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
Oscar Piastri claimed victory in the Belgian Grand Prix, holding off McLaren team mate and title rival Lando Norris in a wet-dry affair at Spa-Francorchamps to extend his Drivers’ Championship lead to 16 points.
Heavy rain ahead of the 44-lap race delayed proceedings by almost 80 minutes but once racing got underway on Lap 5, the crucial moment came immediately as Piastri got a better run on his team mate and polesitter through Eau Rouge.
The Australian’s run was so great he completed the pass along the Kemmel Straight well before the braking zone of Les Combes and thereafter managed a margin of roughly one second in the early running.
With the circuit having substantially dried and with track position, Piastri pitted on Lap 12 for the medium tyres with Norris forced to complete another lap, and after making his own stop the following tour for hard rubber, the Briton found himself nine seconds adrift.
Despite having to manage his softer compound, Piastri maintained a healthy gap which only reduced in the final laps to as much as 3.1s, but a small mistake from Norris at La Source on the penultimate lap meant the margin extended to 3.4s at the chequered flag.
The two title challengers were well clear of Charles Leclerc in third, the Ferrari driver finishing 20s behind Piastri but having held Saturday’s Sprint winner Max Verstappen at bay throughout, the Red Bull man just 1.5s away from another rostrum.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/piastri-wins-wet-dry-belgian-gp-after-late-pressure-from-title-rival-and.7QmPcUP90MvR5iX0w3j91
Lando Norris believes his team-mate Oscar Piastri was the rightful winner of the Belgian Grand Prix, dismissing ideas that he could have caught him if he’d maintained a perfect performance.
The McLaren driver, speaking after the rainy race at Spa-Francorchamps, admitted that Piastri “did a better job at the beginning,” with the Australian commanding the grand prix after he overtook Norris on the first racing lap.
“Oscar just did a good job [at the start]. Nothing more to say. Committed a bit more through Eau Rouge, and had the slipstream and got the run.
“So nothing to complain of. He did a better job in the beginning, and that was it. Nothing more I could do after that point. I would love to be up top, but Oscar deserved it today.”
With the Briton on the hard tyre compared to Piastri’s mediums, it was a possibility that the Australian would have to make his race a two-stop while Norris went long. But this failed to come to fruition, with Piastri managing to nurse his tyres through to the end of the race.
Norris slowly clawed closer to Piastri, but made a number of mistakes as his hard tyres started to fail. Pushed on whether he could have reached his team-mate if he had driven a perfect race, he admitted there would still be no catching Piastri.
“It’s shoulda, woulda, coulda. Oscar deserved it. I’m sure he made a couple of mistakes, so if he drove a perfect race, I couldn’t have won today. I’ll review my things.
“But I’m still happy for the team. Another one-two. I think our first here for many, many years. A well-deserved result for them and Oscar, too.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/lando-norris-concedes-oscar-piastri-deserved-belgian-gp-win-despite-tyre-strategy/10745880/
Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc has addressed the tense radio messages with his race engineer, Bryan Bozzi, during the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Monegasque driver exclaimed over the team radio, “Leave me alone, please,” after Bozzi informed him that Max Verstappen was 1.2 seconds behind. “I can have no information, then when he’s getting close, I have too much information. Keep it constant. Don’t worry,” he added.
Leclerc crossed the line to finish third at Spa-Francorchamps behind McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
“Max was behind the whole race within two seconds, so it’s never easy,” Leclerc explained in reaction to his third-place finish.
“I knew that the first part of the race was the trickiest one for us because we didn’t have the downforce that the McLaren or that Max had, as they compromised a little bit the qualifying to be better in the rain today. But luckily, it dried up pretty quickly, and then the pace was good.
“But still, Max was right behind the whole race. I’m pretty happy that we managed to keep that third place.”
Addressing the radio messages, the Ferrari driver added: “The pressure is high, especially in those conditions, because as soon as you are 10, 15 centimetres out the first… the right line, then it’s wet or greasy and then you can lose the line and do a very big mistake. So at one point, I just told Bryan to leave me alone.
“But obviously, he’s trying to give me the most information. Sometimes I need them. Today I didn’t, and I let him know.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/charles-leclerc-addresses-tense-belgian-gp-radio-messages-pressure-is-high/10745873/
Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda was left frustrated after crossing the line to finish 13th in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Japanese driver explained that a “miscommunication” with the team over a pitstop cost him crucial points. After 13 races of the 2025 Formula 1 season, Tsunoda has accumulated just 10 championship points – four from grands prix and six during sprint races.
Since stepping into the Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen, he has struggled to find the same performance in the RB21 as the four-time champion – a recurring issue for the second driver at the Milton Keynes outfit.
The race started behind the safety car and with all drivers on intermediate tyres. It was the timing of the first pitstop which proved imperative to get right. The Japanese driver missed the optimal moment for the stop, which hindered the rest of his race. Helmut Marko confirmed this to Motorsport.com and other media after the race.
“Yes, there was a miscommunication and then his speed was also not good,” he explained.
Tsunoda was understandably frustrated as another race passed him by with a finish outside the top 10.
“Very frustrating, it already started from a miscommunication, or I don’t know what to say more than that, to swap the tyres. They called me at a late moment, just after the pit entry. For one lap, this kind of long track is very decisive, and unfortunately, I lost that opportunity. I lost four positions, five positions, whatever, and I was stuck behind Pierre. I tried my best to overtake him, but unfortunately, I couldn’t.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/yuki-tsunoda-frustrated-after-miscommunication-cost-him-points-in-belgian-gp/10745905/
Oscar Piastri was delighted to bounce back from losing out in Saturday’s Sprint to win the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, with the Australian proud of his “lively” Lap 1 overtake on team mate Lando Norris that saw him move into the lead.
Piastri had lined up in P1 on the grid for the Sprint earlier in the weekend but then missed out on victory after being passed by Max Verstappen, while he experienced further disappointment in Qualifying later in the day when he was beaten to pole by the other McLaren of Norris.
However, the 24-year-old looked keen to make up for that come race day. Following a delayed start owing to the wet conditions, Piastri battled with Norris on the opening lap when the action got underway and got a better run than his team mate through Eau Rouge, allowing him to then make the move.
Asked after jumping out of the car about how it had felt behind the wheel, Piastri smiled: “Lively, very lively. I knew that Lap 1 was going to be probably my best chance of winning the race, and I got a good exit out of Turn 1 and lifted as little as I dared through Eau Rouge, and then it was enough.
“The rest of the race we managed really well, struggling a little bit at the end. Maybe the medium [tyre] wasn’t the best for the last five or six laps, but we had it mostly under control which is what I wanted.
“I was pretty disappointed with myself after yesterday, but turns out starting second at Spa is not too bad after all.”
Pushed on how much he had already decided to take the risk before the race had started, Piastri admitted: “To be honest I was a bit disappointed it was a rolling start because I thought that was going to take away some opportunity.
“I got a good exit out of Turn 1, was able to stay close and when I was that close I knew that I’d just got to lift a little bit less than Lando did and try and keep it on the track. [It was] a bit lively up over the hill, but [I] managed to make it stick and from there the tow helped me out. I’m proud of my first lap.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/starting-second-is-not-too-bad-piastri-reflects-on-lively-overtake-after.2uPZjw4f1r0txUL1TJyVjL