He managed to overtake his McLaren teammate and championship rival Lando Norris to claim victory at Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, after the race start was postponed for over an hour due to heavy rain.
Once the safety car pulled into the pits on lap four, Piastri quickly passed Norris on the first racing lap.
“I planned to lift off a bit less than Lando and hoped it would stick,” Piastri said, admitting his car felt “lively” as he took a calculated risk through the steep Eau Rouge corner.
Norris reported possible battery issues affecting his electric power via team radio. McLaren CEO Zak Brown told Sky Sports that there was “a small battery issue we need to investigate.”
Towards the end of the race, Norris closed the gap, but Piastri, despite wearing tires, held firm and kept his lead.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished third after holding off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen throughout the race.
Title battle
Piastri increased his championship advantage over Norris from nine points to 16, preventing his British teammate from achieving a third consecutive Grand Prix win.
This was the second day in a row Piastri stayed ahead of Norris, having finished second in Saturday’s sprint race, which Verstappen won.
Apart from the weather, Piastri’s pass on Norris mirrored Verstappen’s opening-lap overtake on him during the sprint race.
Although Piastri was initially disappointed to qualify second behind Norris, he later reflected, “Turns out starting second at Spa isn’t so bad after all.”
This victory marked Piastri’s sixth win of the season and made him the first McLaren driver to win the Belgian Grand Prix since Jenson Button in 2012.
Hamilton’s surge to seventh
Unlike the dramatic and rainy British Grand Prix, Sunday’s race saw no major rain once it began, and after a few early challenges on the wet surface, the event settled into a steady pace. Most leading drivers switched to dry tires around the same time and didn’t need to pit again.
In Red Bull’s first race following Christian Horner’s removal as team principal, Verstappen failed to overtake Leclerc at the start and spent the entire race behind the Ferrari, finishing fourth.
Mercedes’ George Russell secured fifth after an early move past Williams’ Alex Albon, who finished sixth by holding off Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton started 18th but fought his way up through the field on the wet track early on before losing momentum, eventually finishing seventh.
Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson finished eighth, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto ninth, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten.
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