Oscar Piastri claimed his sixth victory of the 2025 season at a rain-affected Belgian Grand Prix, overtaking Lando Norris on the opening racing lap to secure a dominant McLaren 1-2 at Spa-Francorchamps.
The race was delayed by 90 minutes due to heavy rain and poor visibility. Following a suspended formation lap behind the safety car, racing resumed after several laps behind the safety car. Once green flag conditions began, Piastri immediately pounced — overtaking pole-sitter Norris through Eau Rouge into Les Combes in a bold move that defined the race.
Both McLaren drivers executed a one-stop strategy, switching from intermediates to slicks as the track dried. Piastri switched to mediums on lap 12, while Norris stopped a lap later for hard tyres, emerging behind his teammate.
Norris closed an eight-second gap to three seconds by the penultimate lap, threatening a dramatic late comeback. But a mistake exiting La Source on lap 43 halted his charge, allowing Piastri to finish unchallenged, 3.415 seconds clear at the flag.
Charles Leclerc claimed third for Ferrari, holding off early pressure from Max Verstappen, who finished fourth after winning Saturday’s Sprint race.
George Russell finished a frustrated fifth, calling it Mercedes’ worst performance of the season, while Alex Albon impressed with sixth for Williams. Lewis Hamilton charged from a pit lane start to seventh, benefitting from an early switch to dry tyres. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber), and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) rounded out the top ten.
Piastri’s victory ends a two-race win streak by Norris and extends his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 16 points. Verstappen now trails by 81 points, as McLaren tightens its grip on both titles.
The result marked McLaren’s third consecutive 1-2 finish and sixth of the season, pushing their Constructors’ tally to 516 points, more than double Ferrari’s 248, with Mercedes third on 220.
The next race in the 2025 Formula 1 calendar is the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring on August 3.
