Oscar Piastri cruises to victory in Belgium after a lengthy rain delay, leading home a McLaren 1-2 in the Ardennes forest as Leclerc holds off Verstappen to complete the podium. The Brits of Russell, Albon and Hamilton take the mid-points with Lawson, Bortoleto and Gasly completing the top ten.
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Spa Weather Delays Start
After the usual Spa rain shower delayed the start by 80 minutes, the sun finally streamed through the clouds, and the race got the green light. With the track still quite wet, all cars started on the intermediate tyre. Following 3 laps behind the safety car, they were unleashed on a rolling start. Piastri quickly took the early advantage, passing Norris easily on the Kemmel Straight. He would not give this advantage back.
Once the drivers settled into their race pace, the McLarens started to pull away from Leclerc, Verstappen and the chasing pack, but with the track drying very quickly, further change was imminent.
Having started from the pit lane, Lewis Hamilton quickly showed his wet-weather skill. He made multiple overtakes over the lower midfield before triggering the dry tyre stops on Lap 11. This was the right decision, as he gained more places up to 7th place. The rest of the pack followed him in over the next laps, with the gap between the McLarens increased to 8 seconds as Norris went an extra lap on his intermediates.
While Hamilton gained, Hadjar, Tsunoda and the two Haas’ lost ground. This was particularly cruel for Tsunoda, who was having a much stronger weekend.
Piastri Cruises to Victory
Norris started to close the gap on Piastri as the Australian was managing his mediums, compared to Norris’ hards. However, 3 mistakes from the Briton would ultimately cost him a chance to attack his teammate late on. This left Piastri to cruise to victory for another McLaren one-two.
Behind, this race quickly fell into a steady rhythm with limited overtaking. The projected two-stop strategy was quickly converted to a one-stop as the teams consolidated their track position. Leclerc took a great podium for Ferrari, surviving early pressure from Verstappen. Russell took 5th, and a quality drive from Albon was rewarded with 6th. Lewis Hamilton produced most of the first half action, gaining 11 places, but had to settle for 7th. His progress was frustratingly stopped by Albon, as he was never able to get close enough to attempt a pass on the Williams. This was the strongest race for Hamilton in a Ferrari, his overtaking skills back on full display.
A great pair of drives from Lawson and Bortoleto earned them 8th and 9th, with Pierre Gasly taking a valuable 10th place for Alpine. Lawson kept under the radar to take best of the rest honours while Bortoleto completed a strong weekend for Sauber.
There were a few others outside the top ten who attempted the two-stop, including Alonso and Hulkenberg, which was the wrong decision. Alonso was already outside the top ten so had nothing to lose, but Hulkenberg gave up his point and wouldn’t get it back.
Piastri Increases Championship Lead
Piastri increases his championship lead and, barring disaster in Hungary, virtually guarantees he will lead the championship at the summer break. The Belgian Grand Prix was symbolic of the difference between the two McLaren drivers this year. Lando Norris has had the edge on raw pace, but mistakes have cost him points. Mistakes that Piastri hasn’t made, or at least ones that haven’t cost him points.