
Piastri beats Norris in rain-hit Belgian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc was a distant third for Ferrari as reigning champions McLaren celebrated their sixth one-two finish in 13 races and the third in a row.
The race at Spa-Francorchamps was red-flagged after an initial formation lap and delayed by an hour and 20 minutes due to the weather, with standing water and heavy spray affecting visibility.
Piastri was not in a mood for hanging around when the racing got going with a rolling start after four laps behind the safety car.
The Australian charged through the spray to slipstream Norris through the daunting Eau Rouge and scythed past on the uphill straight.
"I knew lap one would be my best chance of winning the race. I got a good exit out of Turn One, lifted as little as I dared out of Eau Rouge," he said.
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. — AFP
"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."
If Norris had a battery issue, the Briton asking over the radio why he had "no pack" before his race engineer assured him it was coming back, he was not looking for any excuses afterwards.
"Oscar just did a good job. Nothing more to say. Committed a bit more through Eau Rouge, and had the slipstream and got the run," 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."
Piastri pitted on lap 12 of 44 to switch from intermediates to medium tyres and Norris followed a lap later, but opting for hards, before both then went to the chequered flag on a one-stop strategy.
Piastri crossed the line 3.415 seconds clear of Norris, who had been chasing a third win in a row and managed to reduce the gap in the final laps with putting the ever-calm Australian under too much pressure.
Reigning champion and Saturday sprint winner Max Verstappen finished fourth, in Red Bull's first grand prix since the dismissal of team boss Christian Horner, with George Russell fifth for Mercedes.
Williams' Alex Albon held off Ferrari's seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton to secure sixth.
Liam Lawson was eighth for Racing Bulls with Gabriel Bortoleto ninth for Sauber and Pierre Gasly securing the final point for Alpine. — Reuters
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Observer
15 hours ago
- Observer
Steenbergen stuns O'Callaghan to win 100 freestyle, Douglass shines
SINGAPORE: Flying Dutchwoman Marrit Steenbergen stunned Mollie O'Callaghan to win the 100 metres freestyle at the world championships in Singapore on Friday, while Olympic champion Kate Douglass posted the second-fastest 200 breaststroke in history to win gold. O'Callaghan has already won three gold medals this week, taking her overall tally to 11, and one more would see her move past Ian Thorpe to become the most successful Australian swimmer at the world championships. However, she found herself in fourth place after the first 50 in Friday's final and was unable to claw back the deficit as Steenbergen touched first in 52.55 seconds, 0.12 ahead of O'Callaghan with American Torri Huske (52.89) third. Steenbergen's victory made her the first swimmer to successfully defend their title from last year's world championships. O'Callaghan, who won gold in the 200 on Wednesday, said her exertions from Thursday's programme affected her. In addition to the 100 semi-finals, she also anchored Australia home to win gold in the 4x200 relay. "I'm tired, I'm not going to lie," she told Australian broadcaster Nine Network. "None of the girls did what I did last night. I'm happy to walk away with a medal. "I'm pretty happy, and it just shows the strength that I have and the work I can do in the future knowing that I've barely done any training for this." South African Pieter Coetze was also denied a double in the men's backstroke as reigning Olympic and 2023 world champion Hubert Kos powered to victory in the 200, posting a time of 1:53.19. Both swimmers were on world record pace at the 150 metres mark before the Hungarian inched ahead and touched the wall first by 0.17 seconds. Frenchman Yohann Ndoye-Brouard took bronze. OUTSIDE LANE With Olympic champion Leon Marchand skipping the 200 breaststroke, China's Qin Haiyang powered home from lane eight to win gold and make it a double after his victory in the 100. The world record holder, who swept the 50, 100 and 200 breaststroke titles at the 2023 championships in Fukuoka, looked a spent force coming into the home stretch but got his second wind to power past the competition on the outside. Qin clocked a winning time of 2:07.41 ahead of Japan's Ippei Watanabe and Caspar Corbeau of the Netherlands. Qin's performance in Singapore went some way towards making up for his poor showing at last year's Olympics, where he ended seventh in the 100 and failed to even qualify for the 200 final. American Douglass was absolutely dominant in the women's 200 breaststroke, swimming a scorching 2:18.50 to record the second-fastest time in the event. The 23-year-old was relentless, surging further and further ahead of the field to win gold by a body length ahead of Russian Evgeniia Chikunova, the world record holder who is competing as a neutral athlete. South African Kaylene Corbett was third. Douglass credited Chikunova for pushing her to a personal best, saying: "I was really excited to race her tonight. "Honestly, if I wasn't racing her, I don't know if I would have gone a 2:18. I think that really helped push me to be my best." Douglass was afforded barely any time to recover from her explosive effort, returning to the pool just 15 minutes later for the 50 butterfly semifinals. The turnaround proved too quick for the American, however, as she finished 14th fastest and failed to make Saturday's final, where compatriot Gretchen Walsh will be favourite to add the 200 title to the 100 gold she won on Monday. In the final event of the evening, Duncan Scott put in a crucial shift in the anchor leg of the men's 4x200 freestyle relay as Olympic and 2023 world champions Britain won gold in a time of 6:59.84. China were second and Australia took bronze, while France were only sixth after Marchand was left with too much to do in the final leg. Australian Kaylee McKeown remains on track for a double in the women's backstroke, posting the fourth-fastest time in the 200 semi-finals, just ahead of rival Regan Smith. On Saturday, American great Katie Ledecky will once again face off against Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh in the women's 800 freestyle final in one of six golds up for grabs on the penultimate day of the championships. -- Reuters


Observer
2 days ago
- Observer
Fritz, Tiafoe and Rublev advance in Toronto
TORONTO, Canada: Second-seeded Taylor Fritz struggled with three rain delays and a stubborn Spanish opponent on Wednesday, pulling out a tight 7-5, 7-6 (7/1) win over Roberto Carballes Baena at the ATP Toronto Masters. The second-round match was halted repeatedly by light rain, with the final 18-minute pause coming just as the second-set tiebreaker was about to start. But Fritz, winner of Stuttgart and Eastbourne titles this season, quickly sprinted to victory before heavier rains were expected to set in. The American was far from pleased with a win which was marred by 45 unforced errors and confessed that he has not yet felt on his game in Canada. "Even in practice I'm having a hard time putting the ball into the court," he said. "But I'm happy to get through this one. "Everything is not feeling great, it's tough to control the ball. "Since I've been here it's been absolutely brutal. But I have another match to figure it out and hopefully I can play myself into the tournament." Fritz's fourth-seeded compatriot Ben Shelton had no complaints after earning his first career win over gritty Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-3. Shelton had dropped two prior meetings with 37-year-old qualifier Mannarino but said he was able to vary his serve to get over the line this time. "This win was huge for me. He's a shotmaker, he can take the racquet out of your hands," Shelton said. "I've played well against him in the past and come up short, he can make things really difficult." Frances Tiafoe. — Reuters TIAFOE HANGS ON American Frances Tiafoe squeezed out a win after more than two and a quarter hours against Japan's Yosuke Watanuki, hailing his opponent's fighting spirit after a 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) triumph. "He can hit a winner on any shot," Tiafoe said. "I needed some luck in those last two sets to win." Tiafoe managed just 19 winners to the 45 of his 158th-ranked foe, but now lines up against Australian Alexsandar Vukic, who defeated Briton Cam Norrie 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3. Andrey Rublev, runner-up in Canada a year ago to Alexei Popyrin, won his 250th career match on hardcourt as he beat France's Hugo Gaston 6-2, 6-3. The sixth seed needed four match points to advance after 86 minutes and now plays Italian Lorenzo Sonego, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over China's Bu Yunchaokete. Wimbledon quarterfinalist Flavio Cobolli of Italy delivered four aces in the final game of a rain-interrupted match to clinch a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Canadian Alexis Galarneau. But Canadian Gabriel Diallo came out on top against his Italian opponent, beating Matteo Gigante 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) to next face Fritz. Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered another early disappointment, losing his opening match in his home Masters for a third straight year as he fell to Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-4. Former top 10 ranking regular Stefanos Tsitsipas, now 30th in the world, continued a downward slide with a 6-4. 4-6, 6-2 loss to Australian Christopher O'Connell. Alex de Minaur, winner in Washington on Sunday, defeated Francisco Comesana 6-4, 6-2. — AFP


Observer
2 days ago
- Observer
Ferrari announce multi-year extension of Vasseur's contract as team boss
BUDAPEST: Ferrari announced a multi-year contract extension with Formula One team boss Fred Vasseur on Thursday, ending immediate speculation about the Frenchman's future at the helm. Vasseur, 57, has been in the post since the beginning of 2023 and was key to persuading seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton to join from Mercedes this season. His tenure was questioned earlier in the year with reports suggesting Ferrari had sounded out Christian Horner, the Briton who was sacked by Red Bull this month and has yet to comment on what he will do next. "Today we want to recognise what has been built and commit to what still needs to be achieved," said Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna in a statement released ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix. "It reflects our trust in Fred's leadership, a trust rooted in shared ambition, mutual expectations and clear responsibility." Ferrari are second in the championship after 13 of the season's 24 races but a massive 268 points adrift of dominant champions McLaren. Hamilton, the most successful driver in the history of the sport with 105 wins, has yet to stand on the podium for his new employers although he did win a Saturday sprint in Shanghai in March. Former Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, now with Williams, told reporters at the Hungaroring that the team clearly wanted to put a lid on speculation that has unsettled staff at the Maranello factory. "From the outside it just looks like they want to cancel the noise," said the Spaniard. "Always in Ferrari there's so much noise and you almost need to announce that you're extending or staying for people not to create a rumour. I'm happy for Fred because I'm sure he will keep doing a good job." STRONG FOUNDATIONS Ferrari highlighted Vasseur's ability to lead under pressure, as well as bring change to the team. "I'm grateful for the trust Ferrari continues to place in me. This renewal is not just a confirmation — it's a challenge to keep progressing, to stay focused, and to deliver," said Vasseur in the statement. "Over the past 30 months, we've laid strong foundations, and now we must build on them with consistency and determination. We know what's expected, and we're all fully committed to meeting those expectations and taking the next step forward together." Hamilton made a passionate defence of Vasseur in Canada last month amid speculation the Ferrari team boss could be replaced. "I love working with Fred. Fred's the main reason I'm in this team and I got the opportunity to be here, which I'm forever grateful for. And we're in this together," said the 40-year-old. "Things aren't perfect but for me, I'm here to work with the team but also with Fred. I want Fred here. I do believe Fred is the person to take us to the top." Ferrari last won a championship in 2008, the year Hamilton took his first drivers' crown with McLaren. The last driver to be champion with Ferrari was Kimi Raikkonen in 2007. — Reuters