‘It’s Piastri v Norris’ for the F1 title – and the Australian just pulled further ahead

Australian Oscar Piastri has won the Belgian Grand Prix and furthered his championship lead, while his teammate Lando Norris had to settle for second during a rain-interrupted race at Spa.

Spa-Francorchamps is the longest track on the F1 calendar and Sunday’s drenched conditions made the sweeping turns and sharp chicanes even trickier. Poor weather and visibility triggered a red flag and a delayed start with grandstands of poncho-clad spectators waiting for nearly 80 minutes.

Oscar Piastri celebrates his win.Credit: Getty Images

Piastri started second on the grid but quickly capitalised on Norris’ uncertainty and battery trouble, using the slipstream to swoop on the outside of turn 5 of the opening lap. It was a move the Briton never quite recovered from. Norris began the nail-biting hunt and fiercely pursued his teammate, but the calm and collected Australian was untouchable.

Two different tyre strategies for the McLaren-duo meant Piastri had to nurse his medium-compound tyres for more than 30 laps, while Norris tried to catch him on hard tyres.

Piastri voiced his concerns around tyre degradation, telling his engineer: “I think it will be tough to get to the end.”

Despite narrowing the gap to 3.414 seconds on the final lap, Norris made several blunders during the race and was never able to catch his teammate.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the podium with Red Bull’s Verstappen finishing in fourth – his first race without recently dismissed team principal Christian Horner. Fellow Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton had an impressive race, finishing in seventh after starting in 18th place. The seven-time world champion carved his way through the field and managed to overtake three cars in one lap.

Piastri was all smiles in the post-race interview and said he was very proud of his opening lap.

Oscar Piastri wins his eighth grand prix. Credit: Getty Images

“I knew lap one was going to be my best chance of winning the race,” he said during the post-race interview. “I got a good exit out of turn one, lifted as little as I dared out of Eau Rouge. The rest of the race we managed really well.”

A gracious Norris said it was a well-deserved result for Piastri and McLaren.

“Oscar just did a good job, nothing more to say,” he said. “Committed a bit more through Eau Rouge, and had the slipstream and got the run, so nothing to complain of. He did a better job in the beginning, and that was it. Nothing more I could do after that point. I would love to be up top, but Oscar deserved it today.”

Piastri’s victory in Belgium brings his grand prix tally to eight – the same number as former Red Bull and McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo. Piastri now leads Norris by 16 points with 11 races to go in a rivalry that will likely last until December.

Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle summarised the rest of the season succinctly, saying “This race confirms, it’s Piastri versus Norris for the world championship.”

The next race will be the Hungarian Grand Prix on August 3.

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Australian Oscar Piastri has won the Belgian Grand Prix and furthered his championship lead, while his teammate Lando Norris had to settle for second during a rain-interrupted race at Spa.

Spa-Francorchamps is the longest track on the F1 calendar and Sunday’s drenched conditions made the sweeping turns and sharp chicanes even trickier. Poor weather and visibility triggered a red flag and a delayed start with grandstands of poncho-clad spectators waiting for nearly 80 minutes.

Oscar Piastri celebrates his win.Credit: Getty Images

Piastri started second on the grid but quickly capitalised on Norris’ uncertainty and battery trouble, using the slipstream to swoop on the outside of turn 5 of the opening lap. It was a move the Briton never quite recovered from. Norris began the nail-biting hunt and fiercely pursued his teammate, but the calm and collected Australian was untouchable.

Two different tyre strategies for the McLaren-duo meant Piastri had to nurse his medium-compound tyres for more than 30 laps, while Norris tried to catch him on hard tyres.

Piastri voiced his concerns around tyre degradation, telling his engineer: “I think it will be tough to get to the end.”

Despite narrowing the gap to 3.414 seconds on the final lap, Norris made several blunders during the race and was never able to catch his teammate.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the podium with Red Bull’s Verstappen finishing in fourth – his first race without recently dismissed team principal Christian Horner. Fellow Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton had an impressive race, finishing in seventh after starting in 18th place. The seven-time world champion carved his way through the field and managed to overtake three cars in one lap.

Piastri was all smiles in the post-race interview and said he was very proud of his opening lap.

Oscar Piastri wins his eighth grand prix. Credit: Getty Images

“I knew lap one was going to be my best chance of winning the race,” he said during the post-race interview. “I got a good exit out of turn one, lifted as little as I dared out of Eau Rouge. The rest of the race we managed really well.”

A gracious Norris said it was a well-deserved result for Piastri and McLaren.

“Oscar just did a good job, nothing more to say,” he said. “Committed a bit more through Eau Rouge, and had the slipstream and got the run, so nothing to complain of. He did a better job in the beginning, and that was it. Nothing more I could do after that point. I would love to be up top, but Oscar deserved it today.”

Piastri’s victory in Belgium brings his grand prix tally to eight – the same number as former Red Bull and McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo. Piastri now leads Norris by 16 points with 11 races to go in a rivalry that will likely last until December.

Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle summarised the rest of the season succinctly, saying “This race confirms, it’s Piastri versus Norris for the world championship.”

The next race will be the Hungarian Grand Prix on August 3.

It’s 2.22 am in Melbourne, but it doesn’t matter because the Australian National anthem is playing.

Oscar Piastri wins in Spa Credit: Getty Images

“That’s the kind of consistency that wins championships,” Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle declares as Piastri smiles on the podium.

A smiling Oscar Piastri said things were “very lively” behind the wheel during the first lap of the race.

“I knew lap one was going to be my best chance of winning the race,” he said during the post-race interview. “I got a good exit out of turn one, lifted as little as I dared out of Eau Rouge. The rest of the race we managed really well. I struggled at the end. Maybe the mediums were not the best for the last five or six laps. We had it mostly under control.

Oscar Piastri wins in Belgium. Credit: Getty Images

“I was pretty disappointed with myself yesterday but turns out starting P2 was not as bad as I thought.”

The Australian said he was proud of his first lap.

“I got a good exit out of Turn 1, was able to stay close and when I was that close, I knew I was going to lift just a bit less than Lando did and keep it on the track,” he said. “A bit lively up over the hill, but managed to make it stick and the tow helped me out.”

In a post-race interview Lando Norris reflected on losing the lead to his teammate during the first lap.

“Oscar just did a good job, nothing more to say,” he said.

“So nothing to complain of. He did a better job in the beginning, and that was it. Nothing more I could do after that point. I would love to be up top, but Oscar deserved it today.”

The Briton said it was a well-deserved result for Piastri and the team, and said he was “slightly disappointed” but still happy with the result.

Australian Oscar Piastri has won the Belgian Grand Prix and furthered his championship lead, while his teammate Lando Norris had to settle for second after suffering an error-riddled race.

The triumphant Aussie managed to nurse his tyres for more than 30 laps to secure his eighth grand prix victory and tighten his grip on the driver’s championship. He beat Norris by 3.414 seconds.

“Nicely done,” Piastri said calmly over his team radio. Nicely ****ing done”.

4.7 seconds.

That’s all that’s between Australian Oscar Piastri and his teammate Lando Norris.

Meanwhile, a frazzled Charles Leclerc has told his team to leave him alone as he battles to stay ahead of Max Verstappen.

We’ve got ten laps to go and the tyre gods are looking favourably on Oscar Piastri. The Melburnian seems to think his tyres will make it and he won’t need to pit.

He’s spent the past few laps nursing his tyres while trying to keep a healthy distance from his teammate and main championship rival, Lando Norris.

However, Norris is pushing hard and he has narrowed the gap to 7.3 seconds.

On Lap 35 Norris makes another error. It looks like he locks up and loses half a second.

Meanwhile, the rest of the grid’s order has not changed much. Leclerc is still in third and Verstappen remains in fourth.

Hang in there folks!

It’s Lap 29 and it’s inevitably looking like a McLaren 1-2 finish. However, it’s not clear as to which driver will end up in front.

Oscar Piastri leads the race. Credit: Getty Images

Piastri’s lead briefly dipped to 7.6 seconds, however Norris ran slightly wide in turn 10 which means he lost time. The Australian’s lead is back up to nine seconds.

However, Norris just notched the fastest lap of the race. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton is pursuing a top-six finish and is hunting Alex Albon in the Williams.