Piastri Beats Norris in the Wet and the Dry

Oscar Piastri plunged into Eau Rouge, braked late, and overtook pole-sitter Lando Norris on the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix under green flag conditions—the fifth restart of the race—at Spa-Francorchamps. Norris tried an alternative strategy, switching to hard tyres after changing from intermediates to slicks, but had to settle for second place. Charles Leclerc completed the podium. Lewis Hamilton gained 11 positions to finish seventh and was voted ‘Driver of the Day’. Gabriel Bortoleto scored points for the second time, finishing ninth. Belgian organisers reported a crowd of 389,000 over the three days of the event. Formula 1 races again next weekend at the Hungaroring.

The race was delayed by 80 minutes due to excessive water on the track. With a rolling start on intermediate tyres, Piastri’s victory was effectively decided early on. Tyre changes began on lap 12, with most drivers opting for mediums. A second stop was expected but never materialised. On hards to avoid another stop, Norris pressed on but never threatened the leader. The McLarens were flying, and third-placed Charles Leclerc, in the Ferrari, finished 20.1 seconds behind Norris. Max Verstappen, in fourth, made several attempts to pass Leclerc but was unsuccessful. In the championship standings, Max now sits 81 points behind leader Piastri, making a fifth world title highly unlikely. In the constructors’ standings, McLaren holds more than double the points of second-placed Ferrari and is on course for back-to-back world championships.

Starting 10th and reaching Q3 for the second time, Gabriel Bortoleto drove cautiously on the wet track and pushed harder once it dried. In a team play, he passed Nico Hülkenberg in pursuit of eighth place, but could not complete the move.

On Saturday, in the sprint, Laurent Mekies made a strong start to his career at Red Bull, replacing Christian Horner. Max Verstappen, starting second, passed Oscar Piastri on the opening lap and stayed in front to the finish, followed by the McLaren pair. The short race saw few overtakes.

Formula 3 – Rain prevented the main race from taking place on Sunday. On Saturday, in the short race, Brazilian Rafael Câmara finished fifth and remains in the lead of the championship, 28 points ahead of the second-placed driver. Two rounds remain in the season: Hungaroring next weekend and Monza.