Formula 1: Piastri beats Norris in Belgium, Lawson in the points
Piastri beat his McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris to win Formula 1's Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday after heavy rain delayed the start.
Piastri powered past his teammate and title rival Norris on the first racing lap after the safety car pulled into the pits on lap four, following a delay to the start of more than an hour.
"I knew I was going to try and lift [off the accelerator] a little bit less than Lando did and try to make it stick," said Piastri, admitting his car felt "lively" as he took on the extra risk through the steeply uphill Eau Rouge corner.
Norris suggested over the radio he was having issues with the battery providing his electric power. McLaren chief executive Zak Brown told broadcaster Sky Sports that there was "a small battery issue which we've got to look at".
ADVERTISEMENT
Norris reduced Piastri's lead toward the end of the race but the Australian held on with worn tires and Norris couldn't get close enough to challenge.
Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari after he kept Red Bull's Max Verstappen behind him all race.
New Zealand's Liam Lawson was eighth for Racing Bulls, earning himself four more competition points.
He started ninth.
Title battle
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including wintry blast on the way, Gloriavale leader in court, and Liam Lawson picks up points. (Source: Breakfast)
ADVERTISEMENT
Piastri extended his championship lead over Norris from nine points to 16 and denied his British teammate a third Grand Prix win in a row.
It was the second straight day that Piastri held off Norris after taking second place ahead of his teammate in Saturday's sprint, won by Max Verstappen.
Except for the weather, Piastri's overtake of Norris was almost a copy of Verstappen's opening-lap pass on the Australian from second on the grid in the sprint.
Piastri had been disappointed to qualify second for the Grand Prix behind Norris, but it "turns out starting second at Spa is not so bad after all," he said.
Piastri took his sixth win of the season and is the first McLaren driver to win the Belgian Grand Prix since Jenson Button in 2012.
Lewis Hamilton and Liam Lawson race in Belgium (Source: Getty)
Hamilton's surge to seventh
ADVERTISEMENT
Unlike the thrilling and chaotic last race in Britain, there was no significant rain after the race finally got underway and Sunday's race was largely a procession after a few early attacks on the still-wet track. Most key contenders switched to dry tires at roughly the same time and didn't have to stop again.
In Red Bull's first Grand Prix since the firing of Christian Horner as team principal, Verstappen failed with an attempt to get past Leclerc at the start and spent the rest of the race behind the Ferrari driver on his way to fourth.
George Russell was fifth for Mercedes after an early pass on Alex Albon, who finished sixth for Williams after holding off Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who was seventh.
The seven-time champion started 18th and Hamilton carved his way through the field on the wet track early on but then lost momentum. Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto was ninth and Pierre Gasly 10th for Alpine.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
an hour ago
- 1News
Rugby Australia scraps law limiting selection of overseas-based players
Rugby Australia has confirmed the rule restricting how many overseas based players Wallabies coaches can pick has been shelved. RA said the rule, often called 'Giteau's Law' after former Wallabies midfielder Matt Giteau, hasn't been enforced for some time. "Joe's (Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt) got no impediment to select whoever he wants. That's always been the case. The Giteau Law's kind of redundant," RA's director of high performance Peter Horne told reporters. Despite the change of stance, Horne said Schmidt will give preference to Australian-based players ahead of overseas-based players if they were deemed the same quality. "But we've also made a choice that we select domestically if the players are of equal calibre, it's important that we invest in our premier competition in Australia." ADVERTISEMENT Players such as Wallabies lock Will Skelton, who has played for La Rochelle in France since 2020, is one player who would benefit from the scrapping of the rule. Skelton was an enormous factor in the Wallabies' improved showing in the second and third Tests against the British and Irish Lions recently after being unavailable in the first. Australia didn't allow overseas-based players representing the Wallabies until 2015, but when players such as Giteau and others decided to head offshore for big money contracts, RA introduced 'Giteau's Law'. The rule meant a certain number of overseas players who had already spent much of their careers playing in Australia could still be selected for the Wallabies. That rule has now been scrapped. It is in stark contrast to New Zealand Rugby's approach, despite encouragement from head coach Scott Robertson. The Wallabies open their Rugby Championship campaign against the reigning champion Springboks at Ellis Park on August 17.
Scoop
15 hours ago
- Scoop
Registrations Open For Bridgestone GR86 Championship
The six-round championship – which will once again run as a featured category in the NextGen national championship series, includes two dates at Hampton Downs, a weekend at Toyota NZ's 'home circuit' of Manfeild, the South Island leg of Teretonga followed by the 70th New Zealand Grand Prix meeting at Highlands and will conclude once again with the Supercars round at Taupo Motorsport Park. It proved exceptionally popular in its inaugural season with grids upwards of 24 cars at each round and a close fight for the championship that went down to the wire before Hugo Allan secured the title with just one race remaining. Interest in the next edition of the championship is at an unprecedented level – with drivers from the inaugural Toyota 86 Trophy Series, rookies and regulars from last season and a healthy amount of new and upcoming driving talent all looking to secure a spot for 2025-2026. 'Each season we are always excited about what lies ahead in terms of the quality of the field, which is always more important than the quantity,' explained Category Manager Amanda Tollemache. 'With the Bridgestone GR86 Championship, we continue to see high both demand and high quality amongst those interested in running and with only limited cars and spaces it made sense to open registrations promptly and to officially start to build the field for the next season. 'We'll have another awesome prize package, the racing is guaranteed to be close and we should once again see the best of our current and future driving talent take the next step of their careers in the championship.' Whilst many drivers and teams have retained their line ups for season two, there are still lease and new cars available for when the season blasts off at the end of October with the first round at Hampton Downs on the international layout. A break until the 9th–11th January is followed by a return to the North Waikato circuit, again on the long track. The championship heads south two weeks later for the double header at Teretonga 23-25 January) and the Grand Prix meeting at Highlands the following weekend. It's back to the North Island for the final two rounds, with Manfeild February 27th- March 1st and the the big finale at the Supercars weekend on April 10-12. 2025-2026 Bridgestone GR86 Championship Round 1 - 31 October - 2 November 2025, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park Round 2 - 9 - 11 January 2026, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park Round 3 - 23 - 25 January 2026, Teretonga Park, Invercargill Round 5 - 27 February - 1 March 2026, Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon
Otago Daily Times
17 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Wallabies scrap limiting law
Wallaby Matt Giteau in 2015. Rugby Australia has confirmed the rule restricting how many overseas-based players Wallabies coaches can pick has been shelved. RA said the rule, often called the 'Giteau Law' after former Wallabies midfielder Matt Giteau, has not been enforced for some time. "Joe's (Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt) got no impediment to select whoever he wants. That's always been the case. The Giteau Law's kind of redundant," RA's director of high performance Peter Horne told reporters. Despite the change of stance, Horne said Schmidt would give preference to Australian-based players ahead of overseas-based players if they were deemed the same quality. "But we've also made a choice that we select domestically if the players are of equal calibre, it's important that we invest in our premier competition in Australia." Will Skelton. Players such as Wallabies lock Will Skelton, who has played for La Rochelle in France since 2020, is one who would benefit from the change. Australia did not allow overseas-based players representing the Wallabies until 2015, but when players such as Giteau and others decided to head offshore for big money contracts, RA introduced the rule. It meant a certain number of overseas players who had already spent much of their careers playing in Australia could still be selected for the Wallabies. That's now been scrapped. The Wallabies open their Rugby Championship campaign against the reigning champion Springboks at Ellis Park on August 17.
