choice for slicks, coming in for mediums on lap 12 as did Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton immediately set a fastest second and third sector, prompting leader Piastri to come in on lap 12 followed by Leclerc and Verstappen, while Norris continued for one more lap to put him at a disadvantage to Piastri, compounded by a slower pitstop that saw him emerge eight seconds behind.

To keep Lando’s win chances intact, McLaren decided to put him on an alternate strategy on hard tyres instead, aiming to go to the end on the much more durable C1 Pirelli compared to Piastri’s medium C3s.

As the crossover to slick tyres shook out, there were no changes in position for the top six, but Hamilton’s early move worked out beautifully as he moved up to eighth, which became seventh after passing Liam Lawson.

Norris stabilised the gap to Piastri to eight seconds, with the championship leader now being challenged to make his set of mediums last until the end of the race as well.

Meanwhile, Verstappen’s challenge for Leclerc’s podium spot started to fade around the halfway mark as he struggled to stay within two seconds of the Ferrari, with Russell, Albon and Hamilton further behind.

An uneventful second half of the race turned into a battle of different strategies, with Norris starting to turn up the pace on his much slower and yet more durable hards, while Piastri was now fully committed to trying to tyre manage his mediums to the end. The final result of those two different approaches were relatively similar lap times between the pair. Lando was slowly making grounds on his teammate, but it soon became apparent he would only can beat his McLaren rival if Oscar was forced to pit a second time.

But while Piastri battled tyre degradation, he managed to keep a five-second gap until the end, aided by Norris going over the limit on several occasions in a desperate bid to close the gap. Piastri crossed the finishing line 3.4 seconds ahead in another McLaren 1-2 victory.

Underlining McLaren’s domination in mixed conditions, Leclerc finished third over 20 seconds behind Piastri, with Verstappen a close fourth after being unable to threaten the Ferrari. Russell was another 13 seconds behind Verstappen in fifth in what was a decent result but a worrying performance for Mercedes in the face of Ferrari’s improvements.

Hamilton could not quite round off a commendable comeback race by overtaking Albon for sixth, with the Williams driver expertly defending his position while Hamilton was stuck in DRS range. Lawson took eighth for Racing Bulls, while Gabriel Bortoleto was being allowed past Sauber teammate Hulkenberg as he proved quicker and took ninth.

Hulkenberg opted for a second pitstop instead, giving up P10 position but he was unable to make that call pay off unlike Silverstone. Gasly was promoted into the final points position in P10, with Hulkenberg stuck in P12 behind Oliver Bearman.

While Hamilton moved up, it was a tricky race for fellow pitlane starters Antonelli, Alonso and Sainz, who finished at the rear of the field. All 20 drivers made it to the finish line, with Isack Hadjar the only driver to be lapped after facing an undiagnosed problem with his Racing Bulls machine.

In the championship Piastri’s sixth win of the season extends his lead on Norris to 16 points, with Verstappen now 81 points adrift in third. Well behind the dominant McLarens, Ferrari strengthened its hold on second place in the constructors’ place against Mercedes and Red Bull.

So after a long rain delay, once we finally got action Oscar Piastri made the key move on Lando Norris on the first racing lap to take the lead. After that, managing the tyres and score his sixth victory. This is the perfect response following his penalty at the previous race at Silverstone. The next track is Hungary, where Piastri scored his first win of his career.

Belgian Grand Prix, race results:
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:25:22.601
2 Lando Norris McLaren +3.415s
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +20.185s
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull +21.731s
5 George Russell Mercedes +34.863s
6 Alexander Albon Williams +39.926s
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +40.679s
8 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +52.033s
9 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +56.434s
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine +72.714s
11 Oliver Bearman Haas +73.145s
12 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +73.628s
13 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +75.395s
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +79.831s
15 Esteban Ocon Haas +86.063s
16 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +86.721s
17 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +87.924s
18 Carlos Sainz Williams +92.024s
19 Franco Colapinto Alpine +95.250s
20 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +1 lap

Lando Norris beat his McLaren teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri to take pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix. As Charles Leclerc pushed his Ferrari to the limit to snatch third position from sprint race winner Max Verstappen.

Norris set the beachmark in the top ten shootout with a lap time of one minute, 40.562 seconds, the only driver to improve on his best Q2 lap on that first run. Lando’s lap was almost two tenths quicker than Oscar and a massive five tenths better than Verstappen, who was running a used set of softs that could not provide the same level of grip.

On the second round of runs Verstappen started with a huge slide coming out of the La Source hairpin, which set up a lap that proved slower than his first effort and saw the sprint winner beaten to third by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by a small margin of 0.003 seconds.

The McLarens were up next, but Lando’s struggle to improve opened an pportunity for Oscar. But the championship leader could only a tenth off his best lap, ensuring Norris achieved his fourth pole of 2025 to draw level with his McLaren teammate.

Behind Leclerc and Verstappen, Alex Albon took a solid fifth for Williams, defeating George Russell who could not go quicker than his best Q2 run for Mercedes. Yuki Tsunoda delivered his best Red Bull performance so far by taking seventh, three tenths behind Verstappen, ahead of Racing Bulls duo Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, as well as Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto.

McLaren led the proceedings out of pitlane at the start of Q2, with Piastri setting a time of one minute, 40.626 seconds that would stay on top for the remainder of the segment, leading Norris by 0.089 seconds and Verstappen adrift by 0.325 seconds.

After the first series of runs, Sauber pair of Hulkenberg and Bortoleto found themselves on the wrong side of the top ten, as did Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Williams driver Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman. Oliver had suffered a huge slide coming out of the rapid double right-hander of Pouhon which forced the Haas driver to abort his flyer.

Gasly was the first driver up to take a spot in Q3, but his ninth-fastest time was soon shuffled down the order. A disappointing final sector for Esteban Ocon meant his missed the cut-off by a mere 0.020 seconds compared to Alex Albon, while a messy moment through Turn 1’s La Source also undid Haas teammate Bearman’s efforts as the pair proved unable to repeat their sprint qualifying.

Gasly settled for P13, followed by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Sainz in P14 and P15 respectively.

The start of qualifying in Q1 saw a pitlane moment as Hulkenberg was sent out into the path of Aston’s Lance Stroll in a busy pit exit queue, with Hulkenberg damaging his front wing.

The McLarens were out first here as well, using the soft tyres as Piastri narrowly led Norris with one minute, 41.998 seconds effort. Carlos Sainz then briefly grabbed top in the Williams, going with a fresh set of soft tyres to set a time of one minute, 41.691 seconds.

On a fresh set of their own, Norris went top with one minute, 41.010 seconds, with Piastri’s time 0.191 seconds adrift of his teammate and Verstappen another tenth.

An extremely tight battle for survival showed some similarities to sprint qualifying, with both Mercedes cars of Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli under pressure again after the first set of banker lap runs.

But given track evolution those banker laps proved of little use for drivers desperate to advance. Having come under pressure from cars vastly improving around him as well, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton found a late improvement to move clear of the drop zone as the chequered flag fell.

But the Ferrari driver saw his time deleted due to track limits at the top of Raidillon, with his first lap time demoting the seven-time world champion into the elimination zone in P16, his second Q1 exit of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

Hamilton was joined in the drop zone by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, Antonelli and a disappointing Aston Martin duo Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

So an important qualifying result for Lando Norris to take the top spot ahead of his title rival Oscar Piastri. It will be fascinating if the wet weather will play an effect in the main race.

Belgian Grand Prix, qualifying results:
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:40.562
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:40.647
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:40.900
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:40.903
5 Alexander Albon Williams 1:41.201
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:41.260
7 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull 1:41.284
8 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1:41.310
9 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:41.328
10 Gabriel Bortolet0 Sauber 1:42.387
11 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:41.525
12 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:41.617
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:41.633
14 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:41.707
15 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:41.758
16 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:41.939
17 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:42.022
18 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:42.139
19 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:42.385
20 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:42.502

Max Verstappen was victorious at the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race beating the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

The Red Bull driver made the move on the approach to Les Combes on the first lap to take the lead and from there, resisted the pressure from the Papayas for 15 laps to take the win. His twelveth sprint success.

In Verstappen’s wake Charles Leclerc made a similar overtake to take third from Lando Norris, while Esteban Ocon led the midfield battle in fifth ahead of Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman.

With Leclerc unable to keep up with the two leaders, Norris reclaimed third on the fourth lap on the Kemmel Straight and soon caught up to the lead battle between Verstappen and Piastri.

Starting on used mediums compared to new tyres for Piastri and Norris, Verstappen could not escape DRS range but used his straight-line speed to hold off Piastri, who continued to close in on the Red Bull’s gearbox towards Les Combes and yet unable to make the move.

On lap 11 Piastri came closest at Turn 5’s main overtaking opportunity, with McLaren still the quickest car overall and Verstappen starting to report brake issues. But that was as close as he would get, with Verstappen taking the chequered flag to start Red Bull’s new era without Christian Horner with a win.

Norris too was keen for an opening to attack his championship rival Piastri, but was forced to sit back and watch Verstappen and his teammate cross the finishing line. The result means Piastri adds a single point to his championship lead on Norris, which now amounts to nine points.

Leclerc was a distant fourth as his Ferrari was easily dropped by the leaders, while Ocon and Sainz finished fifth and sixth. Bearman secured a double points finish for Haas in seventh, with Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar easily defeating Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and his teammate Liam Lawson for the final point in eighth.

The Mercedes pair of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli were unable to significantly move up in the DRS train after a poor sprint qualifying session, Russell crossing the line down in P12 and Antonelli in P17. Lewis Hamilton moved up from P17 to P15 in his Ferrari after an equally difficult race.

Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly lost out on a points-scoring opportunity with Alpine as a water leak meant he could not take up his eighth grid spot. Gasly eventually joined the race two laps down for what turned out to be a test session.

So not the most thrilling sprint race at Spa as the opening lap decided the outcome of the result. It will be interesting for the main race as the weather is going to be wet.

Belgian Grand Prix, sprint results:
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 26:37.997
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.753s
3 Lando Norris McLaren +1.414s
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +10.176s
5 Esteban Ocon Haas +13.789s
6 Carlos Sainz Williams +14.964s
7 Oliver Bearman Haas +18.610s
8 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +19.119s
9 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +22.183s
10 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +22.897s
11 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +24.551
12 George Russell Mercedes +25.969s
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +26.595s
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +29.046s
15 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +30.175s
16 Alexander Albon Williams +30.941s
17 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +31.981s
18 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +32.867s
19 Franco Colapinto Alpine +38.072s
20 Pierre Gasly Alpine +2 laps

Oscar Piastri will start the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race in pole position for McLaren. The championship leader will be joined on the front row with Max Verstappen while Silverstone winner Lando Norris had to settle for third.

The McLaren driver just made it through in SQ2 due to a deleted lap time, but then set lap time of one minute, 40.510 seconds in the final segment of sprint qualifying to put almost five tenths on Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Lando Norris a massive six tenths behind in third.

“Sorry for the heart attack,” Piastri told his team over the radio. “That wasn’t in the plan, but the car was mega.”

Charles Leclerc claimed fourth for Ferrari, while Esteban Ocon excelled for Haas by taking fifth on the sprint grid.

Carlos Sainz was sixth for Williams ahead of Oliver Bearman and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto completed a top ten that saw several big players missing out.

McLaren’s Norris and Piastri went out early for a banker lap in SQ2, which was delayed to clean up gravel, though the latter’s time was crucially deleted for track limits at the top of the Raidillon.

That meant Verstappen momentarily got in front, with Norris taking over the segment lead with his second lap, with one minute, 41.412 seconds effort.

Piastri almost paid a huge price for his deleted lap, with his second attempt only good enough to make it through to SQ3 in P10, by just 0.041 seconds.

Liam Lawson was the first to be eliminated in P11, followed by Yuki Tsunoda. Instead of Piastri, the biggest victim was George Russell, who went out in P13.

The Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll only managed P14 and P15, while Sauber’s Bortoleto and Alpine’s Gasly were the stars of the session in fifth and sixth.

Piastri led the early runs in SQ1 from Verstappen and Norris, with one minute, 41.769 seconds, as drivers scrambled to avoid the back of the grid.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli suffered a spin on the exit of Stavelot, heading through the gravel but escaping without apparent damage.

Lewis Hamilton also had a big moment on his first run, meaning he and Antonelli were two of five drivers in danger of being knocked out, alongside Gasly, Franco Colapinto and Bearman, who aborted his lap.

But neither driver’s luck improved on the second run, with a frustrated Hamilton spinning at the Bus Stop chicane after his rear tyres instantly locked under braking, seeing the seven-time world champion knocked out in P18.

Gasly saved himself in P15 at the expense of Alex Albon, while Nico Hulkenberg was down in P17 after having to fight for track position with Lawson. Behind Hamilton, Colapinto was out in P19 with Antonelli last after reporting brake issues.

So a solid pole position for the sprint race for the championship leader. The first lap is going to be interesting thanks to the long drag race towards Les Combes. Bring on the sprint!

Belgian Grand Prix, sprint qualifying:
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:40.510
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:40.987
3 Lando Norris McLaren 1:41.128
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:41.278
5 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:41.565
6 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:41.761
7 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:41.857
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:41.959
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1:41.971
10 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber 1:42.176
11 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:42.169
12 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull 1:42.184
13 George Russell Mercedes 1:42.330
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:42.453
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:42.832
16 Alexander Albon Williams 1:43.212
17 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:43.217
18 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:43.408
19 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:43.587
20 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:45.394

Lando Norris took a popular victory at Silverstone by gaining an advantage over a penalty for teammate Oscar Piastri, as Nico Hulkenberg finally claimed his first Formula 1 podium after 239 starts.

The McLaren driver moved ahead of Piastri when the championship leader served his ten-second penalty, and managed to draw out his lead despite Piastri’s attempt at a fightback to ensure he collected a home win.

Having passed polesitter Max Verstappen for the lead in the early wet conditions, Piastri picked up a penalty for a safety-car infringement at the end of a second safety car period, where he appeared to accelerate before the restart before slowing down suddenly. This caught out Max Verstappen who was directly behind the McLaren.

As a result, Piastri took a ten-second penalty which he served during his final pitstop to hand Norris, who picked up second when Verstappen slid off on that same restart, the lead.

Although Piastri attempted to fight back and put Norris under pressure at the end, simultaneously exerting pressure on his pitwall by suggesting “if you don’t think if it was fair, we should swap back and just race”, McLaren chose to leave the order as was – and Norris then managed to add to his lead to capture his first British Grand Prix win.

Hulkenberg drove an incredible race to claim third, having moved up the order by timing a first pitstop for a second set of intermediates perfectly to sit fourth following the safety cars.

The Sauber driver then closed in on Lance Stroll, who was up to third with his own fortunate pitstop timings, and passed the Aston Martin driver when DRS became available. Hulkenberg had to deal with the incoming threat of Lewis Hamilton once the Ferrari driver passed Stroll, but held firm at the end of the intermediate stint and timed his final stop for slicks correctly to lock down third place.

A borderline wet track contributed to a stop-start opening seven laps, as the likes of George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoleto and Oliver Bearman pitted at the end of the formation lap for slick tyres, gambling on the wet final sector drying up.

A brace of VSC periods followed – Liam Lawson going off with damage after a clash with Esteban Ocon, prompting three laps of a full-course yellow, before Bortoleto slipped off at Turn 2 to produce another stoppage in racing.

Once racing finally resumed on the seventh lap, Piastri immediately put Verstappen under scrutiny and got on his rival’s tail; he stalked the defending champion through the opening sector and kept with him through the second to build a run out of Becketts. He made the move for the lead into Stowe, and proceeded to clear off.

Verstappen was thus left in Lando’s clutches, as the McLaren driver had shaken off an early challenge from Lewis Hamilton to preserve third. By lap 11, Verstappen’s tyres were starting to ail and Norris attempted to pounce through Copse – but held off and picked up second when the Red Bull slipped off at Becketts.

However, the rain began to fall once again and the front runners pitted for another set of intermediate tyres; McLaren’s slower stop for Norris ensured Verstappen could reclaim second. Once the two had passed the yet-to-stop Alex Albon, Norris tried to reclaim second – but ran out of time as the safety car emerged despite the worsening rain.

The field was frozen for over three laps behind the safety car before the race resumed, but the field managed about half a lap before it returned in front of Piastri as Hadjar put his car in the wall at Copse after rear-ending Andrea Kimi Antonelli into the braking zone.

After a four-lap train to clear the Racing Bulls debris, Piastri took the reins as the safety car pulled in; Oscar then tried to back up the pack on the Hangar Straight, which almost caught Verstappen unaware.

The race stewards deemed Piastri’s actions worthy of a ten-second penalty. Verstappen then spun on his own as Piastri led the field away through Vale, conceding second to Norris and dropping to P10.

Verstappen recovered to fifth position; despite balance struggles in the wet, he put a series of moves on the Williams drivers, Pierre Gasly, and Stroll – although was 17 seconds adrift of Hamilton by the end. Gasly, Stroll, Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, and George Russell completed the top ten.

So a crazy race thanks to the typical UK weather. The rain made the racing exciting but the penalty for Oscar Piastri was harsh. The championship leader deserved better but that’s the rules. Lando Norris is a worthy winner at his home race and for McLaren to score a 1-2 finish, this is a solid result at Silverstone.

As for Nico Hulkenberg, finally a podium after so many races! The Sauber driver fully deserves this achievement after a fine drive from starting P19 to come home in P3. What a result at the British Grand Prix for the Hulk.

British Grand Prix, race results:
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:37:15.735
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +6.812s
3 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +34.742s
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +39.812s
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull +56.781s
6 Pierre Gasly Alpine +59.857s
7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +60.603s
8 Alexander Albon Williams +64.135s
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +65.858s
10 George Russell Mercedes +70.674s
11 Oliver Bearman Haas +72.095s
12 Carlos Sainz Williams +76.592s
13 Esteban Ocon Haas +77.301s
14 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +84.477s
15 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +1 lap
Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes DNF
Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber DNF
Liam Lawson Racing Bulls DNF
Franco Colapinto Alpine DNF

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen took a surprising pole position for the British Grand Prix, beating both the McLarens to go top at Silverstone.

With Ferrari, in particular Lewis Hamilton, seeming the most likely to challenge Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to pole, it was instead reigning world champion Verstappen who put in a final lap with one minute, 24.892 seconds to grab the top position.

Championship leader Piastri will start on the front row after a small error on his final effort. Norris was the top of the home favourites but only able to go third-quickest for McLaren, with an all-British second row as Geroge Russell was fourth for Mercedes.

Ferrari had threatened to steal McLaren’s glory following a strong start to the Silverstone weekend, but Hamilton could only manage fifth due to a messy final sector on his last flying lap, with his teammate Charles Leclerc will start alongside.

Rookies Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman were next up, but both have penalties for the race, with Antonelli dropping three places following his crash into Verstappen in Austria last week, while Bearman was hit with a ten-place penalty for the second time this season due to a red-flag infringement in FP3.

Fernando Alonso took ninth for Aston Martin but will be pleased to start seventh, alongside the Alpine of Pierre Gasly.

Ferrari looked in trouble towards the end of Q2 but had saved a fresh set of tyres for both drivers, who delivered under the pressure on a single lap, Hamilton just beating Leclerc for the fastest time.

It was not to be for Williams, however, with Carlos Sainz coming home in P11 and Alex Albon in P14, while Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls were knocked out too – although the penalties for Antonelli and Bearman at least promote some further up the grid.

With continuing question marks of Franco Colapinto’s seat at Alpine, the crash in Q1 was awkward and it ended his qualifying prematurely – especially with Gasly’s performance on the other side of the garage.

Having spun off at the final corner, he initially kept the car running and got back on track after minimal contact with the wall, but – as Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore put his head in his hands – the red flag was brought out as Colapinto’s car came to a halt and required rescue from the marshals.

The others to be eliminated in Q1 were Liam Lawson, who ran wide in his Racing Bulls on his final flying lap, while Lance Stroll was inbetween the Saubers of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg.

So an exciting end to the final segment of qualifying and yet it was a surprise to see Max Verstappen take pole position as predictions were made that the McLarens were the favourite to land a front row and pole. The low downforce on Max’s car helps for straight-line speed and yet Oscar and Lando have a quick race car. Going to be a thrilling British Grand Prix.

British Grand Prix, qualifying positions:
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:24.892
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:24.995
3 Lando Norris McLaren 1:25.010
4 George Russell Mercedes 1:25.029
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:25.095
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:25.121
7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:25.621
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:25.785
9 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:25.746
10 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:25.374*
11 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull 1:25.826
12 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1:25.864
13 Alexander Albon Williams 1:25.889
14 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:25.950
15 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:26.440
16 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber 1:26.446
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:26.504
18 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:25.471**
19 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:26.574
20 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:27.060
*Three-place grid penalty for collision at the Red Bull Ring
**Ten-place grid penalty for red-flag infringement in FP3

Lando Norris recovered from a non-finish at Canada to take race victory at the Austrian Grand Prix with a commanding drive from pole to race victory at the Red Bull Ring. His McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri had to settle for second, scoring Papaya an 1-2 finish while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third.

As for the home crowd favourite Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver was unable to complete a lap as he was innocently taken out by an out of control Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Turn 3. Having to start in P7 on the grid was a disappointment and to be knocked out on lap 1 was painful for the defending champion. At least the Mercedes driver was feeling and saying sorry for an early exit.

It was an intense battle between the McLarens as there was no team orders for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The championship leader tried to get ahead but Norris was in control and this was a perfect comeback after a collision from Canada. The next race is Lando’s home race so expect a big welcome in Silverstone.

Piastri had been given permission to battle for the lead before being warned by the McLaren pit wall that one of his attempts had been too close. In the final stages of the race, a late push was not quite enough to give him the chance to threaten Norris for the lead due to the backmarkers.

Charles Leclerc took the final step on the podium, coming home a distant third for Ferrari, which proved to be the best of the rest as Lewis Hamilton took fourth position.

George Russell, race winner in Canada, was over half a minute behind Hamilton in fifth, with Liam Lawson an impressive sixth for Racing Bulls.

A battle of master and apprentice saw the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso hold off a late challenge from Gabriel Bortoleto for seventh, the Sauber rookie picking up his first points of his Formula 1 career.

Nico Hulkenberg also scored points for Sauber in ninth, with the Haas of Esteban Ocon rounding out the top ten.

The initial start was aborted as Carlos Sainz failed to get his Williams off the starting line and was only able to be pushed away from the starting grid as Norris led the formation lap into the final corner.

Sainz eventually got going but, after coming into the pits, the rear of his Williams caught fire and his mechanics sprinted to the end of the pitlane to quell the flames – only for Sainz to be forced to retire before the restart.

Once the five red lights finally went out, Piastri passed Leclerc into turn one as Russell got past former teammate Hamilton, it was behind them, though, where the action happened. Reigning world champion Verstappen was left waving to his adoring fans as Antonelli locked his rears and steamed straight into the world champion at Turn 3.

The incident brought out the safety car just moments after Hamilton had retaken fourth from the Mercedes of Russell, with the Ferrari able to hold Russell at the restart.

Up front, McLaren gave Piastri the clearance to race Norris and he kept the pressure on the leader, who was racing in the clean air.

It was lap 11 where Piastri made his move into Turn 3 after a small error from Norris, who kept a cool head and cut back underneath the rear wing of his teammate to retake the lead.

Alex Albon compounded a dreadful afternoon for Williams, retiring at the end of lap 16 to leave both cars in the garage.

Meanwhile, out front, Norris came in for his first stop at the end of lap 20, having survived a late lunge from Piastri that saw the McLaren driver lock up slightly.

Norris switched to the hard compound but a stop of 3.1s gave Piastri a chance to push – even if he reported a flat spot from the earlier dive at Norris into Turn 4. McLaren asked Piastri if he wanted to follow his teammate into the pits or stay out and have fresher tyres later in the race.

Piastri came in on lap 24 and it was another slow stop from McLaren, 3.4 seconds stationary in his box as he emerged over five seconds adrift of Norris – he was then given a message over the radio that his Turn 4 attempt was too close for comfort at McLaren.

Yuki Tsunoda, struggling for performance as the sole Red Bull remaining in the race, was battling further down the field and clipped Franco Colapinto at Turn 4, Tsunoda requiring a new front wing and dropping to the back of the field before the Red Bull driver was handed a 10-second penalty for the collision.

As the race passed the midway point, Piastri started to close in on Norris as he took a whole second out of the leader on lap 40.

The positions remained the same heading into the second round of stops, Norris boxing a lap earlier while Piastri ended up behind the Tsunoda/Colapinto battle and was almost crashed into by the latter, who appeared oblivious to the fact he was being lapped and was handed a five-second penalty as a result.

Heading into the final ten laps, Piastri cut the gap once again, getting to within two seconds of Norris who pleaded over the radio – “I need some pace, please help.” He was later told that he had front-wing damage that the team could not address.

Norris would hold on to take the win, managing to put the battle of Alonso and Bortoleto between himself and Piastri for the closing lap.

So a fantastic pole to win for Lando Norris. He needed this to regain his confidence after a crash in Canada. His home race is next so expect a warm welcome from the passionate crowd at Silverstone.

Austrian Grand Prix, race results:
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:23:47.693
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +2.695s
3 Chalres Leclerc Ferrari +19.820s
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +29.020s
5 George Russell Mercedes +62.396s
6 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +67.754s
7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1 lap
8 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +1 lap
9 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +1 lap
10 Esteban Ocon Haas +1 lap
11 Oliver Bearman Haas +1 lap
12 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +1 lap
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1 lap
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1 lap
15 Franco Colapinto Alpine +1 lap
16 Yuki Tsuonda Red Bull +2 laps
Alexander Albon Williams DNF
Max Verstappen Red Bull DNF
Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes DNF
Carlos Sainz Williams DNS

McLaren’s Lando Norris dominated the qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring by being quickest in all three segments of the session with the end result scoring a pole position.

Norris had earlier sat out of FP1 for Formula 2 driver Alex Dunne. After that, Lando led all the way in every session and was untouchable in Q3 that was tempered by a late yellow flag.

Lando’s super pace saw him take P1 with the biggest gap of the season to date, his lap time of one minute, 03.971 seconds was more than enough to keep Charles Leclerc behind him – although the Ferrari driver will be delighted to have split the Papayas.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri will start third after a spin for the Alpine of Pierre Gasly ruined the final lap of the McLaren driver, as well as the Red Bull of Max Verstappen – who will start seventh having taken pole in the past four Austrian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton will start in fourth position for Ferrari with Canadian Grand Prix race winner George Russell fifth and Liam Lawson impressing by taking sixth for Racing Bulls.

With Verstappen down in seventh he will start alongside the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto, who followed up his Formula 2 win in Styria last year by putting in his best Formula 1 qualifying performance of his rookie season.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was ninth for Mercedes with Gasly’s untimely spin leaving him only P10.

A red flag in Q2 due to a fire at the side of the final corner, where Hamilton had run wide, meant that all 15 drivers were pushing for fast laps when the session resumed with a little over five minutes remaining.

Bortoleto put in a quick effort as Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Isack Hadjar, Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman were those unable to produce a time to get through to Q3 and will start P11-P15, respectively, with Antonelli edging through.

Pressure continues to grow on Yuki Tsunoda as he was eliminated in Q1 at the team’s home race.

The Red Bull driver will start in P18, with the back row taken by Carlos Sainz, the Williams driver knocked out in the first stage of qualifying for the third race in a row, and the experienced Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg.

Tsunoda could consider himself slightly unlucky, he was only 0.250 seconds off the Q1 pace of teammate Verstappen – but that proved the difference between P6 and P18, while Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon were also unable to get into Q2.

So a dominant qualifying performance by Lando Norris. Quickest in Q1, Q2 and Q3. Taking pole was well deserved and he looks the favourite to score the Austrian Grand Prix victory on race day.

Austrian Grand Prix, qualifying results:
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:03.971
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:04.492
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:04.554
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:04.582
5 George Russell Mercedes 1:04.763
6 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:04.926
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:04.929
8 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber 1:05.132
9 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:05.276
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:05.649
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:05.128
12 Alexander Albon Williams 1:05.205
13 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1:05.226
14 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:05.288
15 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:05.312
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:05.329
17 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:05.364
18 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull 1:05.369
19 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:05.582
20 Nico Huldenberg Sauber 1:05.606

George Russell defeated Max Verstappen to take his first victory of the season at the Canadian Grand Prix, while Lando Norris was forced to retired after making contact with his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.

Mercedes driver Russell fended Verstappen off at the start after claiming pole and then produced a measured drive, with his lead never under serious challenge.

In a predicted two-stop Formula 1 race, Russell always had an answer to Verstappen’s pitstops and built up a decent gap over the second stint to delay his final stop until lap 43 of 70, which then allowed him to keep his rival at length until the chequered flag to take his and team’s first win of 2025.

Behind Russell and Verstappen, who settled for second, the battle for the final podium podium heated up over the final stint. Russell’s teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli produced his finest Grand Prix drive of his impressive career and even passed Verstappen right as the Red Bull driver went into the pits.

Verstappen’s earlier pitstop allowed him to keep position and, in the second half of the race, Antonelli’s challenge for second faded. The Mercedes rookie instead had to look in his mirrors to fend off McLaren’s Piastri, whom he had overtaken for third on lap one and held off until the finish to take a maiden Formula 1 podium and hand Mercedes a 1-3 finish.

Piastri and McLaren did not enjoy their usual race pace or tyre wear advantage in Canada, despite Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve being a track that focuses on rear tyre management.

As such Piastri was unable to benefit from having fresher hard tyres than Antonelli to find a way past the Mercedes driver, with the championship leader instead coming under pressure from McLaren teammate Norris.

After a disappointing qualifying session to seventh, Norris was having a strongest race pace following an alternative strategy as a way to fight his way back into contention.

Norris started on hards, extended his first stint and then put himself in a position to put pressure on Piastri. After pressuring Piastri for several laps, Norris initially passed the championship leader at the hairpin on lap 46 before the pair went towards the final chicane side by side.

Piastri kept the position by being later on the brakes, but on the main straight Norris then made an error of judgement as he attempted to pass his teammate on the left into a closing gap. The McLaren driver then drove into the back of Piastri and hit the pitwall to suffer terminal suspension damage and a missing front wing.

Norris immediately admitted his mistake on the team radio, saying it was “all on me”, as he suffered a big points loss in the drivers’ championship.

Ferrari suffered a disappointing afternoon, with Charles Leclerc furious as his team abandoned what appeared to be a manageable one-stop strategy and instead settled for sixth, which became fifth after Lando’s retirement.

Lewis Hamilton had a tricky afternoon with disastrously slow race pace, which undid a solid fifth qualifying position and saw him finish behind Leclerc in sixth. The seven-time world champion is believed to have suffered damage after he hit a groundhog, which cost him downforce.

Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg both produced another combative drive to grab their second consecutive points-scoring results in seventh and eighth respectively.

The final points went to the Haas of Esteban Ocon and Williams driver Carlos Sainz, who overcame a disappointing qualifying session where he started P16 on the grid.

Williams teammate Alexander Albon was less fortunate after having to park up on lap 48 with a Mercedes power unit issue, while Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson also retired to conserve engine mileage.

In the drivers’ standings Oscar Piastri extends his lead on Norris by 12 points to take a 22-point advantage heading into the Austrian Grand Prix, which takes place on the Red Bull Ring in two weeks’ time.

So congratulations to Mercedes with a double podium. George Russell winning the race and Andrea Kimi Antonelli scoring his first podium result. Defending world champion Max Verstappen finished between the Silver Arrows pair as the team’s home race is up next.

As for the McLarens, it was predicted that an on-track clash will take place at some point this season due to the highly competitive nature of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. This turned out to be true with the Papaya pair collided into one another. Lando was forced to retire and this has harmed his points in the drivers’ standings. Oscar was able to continue and took fourth but this is the first time this season that neither McLarens finished on the podium.

Canadian Grand Prix, race results:
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:31:52.688
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull+0.228s
3 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +1.014s
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren +2.109s
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +3.442s
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +10.713s
7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +10.972s
8 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +15.364s
9 Esteban Ocon Haas +1 lap
10 Carlos Sainz Williams +1 lap
11 Oliver Bearman Haas +1 lap
12 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +1 lap
13 Franco Colapinto Alpine +1 lap
14 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber F+1 lap
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1 lap
16 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +1 lap
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin A+1 lap
Lando Norris McLaren DNF
Liam Lawson Racing Bulls DNF
Alexander Albon Williams DNF

George Russell grabbed pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix and will start on the front row alongside his Barcelona rival Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull driver was hit with a ten-place penalty and three penalty points after colliding with Russell’s Mercedes during the Spanish Grand Prix. Now, the duo’s battle will head to extra time as the pair will start on the front row in Montreal.

Russell looked strong all weekend and took his first pole since the Las Vegas Grand Prix, a race he went on to win, with a lap time of one minute, 10.899 seconds.

Verstappen had early topped the leaderboard until Russell’s final run upstaged the defending champion, while championship leader Oscar Piastri will start third for McLaren.

Piastri’s title challenger and teammate Lando Norris suffered a tough afternoon and is down in seventh, starting on the fourth row alongside the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli will start fourth, with Lewis Hamilton fifth and Fernando Alonso taking an excellent sixth for Aston Martin. Isack Hadjar and Alex Albon round out the top ten.

Yuki Tsunoda was take a ten-place grid drop and three penalty points during the session after the race stewards ruled on a red flag infringement during FP3. This means he will start from the back of the field having been P11 in Q2.

Franco Colapinto improved on his weekend so far and will start in the P11 vacated by Tsunoda, with Nico Hulkenberg and the Haas pair of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon following close behind.

There were some surprising drivers out in Q1, with Pierre Gasly the slowest and Liam Lawson also knocked out in P19. Home favourite Lance Stroll struggled on his return from injury and is down in P18.

There was a delay during the session with a red flag needed after Albon’s Williams shed a large part of bodywork – engine cover – down the back straight.

His teammate Carlos Sainz was then left frustrated with Hadjar, who had clearly impeded the Williams driver as he narrowly missed the cut, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto also eliminated.

So a great qualifying session for Mercedes and George. It will be interesting if Russell has the pace to stay ahead of his Spanish Grand Prix rival Verstappen and the championship leader Piastri. Bring on the race!

Canadian Grand Prix, qualifying positions:
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:10.899
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:11.059
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:11.120
4 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:11.391
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:11.526
6 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:11.586
7 Lando Norris McLaren 1:11.625
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:11.682
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1:11.867
10 Alexander Albon Williams 1:11.907
11 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:12.142
12 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:12.183
13 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:12.340
14 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:12.634
15 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber 1:12.385
16 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:12.398
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:12.517
18 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:12.525
19 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull 1:12.102*
20 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:12.667
*Ten-place grid penalty due to overtaking under the red flag in FP3