SPA, Belgium — A rain delay and changing track conditions did nothing to keep Formula 1 point leader Oscar Piastri from winning Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Franchorchamps.
The Australian ace held off McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris by 3.415 seconds to earn his sixth victory of the season and extend his point lead to 16 points.
With the circuit having substantially dried and with track position, Piastri pitted on Lap 12 for the medium tires with Norris forced to complete another lap, and after making his own stop the following tour for hard rubber, Norris trailed by nine seconds.
Despite having to manage his softer compound, Piastri maintained a healthy gap which only reduced in the final laps to as much as 3.1 seconds. However, a small mistake from Norris on the penultimate lap helped Piastri hang one.
“I knew that Lap 1 was going to be probably my best chance of winning the race, and I got a good exit out of Turn 1 and lifted as little as I dared through Eau Rouge, and then it was enough,” Piastri said. “The rest of the race we managed really well, struggling a little bit at the end. Maybe the medium [tire] wasn’t the best for the last five or six laps, but we had it mostly under control which is what I wanted.
“I was pretty disappointed with myself after yesterday but turns out starting second at Spa is not too bad after all.”
The teammates finished far ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who finished third.
World champion Max Verstappen claimed fourth for Red Bull, while George Russell grabbed fifth for Mercedes.
Alex Albon took sixth for Williams, while Lewis Hamilton dazzled with a drive from 18th on the grid to finish seventh in the second Ferrari.
