Oscar Piastri took some retribution for Silverstone to claim a win from McLaren teammate Lando Norris at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday (July 27). Piastri punished a mistake from Norris on the first lap to move into first, and he held the position until the end of the race.
“I knew that lap one was going to be my best chance of winning the race,” Piastri stated in his post-race interview. “I was a bit disappointed it was a rolling start, but I got a good exit out of turn one, and from there the tow helped me out. Then, I managed the rest of the race well, which is what I wanted. This week, the pace has been incredibly strong.”
OSCAR PIASTRI WINS THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX!!! 🏆🎉#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/iOSreAWkrs
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2025
Charles Leclerc held off a late charge from Max Verstappen to claim the third step on the podium. George Russell came fifth, ahead of an impressive run from Alex Albon’s Williams.
Lewis Hamilton was voted driver of the day, coming through from a starting position of 18th to finish seventh. Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoletto and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10.
The ideal running conditions from Friday and Saturday were replaced by grey skies and a wet Spa Francorchamps track on Sunday, confirming most teams’ decisions to adopt a higher downforce setup for the main race. As is always the case in Formula 1, the damp conditions introduced an element of jeopardy to the race, welcomed by fans but creating additional pressure for the drivers.
The top four starting positions were held by the same four cars as Saturday’s sprint race, but in a different order. Lando Norris lined up in pole beside the sister car of Oscar Piastri, the first time McLaren had a front-row lockout at Spa since 1998.
Charles Leclerc was starting from third, with Verstappen in fourth, the higher downforce on his Red Bull preventing him from repeating his sprint qualifying performance.
A heavy rain shower arrived 30 minutes before lights out, soaking the track as lights out approached. The formation lap was run behind the safety car, and conditions were deemed too dangerous, causing a red flag and a delayed start.
🔴 RED FLAG 🔴
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2025
It's very wet out there and visibility is poor. The drivers will head back to the pit lane to wait for conditions to improve #F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/gVpZV2FO10
Almost one and a half hours after running was stopped, the cars took to the track behind the safety car again. Following four laps in safety car conditions, full racing finally began from a rolling start.
Lando Norris slid his McLaren out of the first corner, allowing the second McLaren to slipstream closely behind through Eu Rouge and up the hill, setting up an easy pass to put Piastri into first place.
Oscar Piastri wastes no time in seizing control of this race 🤩#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/DaRxFSDtCt
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2025
By lap 8, some dry lines were beginning to appear on the track, raising questions as to who would be first to stop for slick tires. Lewis Hamilton was on a charge, passing four cars from a starting position of 18th to put him into 13th.
Hamilton was also the first to pit for medium compound slick tires on lap 11, and was closely followed by several other mid-field runners.
One lap later, race leader Oscar Piastri also stopped for medium compound tires, as did Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc from third and fourth positions, respectively. Lando Norris was too close behind Piastri to stop on the same lap, forcing him to stay out for an additional lap on intermediate wet tires, and putting him at a further disadvantage.
When Norris stopped one lap later, he re-entered the track over six seconds behind Piastri. A decision to fit the hard compound tires, therefore, was an attempt to run to the end of the race and put Piastri under pressure for the win.
LAP 14/44
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2025
Norris follows Piastri into the pits on the following lap – he's opted for the hard tyres while every other driver is on the mediums #F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/ioDrBvqRgU
With Norris holding the gap at around eight seconds, attention turned to whether Piastri could make his medium tires last to the end of the race, or if he would have to stop again.
HALFWAY POINT IN THE RACE 👀#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/ZPhTo3DHBN
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2025
All cars, apart from Norris, were running on medium compound tires, and most had settled into their positions. Lewis Hamilton, now in seventh, was one of the few cars making significant moves through the pack.
LAP 31/44
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2025
Hamilton is in DRS range of Albon and has P6 in his sights 🎯#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/ps2HSq4T72
Despite having the advantage of more durable tires, several mistakes from Norris meant he wasn’t able to get within striking distance. Piastri managed his mediums to perfection to take the win with a 3.447 second gap to his teammate, extending his lead in the championship to 16 points.
2025 F1 Belgian Grand Prix Results
Next up on the F1 calendar is the Hungarian Grand Prix. Coverage from the Hungaroring will kick off on ESPN at 9 a.m. ET, Aug. 3.
Peter Molloy began following Formula 1 during the 1985 Australian Grand Prix. He cheered for a certain Ayrton Senna, who was driving the same black and gold colors as a toy F1 car that Pete had been given. Pete continued to be a fan of Senna throughout his childhood. Fast forward many moons, and Peter now combines significant journalistic experience with decades of watching F1 to cover the latest on-track and off-track action.