The most notoriously wet racetrack on the Formula 1 calendar delivered a weekend of mixed conditions, triumphs and disappointments at the Belgian Grand Prix.
A sprint weekend at circuit Spa-Francorchamps looked promising for Mclaren, and especially Oscar Piastri, with the championship leader coming in strong after two race wins in a row for teammate Lando Norris. But Max Verstappen reminded fans to never count him out, sweeping past Piastri to clinch victory in the Sprint race.
Pirelli added further twists by skipping out on the C2 tyre, running compounds C1, C3 and C4, hoping to promote a multiple pitstop race.
The Chronicle Headlines
- Max Verstappen claimed the Sprint Race win, holding ten more Sprint victories than any other driver on the grid.
- Oscar Piastri grabbed victory in a weather-delayed Belgian GP Feature Race.
- The start was red-flagged on formation lap and delayed by 1 hour and 20 minutes due to poor visibility from standing water on the track, leaving drivers and fans with mixed feelings.
- Lando Norris took pole for the Grand Prix, but struggled to catch up to Piastri after the Australian took the lead of the race through Eau Rouge in the first green-flagged lap.
- Alex Albon, Liam Lawson, Grabiel Bortoleto and Pierre Gasly managed to finish inside the points.
- And Driver of the Day went to Lewis Hamilton, who qualified 16th for Sunday’s race and stormed through the field to 7th.
Free Practice: Piastri Sets the Pace
The only practice session of the weekend started with issues for Carlos Sainz, with the Williams driver finding himself in “limp home mode” from the get go. Lance Stroll of Aston Martin also reported problems with his car, and both drivers were quick to pit.
Verstappen initially set the pace, with Red Bull Racing bringing a significant upgrade package to the Belgian Hills with Laurent Mekies at the helm for the first time, in the wake of Christian Horner’s dramatic exit from the team.
Limits were tested up and down the grid, with Alex Albon dipping his Williams into the gravel at Malmedy, and Hamilton’s Ferrari running deep at Les Combs after a jump over the kerb at Eau Rouge.
Franco Colapinto was the first driver to test the soft compound tyre on his Alpine with half the session to go, as the majority of the grid started qualifying simulations.
Verstappen and Piastri traded the top spot between them, with Piastri being the first driver to set a lap time below 1m 45s, and he ultimately topped the session timesheet.
Sprint Qualifying: Piastri on Pole With Verstappen on His Tail
Sprint Qualifying started with chaos at Red Bull as Verstappen appeared to have an issue with his rear right tyre and promptly wheeled back into the garage. And at the start of the session, Race Control dismissed an unsafe release in the pitlane between Hulkenberg and Lawson.
Kimi Antonelli put his Mercedes into the gravel, causing issues for his teammate George Russell who went through the debris on the track.
The biggest shock of SQ1 came in the form of an early exit from Hamilton after a spin at the Bus Stop Chicane that brought out the yellow flag. He qualified P18, with Antonelli in P20, Colapinto in P19, Hulkenberg in P17 and Albon in P16.
Sprint Qualifying 2 saw the Mclaren drivers trading purple sector times, and a heart in the mouth moment for Piastri who had his lap time deleted after a track limits violation at Radillion. Most drivers were cutting it fine setting a time, leaving it late in the session as the track ramped up.
As the track evolved, Norris appeared vulnerable — Ocon moved into P4, Bortoleto took P5, and Gasly climbed to P6. But McLaren fans — especially his Belgian mother, Cisca — could finally breathe a sigh of relief when Norris crossed the line in P1.
Lawson, Tsunoda, Russell, Alonso and Stroll missed out on SQ3, with the Aston Martin’s clearly struggling with understeer.
The Final Ten Battle
Sprint Qualifying 3 was tense for Mclaren, with Verstappen cleverly splitting the papaya cars on their outlaps. This forced Norris to pick up the pace which took too much out of the soft tyres, and the Brit qualified for the sprint in third, half a second between himself and Verstappen, who took second, and 0.6 seconds to championship rival Piastri.
This was the first time that Verstappen was out-qualified in any qualifying format in Spa since 2020, as Piastri claimed pole at his self-proclaimed “favourite track of the year”.
There were pleasant surprises across the midfield and backrunner teams, with Ocon in fifth, Sainz in sixth, Bearman in seventh and Bortoleto rounding out the top ten.
Sprint Race: A Vintage Verstappen Drive
The Sprint Race started with a headache at Alpine as Gasly was out before the race had even started. The Frenchman managed to get the car going, and rejoined once the race was underway, two laps down. Teammate Colapinto also started from the pitlane, leaving the team with little to write home about.
Red Bull opted to run low downforce for the Sprint, dominating on the straights while Mclaren claimed the corners. Piastri held Verstappen off into turn 1, but the Dutchman was leading the race by the end of lap 1. Charles Leclerc was hot off the line, manoeuvring past Norris to take P3, but Norris fought back, reclaiming the position from the Ferrari driver.
Verstappen faced mounting pressure from both Mclaren’s as Norris closed in on his teammate from P3, with Piastri still hot on the Red Bull’s rear wing. The Mclaren drivers had to settle for second and third, and Verstappen brought it home in P1.
Leclerc finished fourth, with Ocon, Sainz, Bearman and Hadjar rounding out the point scoring top eight.
Feature Race Qualifying: Norris Fights Back, and a Battle of Rear Wings
Mclaren and Mercedes chose not to change the set-ups on their cars, but we saw many changes across the grid. Haas opted to split their set up, with Bearman running a more rain-compliant high downforce wing and Ocon running a lower downforce wing to cater to the dry conditions. Red Bull chose to run a bigger wing than they previously had in the weekend, adding more downforce that would suit potential wet conditions.
The first session saw a collision in the pitlane between Hulkenberg and Stroll, with both cars picking up damage and having to retreat to their garages.
It was an impressive first run from Verstappen, placing his Redbull in P2 between the Mclaren’s, and as the track evolved, we saw Lawson briefly claim P1 on his first flying lap. Mclaren were dominant in the middle sector, with Norris putting in a perfect purple sector time. In yet another blow at a track he has won at five times before, Hamilton shocked fans by going out in Q1 after a track limits violation that saw his lap time deleted.
Trouble for Aston Martin
It was a dire session for Aston Martin, as Stroll qualified in P20 and Alonso in P19, with Antonelli starting in P18, Colapinto in P17 and Hamilton in P16. Bortoleto had appeared to be out of qualifying, but Hamilton’s track limits violation pushed him through into the second session.
Q2 brought consistency from top three runners Piastri, Norris and Verstappen. Sainz was unable to replicate his success in the sprint race, qualifying P15 alongside Hulkenberg in P14, Gasly in P13, Bearman in P12 and Ocon in P11.
The third and final session saw drivers struggle with grip amidst the rising track temperature, with Verstappen and Piastri both unable to improve. It was a stoic-looking Norris who took pole position, on the back of two race wins in Austria and at home at the British Grand Prix.
The Belgian Grand Prix: Norris Plays Catch Up After Delayed Start
Something we’ve become used to seeing at Spa-Francorchamps in recent years is a delayed start, and this years race was no exception. The race was supposed to start at 3pm local time, but was suspended after the formation lap as drivers complained about the visibility. There were mixed opinions across the grid about whether they should be on track, with Verstappen, never one to mince his words, calling for Race Control to “chillax”.
After a long delay and another downpour, the Belgian Grand Prix was underway behind the Safety Car and after four laps, Bernd Mayländer peeled off into the pits and it was up to Norris to set the pace. Arguably, he pulled away too early, and facing an issue with his battery, Piastri charged past the Brit on the first green-flagged lap.
Both Mclaren’s appeared to suffer with battery-related issues, having deployed extreme levels during the restart, but it was Piastri on top in the first stint. Behind them, Leclerc was defending hard against Verstappen, putting on a skilled show of attack and defensive driving.
Hamilton’s Redemption Run
Further back in the field, Hamilton was putting on a show of his own, storming through the field in the wet conditions. As we approached the crossover point, where teams would start to consider pitting for slicks, Hamilton was the first to pit, followed closely by his surrounding competitors. Some drivers, most notably Norris, were still conscious that the track was still wet and made the choice to stay out.
As DRS was enabled on Lap 13, Piastri, Verstappen and Leclerc – who had been struggling to defend on the intermediate tyres – pitted, and rather than pushing for the double-stack , Mclaren allowed Norris to stay out for another lap on intermediates. By the time Norris had pitted, Piastri had built an almost impenetrable gap of 9 seconds to his teammate. Mclaren had put the drivers on a split tyre strategy, with Piastri on the medium compound, and Norris on the hard compound in an effort to salvage his race-win attempts after the delayed stop.
With Norris being the only driver on the hard tyre compound, questions arose as to whether drivers would pit again, and Mclaren called on Piastri to go to the end of the race on the medium tyre, despite Norris steadily closing in on the more durable tyre. A long stint on the mediums raised concerns, considering George Russell had gone for a similar strategy at the 2024 race in Spa, and had been disqualified after winning due to his car being underweight.
The Fight for P3
Hamilton was the fastest on track for some time, pushing to seventh where he was held up by Albon. Up ahead, Leclerc and Verstappen were still squabbling for third place, but the Red Bull had dropped back.
The most tension on track was between Piastri and Norris, with the British driver steadily closing the gap between them. Their different tyre strategy meant that while Norris was able to push, Piastri had to closely manage his tyres to get to the end without pitting again. Despite closing the gap, Norris lost time after veering off the track, and several lock-ups meant the race was cleanly won by Piastri, as calm and collected as ever. This win gives him a 16 point lead in the Drivers Championship over Norris, and is yet another one-two finish for the Woking-based team. Charles Leclerc joined them on the podium to round out the top three, with Verstappen unable to find a way past the Ferrari.
Looking Ahead
After trading wins, Mclaren will be heading to Hungary confident, especially Piastri, who claimed his maiden win at the Hungaroring last season. However, that race was a tense one for Mclaren, with ‘Papaya Rules’ making its first appearance, and with both drivers in clear contention for the Championship this year, next weekend could be just as intense.
It will also be all eyes on Red Bull, as we see how their new upgrade package holds up and whether it brings Tsunoda closer to Verstappen as they hunt down Ferrari in the Constructors Championship.
With a potential thunder storm on the horizon, who will be going into the summer break a winner?
Feature Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool