Max Verstappen held off intense pressure from both McLaren drivers to take victory in the Sprint Race at the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix.
Starting alongside pole-sitter Oscar Piastri, the Red Bull driver showed his trademark composure and race craft to emerge on top at the end of Lap 1.
The Dutchman made the move stick at the end of the Kemmel Straight, Piastri settling for second and Norris completing the podium at Spa-Francorchamps.
Ahead of the race, Alpine confirmed that Franco Colapinto would start from the pit lane after the team took his car out of parc ferme to change the rear wing.
Disaster struck for the Enstone-based squad on the other side of the garage as well, as Pierre Gasly, set to start from eighth on the grid, was forced to withdraw his car from the race start due to a suspected water leak.
However, the team confirmed that it would attempt to fix the issue so the Frenchman could participate in the Sprint to collect some valuable data.
Verstappen takes the lead on Lap 1
With 18 cars on the grid, all starting the race on the Medium compound, the 15-lap Sprint got underway with Piastri leading into Turn 1 with no drama.
Yet heading onto the Kemmel Straight, as expected, Verstappen gained in the slipstream of the McLaren to take the lead of the Sprint.
Norris, meanwhile, lost a position after Charles Leclerc got a strong run out of Eau Rouge and outbraked the Brit into Les Combes.
Esteban Ocon held firm in fifth, as the top 10 largely remained unchanged — aside from Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Liam Lawson, who each gained a spot following Gasly’s withdrawal at the start.
Piastri immediately got within DRS range of Verstappen from Lap 2 onwards as Gasly finally rejoined the race on the next lap.
On Lap 4, Norris patiently bided his time before making a decisive move on Leclerc to reclaim third place, while his McLaren team-mate remained over two seconds up the road.
It was reported that both McLarens had been ordered to cool the brakes due to a concern with the PU, but that didn’t stop Piastri from attacking the leading Red Bull to retake the race lead.
Further down the order, Andrea Kimi Antonelli had moved up to 17th, Lewis Hamilton ahead of him and George Russell only up to 12th.
By Lap 7, Verstappen continued to fend off any challenge from the Australian behind, who was struggling to get close enough on the Kemmel Straight to make a move.
Norris joins the fight for the race lead
Hamilton voiced frustration over team radio about a lack of rear grip, as he struggled to make any progress during the Sprint.
With Piastri unable to get by, his team-mate Norris had closed in on the leading pair, just over a second behind the lead McLaren.
On Lap 9, Norris managed to get within DRS range, but Piastri, for the first time in the Sprint, managed to get under four tenths whilst braking for Les Combes.
Two laps later, Piastri got a strong exit out of Turn 1, capitalising as Verstappen struggled for traction on the run up the hill — showing the first signs of vulnerability.
Although the McLaren driver couldn’t complete the pass, it was the closest he had been to the Red Bull all race.
The next lap, he wasn’t as close with the laps running out for the championship leader.
On Lap 13, Piastri even came under threat from his team-mate, who was told by his race engineer that he had spare battery power to deploy, but Norris was too far back to make a move.
Verstappen survived the next two laps as Piastri could not get a good enough run to take the lead, the reigning World Champion just needing to bring the car home for the rest of the lap.
He did so and took the Sprint Race victory, the 12th of his career as the McLarens settled for a 2-3 finish at Spa-Francorchamps.
Leclerc came home in fourth, Ocon in fifth, Carlos Sainz sixth, Oliver Bearman seventh, and Hadjar taking the final point of the Sprint in eighth place.
READ MORE – F1 2025 Belgian Grand Prix – Sprint Race Results
