Oscar Piastri held his nerve to fend off a late charge from McLaren team-mate Lando Norris and win a rain-delayed Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Australian driver prevailed in the treacherous conditions and converted the sixth 1-2 finish for the papaya squad in 2025.
Norris settled for second after he made multiple mistakes in his pursuit of the victory after losing out on his pole advantage to his team-mate on the delayed restart.
Charles Leclerc took yet another podium finish this season for Ferrari after fending off Max Verstappen for the entire race
Starting from pole position was Norris after he edged out Piastri in qualifying on Saturday.
Leclerc and Verstappen went from the second row behind the papaya front row lockout.
Race start suspended amid heavy rain at Spa
In the lead-up to the formation lap, the track was patchy — dry in some areas but wet in others — before heavy rain began to pour down across the circuit.
Race control confirmed it would be a rolling start if it was safe enough to get started, with every driver on the Intermediate tyres.
But as the Safety Car led the grid around for the formation lap, the starting procedure was suspended and the red flag was thrown due to the poor visibility with the spray.
Norris was the first to complain about the visibility, as Verstappen was left dumbfounded over the team radio with the decision to call such an early stoppage to the race.
According to the FIA weather radar, more heavy rain was expected, with a restart of the formation lap expected to be delayed for a while.
Given the treacherous conditions, the stewards also issued a temporary adjustment to the Safety Car procedure, confirming that drivers would not be penalised for exceeding the usual 10 car-length gap — as long as they remained within 20 car lengths of the car ahead.
The measure was introduced to account for limited visibility and ensure safer spacing in the spray-heavy conditions.
Although the three-hour clock technically starts when the Safety Car pulls away, because the start procedure was suspended before the race officially began, the clock was effectively paused and had not yet started.
With clear skies and a drying track, a restart time was finally given, an hour and 20 minutes after the race was supposed to start.
Piastri takes the lead after delayed Belgian GP restart
The FIA confirmed that “Race Control are planning at least 2 laps behind Safety Car to assess visibility” minutes before the restart.
With the formation lap completed, the Safety Car headed out for Lap 1 as the race got underway with everyone still on the Intermediate tyres.
The visibility was clearer but still poor heading down the Kemmel Straight as four trips around the circuit ensued before the racing action got underway.
A rolling start unfolded heading onto Lap 5 as Norris put foot to the floor out of Blanchimont.
The British driver held the lead into Turn 1, but a slide exiting the corner allowed Piastri to surge past and take the race lead down the Kemmel Straight.
By the end of the lap, Piastri had stretched his advantage to over a second, while Norris reported battery pack issues over team radio — though McLaren quickly assured him the energy boost was functioning normally.
On Lap 6, George Russell overtook Alex Albon at Les Combes to claim fifth place on track, as Lewis Hamilton gained a position to move up to 17th.
Norris soon closed the gap to Piastri, appearing more comfortable with his battery pack for the moment.
Meanwhile, Verstappen pressed hard behind Ferrari’s Leclerc, who was struggling to keep his car on the racing line.
Hamilton continued his charge through the field, overtaking Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto on Lap 8 to move into 15th place.
Meanwhile, the McLarens pulled clear, building a five-second gap over Leclerc, as Hamilton then passed Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly to claim 13th.
Hamilton climbs up the order as the crossover point arrives
The Monegasque ran wide at Turn 1 on Lap 11 but managed to fend off Verstappen’s challenge behind.
A crossover point neared with Piastri extending the lead over Norris to two seconds, no team ready to make the bold switch onto slicks just yet.
Hamilton was the first to switch to Medium tyres, with Hulkenberg, Gasly, and Fernando Alonso following closely behind.
Race leader Piastri pitted on the next lap, while Norris stayed out, unable to pit immediately due to the risk of a double-stack.
Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Albon, Liam Lawson, and Gabriel Bortoleto all made their stops on the same lap.
Yuki Tsunoda, Isack Hadjar, and Esteban Ocon also opted to stay out for an extra lap.
Norris finally pitted on Lap 14, rejoining in second place but nine seconds behind his team-mate. However, he tried a different approach with the strategy by switching to Hard tyres.
Amid the flurry of pit stops, Hamilton emerged from the pit lane in seventh, with Hulkenberg close behind in ninth, ahead of his Sauber team-mate.
Drivers who pitted a lap later suffered as Tsunoda now dropped out of the points, Gasly in 11th, Alonso up to 13th, but Andrea Kimi Antonelli still languished down the order in 17th place.
By Lap 20, Norris brought the gap down to eight seconds as the Saubers swapped positions.
However, after multiple laps of closing the gap down to seven and a half seconds, Norris made a mistake at Turn 10 on Lap 26, and the gap increased back to nine.
Antonelli took 14th place off Alonso on the following lap in the slipstream down the Kemmel Straight.
Norris makes mistakes whilst chasing Piastri down
Colapinto, Sainz, and Hadjar all pitted for a fresh set of Hard tyres.
Hamilton closed in on Albon, entering DRS range as they battled for sixth place, while Alonso and Antonelli came in for another set of Mediums.
Hulkenberg was the next to pit, switching to Medium tyres as the gap out front increased yet again as Norris locked up into Turn 1.
The gap kept ticking down lap by lap as it came under five seconds with five laps to go, a tense finale fast approaching.
It started to creep under three seconds on the penultimate lap, but Norris made yet another mistake, locking up into Turn 1 once again.
This gave Piastri breathing room as he cruised home for victory at one of his favourite tracks, returning to the top step of the podium for the first time since Spain.
He also takes a 16-point lead in the Drivers’ Standings over his McLaren counterpart.
Norris settled for second and Leclerc completed the top three as the Grand Prix went the distance despite the delayed start.
Verstappen came home in fourth, Russell fifth, Albon sixth, Hamilton seventh, Lawson eighth, Bortoleto ninth and Gasly taking the final point in 10th place.
READ MORE — F1 2025 Belgian Grand Prix – Race Results
