Oscar Piastri secured a hard-fought victory at the wet-dry Belgian Grand Prix, further extending his lead in the Drivers’ Championship over McLaren teammate Lando Norris. The race at Spa-Francorchamps saw significant delays due to heavy rain, pushing the start back by almost 80 minutes.
Once the 44 lap race commenced on Lap 5, Piastri immediately made his move, getting a superior run on polesitter Norris through Eau Rouge. This allowed the Australian to complete the overtake along the Kemmel Straight before Les Combes, establishing an early lead of approximately one second.
As the circuit dried, Piastri pitted on Lap 12 for medium tires, while Norris was forced to complete another lap before his own stop for hard tires. This left Norris nine seconds adrift. Despite managing his softer compound, Piastri maintained a healthy gap, which only narrowed to 3.1 seconds in the closing laps. A small error from Norris at La Source on the penultimate lap allowed Piastri to cross the finish line with a 3.4-second advantage.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari finished a distant third, 20 seconds behind Piastri, successfully fending off Max Verstappen throughout the race. The Red Bull driver finished just 1.5 seconds shy of a podium spot.
George Russell of Mercedes secured a comfortable fifth place, having passed Alex Albon early on. Albon, driving for Williams, held off persistent pressure from Lewis Hamilton to claim sixth. Hamilton, who started from the pit lane, climbed an impressive 11 places in his Ferrari to finish seventh after an early switch from intermediate tires.
Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber) secured eighth and ninth respectively, with Pierre Gasly (Alpine) taking the final point in tenth after leading a DRS train for much of the race. Other notable finishers included Oliver Bearman (Haas) in 11th, Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) in 12th, and Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) in 13th. All drivers completed the race without a caution period after the delayed start.