Piastri Dominates Belgian Grand Prix, McLaren Secures Third Straight 1-2 Finish

Published: Tuesday, July 29, 2025

by Thomas Mazurowski

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium – Oscar Piastri stormed to victory in the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, leading every lap and securing McLaren’s third consecutive one-two finish alongside teammate Lando Norris.

Norris took pole position in Saturday’s qualifying round, followed by Piastri in second. After an hour-long rain delay, the opening lap saw Piastri surge ahead in the wet conditions. Norris was unable to retake the lead despite a late comeback, leaving the Australian unchallenged for the top spot.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took third, his fourth podium in the last six races, while teammate Lewis Hamilton recovered from 18th to finish seventh. Despite winning the sprint race Saturday morning, Max Verstappen qualified fourth and failed to improve during the race.

Every team began the race on intermediate tires while race control mandated a rolling start. The race went green on lap four, with Piastri passing Norris on the Kemmel straight. George Russell grabbed fifth-place from Alex Albon by lap six.

Hamilton began his charge on lap seven, working his way up to 13th before pitting for dry tires on lap eleven and initiating the pit cycle. Norris chose the hard compound tires, while everyone else put on mediums. The early stop put Hamilton in seventh while cars on intermediates fell behind.

Things stayed calm until the end of the race. Leclerc continued to hold off Verstappen, who ran within two seconds of the Ferrari the entire day. Norris closed the gap in the final laps thanks to the tire strategy, but a handful of costly mistakes killed the Brit’s momentum. Piastri came home three seconds ahead of his teammate to secure his sixth win of the season.

Piastri extended his lead to 16 points in the Driver’s Championship, possessing 266 points to Norris’ 250. In the Constructor’s standings, McLaren remains uncontested, sitting at a whopping 516 points. Ferrari’s consistency is paying off in the fight against Mercedes for second, as the two teams stand at 248 points and 220 points respectively.

Formula 1 will return at the Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, August 3 at 9 a.m. EST.

Thomas Mazurowski can be reached at thomas.mazurowski@student.shu.edu.

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