Verstappen starts new Red Bull era with Spa sprint victory
McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri finished second, after taking a dominant pole position for the 100km race, with the Australian increasing his advantage over teammate Lando Norris to nine points.
Norris ended up where he started, in third place on a bright afternoon at the longest and second fastest track on the calendar.
Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari with Haas's Esteban Ocon fifth and Carlos Sainz sixth for Williams. Haas's Oliver Bearman and Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar completed the scoring positions.
Qualifying for what could be a soggy main grand prix at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday followed later.
"Well done Max. Very, very impressive defence, very well controlled. You didn't leave anything on the table there," Mekies told Verstappen over the team radio after the Dutch driver took the chequered flag.
Verstappen, starting second, used straightline speed to slipstream into the lead at les Combes on lap one and held off Piastri for the remaining 14, with the Australian 0.753 seconds behind at the flag.
The win was Verstappen's first, in either a sprint or grand prix, since Imola in May and it was knife-edge all the way.
"I knew of course it was going to be very tough to keep them behind. So it's just playing like cat and mouse, DRS, battery usage," he said as the large contingent of Dutch fans celebrated.
"The whole race was within seven tenths, so I couldn't afford to make big mistakes. I had one tiny lockup in the last corner, but apart from that it was, for us, a great result to keep them behind.
"You have to drive over the limit of what's possible. Tyre management goes out of the window. I did 15 qualifying laps to keep them behind on a track where tyre management is important."
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eNCA
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Piastri wins Belgian GP, extends championship lead
Oscar Piastri held off his McLaren teammate Lando Norris to win the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc came third as Piastri stretched his lead in the drivers' standings over Norris to 16 points. Heavy rain delayed the 13th round of the season by 80 minutes, with organisers eventually allowing a rolling start after four laps behind the safety car as the sun finally appeared. Pole sitter Norris was quickly passed by Piastri as Norris complained he had a problem with his car's battery. Piastri then produced a controlled race from the front to lead home McLaren's sixth 1-2 of the season. "I knew lap one was going to be my best chance of winning the race," said Piastri. "Rest of race we managed really well," the Australian added. "Oscar did a good job, nothing more to say," said Norris. Max Verstappen, winner of Saturday's sprint, took fourth in Laurent Mekies' first race weekend as Red Bull team principal after the sacking of Christian Horner a fortnight ago.
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an hour ago
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Piastri holds off Norris at Spa, extends championship lead
Series leader Oscar Piastri grabbed an early lead and extended his title advantage on Sunday when he drove to a perfectly-controlled triumph ahead of McLaren team-mate and title rival Lando Norris at a rain-delayed Belgian Grand Prix. The 24-year-old Australian managed his tyres expertly to remain out of reach in the closing laps as the Briton, 25, who had started on pole, closed in on a harder-wearing compound, finishing 3.415 seconds clear as McLaren reeled off their sixth 1-2 in a dominant season. It was Piastri's first win at the classic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, his sixth this season and the eighth of his career, extending his lead in the drivers' championship to 16 points after 13 of this season's 24 races. For McLaren, it was a 10th win this year. Charles Leclerc came a solid third for Ferrari ahead of four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull, under the race leadership of new team boss Laurent Mekies for the first time, and Mercedes George Russell. Alex Albon clung on to finish sixth for Williams ahead of chasing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari, who started from the pit lane, and Racing Bulls' rookie Liam Lawson. Gabriel Botoleto was ninth for Sauber ahead of Pierre Gasly of Alpine. "That was lively!" said the cool Piastri, who swept past Norris on lap one. "Very lively. I knew that lap one was probably my best chance of winning the race. I lifted a little as I went through Eau Rouge and then it was enough. "The rest of the race we managed really well. Maybe the medium wasn't the best in the last five-six laps, but we had it almost under control! I was disappointed after yesterday, but it turns out that starting second was not too bad." Norris conceded he couldn't have won. "Oscar just did a good job – there's nothing much more to say. He was committed a bit more in Eau Rouge and that was it. Oscar deserved it today." Leclerc said: "Max was behind me all race within two seconds so it's never easy. I knew the first part was the trickiest and I'm pretty happy we managed to keep that third place." The race began, after an 80-minute delay due to heavy rain, with the entire field on intermediates to run for four laps behind a safety car, clearing standing water. - Piastri's craft and calm - Four drivers started from the pitlane – Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton – having made changes to their power units or set-up overnight. They began at the rear of the field ahead of the rolling start at the start of lap five. As the lights went green, Norris powered away to lead through La Source, but he was unable to resist when Piastri sneaked out of his slipstream to take the lead going into Les Combes chicane. "Why do I have no pack?" asked Norris, realising he lacked electric power. "We used a lot on the safety car re-start," McLaren responded. On lap 12, Hamilton was the first in for medium slick tyres, rejoining 18th, followed by Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell and more. Norris stayed out one lap longer for hards, hoping to profit if his rival's rubber degraded in the closing laps. He was the only one. By lap 15, everyone else had switched to mediums and it was Piastri on top ahead of Norris by 9.3 with Leclerc third leading Verstappen, Russell, Albon and… in flying form, Hamilton. As Norris closed in, Piastri said his tyres were already degrading. "I think it will be tough to get to the end," he told race engineer Tom Stallard, raising the prospect of a dramatic finale. On lap 26, Norris slid wide at Puhon, falling back to nine seconds adrift before remounting his charge. It was a process of marginal gains as Piastri managed his tyres. Norris was close but Piastri's craft and calm prevailed.
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Piastri wins Belgian GP, extends championship lead
'I knew lap one was going to be my best chance of winning the race." Winner McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri lifts the first place trophy after winning the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Spa, on July 27, 2025. (Photo by SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP) Oscar Piastri held off his McLaren teammate Lando Norris to win the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc came third as Piastri stretched his lead in the drivers' standings over Norris to 16 points. Heavy rain delayed the 13th round of the season by 80 minutes, with organisers eventually allowing a rolling start after four laps behind the safety car as the sun finally appeared. Pole sitter Norris was quickly passed by Piastri as Norris complained he had a problem with his car's battery. Piastri then produced a controlled race from the front to lead home McLaren's sixth 1-2 of the season. 'I knew lap one was going to be my best chance of winning the race,' said Piastri. 'Rest of race we managed really well,' the Australian added. 'Oscar did a good job, nothing more to say,' said Norris. Max Verstappen, winner of Saturday's sprint, took fourth in Laurent Mekies' first race weekend as Red Bull team principal after the sacking of Christian Horner a fortnight ago.
