F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2025 Recap: Oscar Piastri bests Lando Norris for the win

Oscar Piastri returned to the top step of the podium, displacing pole sitter and teammate Lando Norris to win the 2025 F1 Belgian Grand Prix.

Norris finished second, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, as it was another race with a delayed start due to the wet track conditions. 

Piastri’s win sees him extend his Drivers’ championship lead, while a points finish from Gabriel Bortoleto sees Sauber continue their points-scoring streak.

After a run of three races without a win, championship leader Piastri picked up his sixth win of the season as he looks to seal his maiden Drivers’ title.

Wet conditions from persistent rain throughout the day meant that there was a red flag even before the race got underway — just after the formation lap. After a delay of over an hour, during which the FIA waited for the track to dry up without any standing water, racing got underway behind the Safety Car.

After four laps behind the Safety Car, a rolling start saw Lando Norris get going, with Oscar Piastri right up in his gearbox. Piastri breezed past Norris on the run into Les Combes, as the Brit had no answer to his teammate’s pace.

Further back, George Russell got past Alex Albon to move into P5 a lap later, while ahead of him Max Verstappen was chasing down Charles Leclerc for third, with the Ferrari driver himself closing in on Norris. Leclerc’s teammate, meanwhile, was making some moves at the lower end of the field; Lewis Hamilton was up to P13 by Lap 10, after a poor qualifying session saw him start at P16.

Hamilton was the first to switch to slicks, with a couple of drivers following him into the pits on Lap 12 for the first round of stops. Piastri came into the pits the following lap, with Leclerc and Verstappen following the McLaren driver. The remainder of the top ten cars also went in for a tyre change on Lap 13.

As the cars came out, it was Hamilton who was flying on track — the veteran Brit was up into the top seven by Lap 16, having made up 11 places since the start of the race. While Piastri wasted no time in retaking the lead, it was Norris grabbing eyeballs with a bold one-stop strategy, being the only driver in the top ten on the hard compound.

While those in the lower midfield got their second stops out of the way by Lap 31, the top ten carried on, with Norris being the quickest man on the grid on his hard tyres.

As the race came down to its final few laps, Norris’ charge proved to not be enough, as Piastri managed to hold on for the win. Leclerc saw off Verstappen for third, while Alex Albon put in a herculean defensive drive to keep a fast-charging Hamilton at bay, which saw Williams finish P6 ahead of Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes.

George Russell finished fifth, with Albon, Hamilton, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Pierre Gasly rounding out the points places. All 20 cars finished the race despite the tricky conditions.

The double-header starting in Belgium closes out in Hungary next week, with the grid moving into the summer break after that.

With the Drivers’ Championship heating up, the contenders will look to head into the summer break on a high by signing off well from the Hungaroring.