Oscar Piastri won the Belgian Grand Prix in a hurry to extend his Formula One lead to 16 points, passing McLaren teammate Lando Norris and clinching the title with a bold move.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second to none on Sunday as McLaren, the reigning champion, came out with a sixth one-two in 13 races and third in a row.
Due to the weather, which included standing water and heavy rain, which caused the race at Spa-Francorchamps to be red-flagged after a first formation lap and was delayed by an hour and 20 minutes.
After four laps behind the safety car, the racing started rolling and Piastri was uninspired to continue.
In a move of total commitment in the risky conditions, the Australian slippedstreamed Norris through the gruesome Eau Rouge section of the track before scythed past down the Kemmel straight into Les Combes.
“Lap 1 had my best chance of winning the race,” I knew. He claimed that he had done everything right after I left Turn One and left Eau Rouge.
“We did a fantastic job of the rest of the race.” At the end, I struggled. For the final five or six laps, the mediums might not have been the best. We were largely in control of it.
The 24-year-old becomes the first Australian to win that many races in a single F1 season, joining former world champions Jack Brabham and Alan Jones, with his sixth win coming in 2025.
Norris had a slight battery problem, with the Briton asking over the radio why he had “no pack,” before being assured by his race engineer that he was returning. He was not looking for any more excuses.
Oscar did a good job, he said. There is nothing more to say. He claimed he had the slipstream and got the run after dedicating a little more to Eau Rouge.
There is therefore nothing to be unhappy about. In the beginning, he did a better job, and that was it. After that, I had nothing to do. Oscar deserved it today, even though I would love to be in the top.
Horse-racing
Norris now has 266 points, up from 266 points. Max Verstappen, the reigning champion of Red Bull, is third, but 81 points behind. Hungary will compete next weekend before the August break, making it more of a two-horse race than ever before.
Ferrari’s Ferrari had 516 points, while Mercedes had a further 218 points, while McLaren had 516 points.
Piastri pitted on a drying track on lap 12 of 44 to switch from medium to intermediate tyres. Norris regrouped after a lap, but he decided to go for the hards and finished nine seconds behind.
The Australian made the tires last to the chequered flag on a one-stop approach, though the Briton might have anticipated Piastri would have had to pit once more.
In the final laps, Piastri cut the gap before late errors put the ever-calm Australian under no pressure as he crossed the line 3. 415 seconds clear of Norris, who had been chasing a third win in a row.
Verstappen won the weekend sprint championship for Mercedes, finishing fourth in his team’s first Grand Prix since Christian Horner’s dismissal.
Lewis Hamilton, the team’s seven-time world champion from last year’s final race with Mercedes, defeated Williams’ Alex Albon for sixth place.
Hamilton, one of four drivers due to start in pit lane, was greatly benefited by the overnight installation of a new engine and the switch to a rolling getaway.
The Briton moved up six spots to start the season with the switch to slicks and pit.
The final point for Alpine came from Pierre Gasly, who finished ninth, and Liam Lawson finished eighth for Racing Bulls.
Source: Aljazeera
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