Oscar Piastri secured a remarkable victory at the 2025 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, leading a dominant McLaren one-two finish ahead of team-mate Lando Norris. Here’s the full race summary from the historic and challenging Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
After setting the all-time lap record during Saturday’s qualifying session, British driver Lando Norris started the race from pole position, with Australian team-mate Oscar Piastri lining up alongside him on the front row of the grid. Behind the McLaren duo, the second row featured Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari and reigning World Champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, separated by just three thousandths of a second. They were followed on the grid by George Russell in the Mercedes, Yuki Tsunoda in the RB, Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull, Liam Lawson in the second RB, and Gabriel Bortoleto in the Aston Martin. Meanwhile, four drivers were forced to start the race from the pit lane due to the installation of a fifth power unit and corresponding setup changes. These drivers were Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), and Carlos Sainz (Williams).
Let’s take a closer look at what unfolded on track during the Belgian Grand Prix.
Belgian Grand Prix Summary
The start of the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix was delayed immediately after the conclusion of the formation lap due to a heavy downpour that drenched the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The FIA displayed the red flag and postponed the race start by one hour and fifteen minutes for safety reasons. Around 4:00 PM local time, the weather conditions improved, and the sun began to shine over the circuit, allowing the race to resume at 4:20 PM. After completing four laps behind the Safety Car to assess track conditions, Race Control opted for a rolling start instead of a traditional grid start to minimize risk on the still-damp asphalt.
As soon as the Safety Car returned to the pits, Oscar Piastri made a decisive move on Lando Norris along the Kemmel straight, snatching the race lead from his McLaren teammate. A fierce battle immediately unfolded behind them between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, with the Dutchman shadowing the Ferrari driver closely until both made their first pit stops.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton began an impressive charge from the back of the field, steadily climbing towards the points-paying positions. The seven-time World Champion was the first driver to switch to a fresh set of medium-compound tyres. After rejoining the race, the British driver made significant progress through the field, gaining eight positions and moving up into seventh place. Encouraged by the strong pace demonstrated by car number 44 of Scuderia Ferrari and by other drivers following their pit stops, Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and George Russell also came into the pits to switch to medium tyres. Lando Norris, however, delayed his stop by one lap, opting instead for the hard compound upon his return to the track.
At the halfway point of the race, Oscar Piastri was still comfortably leading the field, maintaining a margin of eight seconds over Lando Norris, with Charles Leclerc trailing a further eight seconds back in third position. On lap 26, car number 4 of McLaren made a small error, losing a few tenths of a second to his teammate but managing to retain control of the race.
With 11 laps remaining, Franco Colapinto made his second pit stop, followed shortly thereafter by Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Fernando Alonso. During this stint, the Italian rookie from Mercedes set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:44.861, circulating nearly two seconds quicker than the race leader. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton had closed the gap to Alexander Albon’s Williams, continuing his relentless pursuit through the midfield.
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