Belgian Grand Prix: Piastri - Norris - Leclerc
Cloudy. Damp track. Air +18°C, track +25°C.
On Friday and Saturday, drivers and spectators enjoyed great weather at Spa – during the weekend with the Saturday sprint, several interesting events occurred. On Friday, during practice and qualifying for the sprint, Piastri posted the best time; on Saturday, Verstappen won the sprint; and in the main qualifying, Norris took pole position.
On Sunday morning, it started raining. The Formula 3 race was canceled after a couple of abortive starts. The Formula 2 drivers managed to race, but as the rain intensified near the finish, incidents occurred – a safety car was deployed, and then the race was stopped with red flags.
The forecast predicted a pause in the rain before the start of the Formula 1 race, then more rain later – and that’s what happened.
Initially, the weather improved, but half an hour before the start, spectators on the stands again took out their umbrellas. The track, which had dried, quickly got wet again. Teams were allowed to use awnings over the cars on the grid.
The first row on the grid was Norris and Piastri from McLaren, second — Leclerc and Verstappen, third — Elbon, who achieved his best season result, and Russell.
Hamilton, Antonelli, and Alonso had unsuccessful qualifying sessions, so teams used the opportunity to change their power units. Sainz changed settings in the parc fermé. All four started from the pit lane.
The rain continued. All cars went out on intermediates behind the safety car, but after less than a lap, red flags appeared – there was too much water on the track, visibility was poor.
Drivers returned to the pit lane and left their cars until conditions improved. Essentially, there was no start, and the three-hour window for the race was not initiated.
The pause extended. The rain was not heavy, but a new cloud approached, and the race management waited for it to pass. FIA announced that the race would start once the rain stopped and standing water was cleared.
An hour after the scheduled start time (15:00 local), a medical car completed a reconnaissance lap, and the race director scheduled the start at 16:20.
The sun appeared. Parts of the seven-kilometer circuit dried nearly completely, while other sections remained wet. The start was announced on intermediates behind the safety car, with drivers required to complete at least two laps with the safety car before the actual race start.
At the start, Norris kept the lead, but in Turn 4, he managed a slight slide – there were problems with the battery, and Piastri overtook and took the lead of the race.
On the 6th lap, Russell passed Elbon, and Sainz and Hamilton overtook Stroll.
The top ten on the 7th lap: Piastri - Norris - Leclerc - Verstappen - Russell - Elbon - Tsunoda - Hülkenberg - Lawson - Bottas.
On the 7th lap, Antonelli overtook Stroll for 18th place.
On the 8th and 9th laps, Hamilton gradually overtook Sainz, Colapinto, Hulkenberg, and Gasly, moving up to 14th position.
Verstappen pressured Leclerc for some time; Charles made a mistake at La Source but held Verstappen behind.
On the 11th lap, Ocon allowed Berman to pass; Hamilton was closing from behind, but he was called into the pits, and Lewis was the first to switch to slick tires. Gasly, Hulkenberg, and Alonso followed him.
On the 12th lap, Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Elbon, Lawson, Bottas, Berman, Colapinto, and Sainz switched to slicks.
On the 13th lap, Norris, Tsunoda, Hajar, and Ocon made pit stops. All moved to Medium tires, except Norris, who was fitted with Hard tires.
Top ten on the 14th lap: Piastri - Norris - Leclerc - Verstappen - Russell - Elbon - Hamilton - Lawson - Hulkenberg - Gasly.
On the 16th lap, Berman overtook Alonso for 13th place.
On the 18th lap, Hulkenberg, under team orders, let his teammate pass. Antonelli overtook Colapinto for 15th place.
On the 21st lap, Hajar made a pit stop.
On the 27th lap, Antonelli overtook Alonso for 14th. Sainz changed tires and received a warning for exceeding track limits.
On the 29th lap, Colapinto changed tires; on the 30th, Alonso; on the 31st, Antonelli.
On the 31st lap, Norris attacked, posting the best lap time, but then made a mistake and went off the curb, losing several tenths.
On the 33rd lap, Hulkenberg made a pit stop.
On the 34th lap, Norris lost seven tenths, locking up his tires. Hulkenberg overtook Ocon for 14th.
Top ten on the 35th lap: Piastri - Norris - Leclerc - Verstappen - Russell - Elbon - Hamilton - Lawson - Hulkenberg - Gasly.
Norris gradually caught up to Piastri but made a mistake again on the 43rd lap.
On the 44th lap, Berman and Hulkenberg overtook Tsunoda.
Oscar Piastri won the Belgian Grand Prix, his eighth career victory and sixth of the season. Lando Norris finished second — McLaren achieved its 55th one-two in history.
Charles Leclerc finished third, his fifth podium of the season — the 834th in Ferrari’s history.
Lewis Hamilton finished seventh, having gained 11 positions during the race, after starting from the pit lane.
Despite challenging conditions, there were no retirements; all twenty drivers who started were classified.
Next week, the season will conclude with the Hungaroring event.
Race results
| Driver | Team | Time | Speed (km/h) | Pit stops |
|-------------------|-----------------------------------|----------------|--------------|-----------|
| 1. O. Piastri | McLaren | 1:25:22.601 | 216.489 | 1 |
| 2. L. Norris | McLaren | +3.415 | 216.344 | 1 |
| 3. Sh. Leclerc | Ferrari | +20.185 | 215.639 | 1 |
| 4. M. Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | +21.731 | 215.574 | 1 |
| 5. D. Russell | Mercedes | +34.863 | 215.025 | 1 |
| 6. A. Elbon | Williams | +39.926 | 214.814 | 1 |
| 7. L. Hamilton | Ferrari | +40.679 | 214.783 | 1 |
| 8. L. Lawson | Racing Bulls | +52.033 | 214.312 | 1 |
| 9. G. Bortoleto | Sauber | +56.434 | 214.130 | 1 |
| 10. P. Gasly | Alpine | +72.714 | 213.459 | 1 |
| 11. O. Berman | Haas | +73.145 | 213.441 | 1 |
| 12. N. Hulkenberg| Sauber | +73.628 | 213.421 | 2 |
| 13. Y. Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing | +75.395 | 213.348 | 1 |
| 14. L. Stroll | Aston Martin | +79.831 | 213.167 | 1 |
| 15. E. Ocon | Haas | +86.063 | 212.912 | 1 |
| 16. K. Antonelli | Mercedes | +86.721 | 212.885 | 2 |
| 17. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | +87.924 | 212.835 | 2 |
| 18. C. Sainz | Williams | +92.024 | 212.668 | 2 |
| 19. F. Colapinto | Alpine | +95.250 | 212.537 | 2 |
| 20. A. Hajar | Racing Bulls | +1 lap | 211.033 | 2 |
Fastest lap: Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) — 1:44.861 (32nd lap, 240.455 km/h).
Championship standings:
Drivers
| Rank | Driver | Country | Team | Points |
|--------|-------------------|---------|-------------------------------------|---------|
| 1. | O. Piastri | | McLaren F1 Team | 266 |
| 2. | L. Norris | | McLaren F1 Team | 250 |
| 3. | M. Verstappen | | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 185 |
| 4. | D. Russell | | Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team | 157 |
| 5. | Sh. Leclerc | | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 139 |
| 6. | L. Hamilton | | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 109 |
| 7. | K. Antonelli | | Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team | 63 |
| 8. | A. Elbon | | Atlassian Williams Racing | 54 |
| 9. | N. Hulkenberg | | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 37 |
| 10. | E. Ocon | | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 27 |
| 11. | A. Hajar | | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team| 22 |
| 12. | P. Gasly | | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 20 |
| 13. | L. Stroll | | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 20 |
| 14. | L. Lawson | | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team| 16 |
| 15. | F. Alonso | | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 16 |
| 16. | C. Sainz | | Atlassian Williams Racing | 16 |
| 17. | Y. Tsunoda | | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 10 |
| 18. | O. Berman | | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 8 |
| 19. | G. Bortoleto | | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 6 |
Constructors' Championship
| Rank | Team | Engine | Points |
|--------|----------------------------------|------------------------|---------|
| 1. | McLaren F1 Team | Mercedes | 516 |
| 2. | Scuderia Ferrari HP | Ferrari | 248 |
| 3. | Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team | Mercedes | 220 |
| 4. | Oracle Red Bull Racing | Honda RBPT | 192 |
| 5. | Atlassian Williams Racing | Mercedes | 70 |
| 6. | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | Ferrari | 43 |
| 7. | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team| Honda RBPT | 41 |
| 8. | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | Mercedes | 36 |
| 9. | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | Ferrari | 35 |
| 10. | BWT Alpine F1 Team | Renault | 20 |
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