Belgian GP talking points: Piastri's pole prediction, Horner's absence and Hamilton's recovery

The National

2 days ago

Spa remains one of Formula One's most demanding venues and Sunday proved no exception, with Oscar Piastri rising to the challenge on a wet weekend in Belgium.
After a cautious rolling start, he made a bold move on teammate Lando Norris to seize the lead and never looked back, delivering another clinical victory.
Behind him, Lewis Hamilton carved through the field with a series of brilliant overtakes, climbing from deep on the grid into the points with a drive that showcased his experience and control.
After another memorable weekend in Belgium, here are the key talking points.
Piastri's prediction comes true
A portrait of calm in the eye of the storm, Piastri drove with quiet authority and flawless execution at Spa-Francorchamps, mastering the conditions to take his sixth win of the season and tighten his grip on the championship lead.
After missing out on the Sprint win and qualifying second for the Grand Prix, Piastri arrived on Sunday looking to reassert control. When the lights finally went out after a rain-delayed start, he did exactly that.
Having started on pole for the Sprint, Piastri joked: 'Spa's probably one of the worst places to have pole position. It is what it is.'
On Sunday, from second, he proved himself right. Despite the limitations of the rolling start, he breezed past teammate Norris on the straight in the first racing lap with a clean and confident move. The British driver would later report a battery issue, but by then Piastri had already taken charge.
At one stage, it looked as though Norris' one stop strategy might tilt the race in his favour. Piastri, who had stopped a lap earlier for mediums, expressed concern that his tyres would not last the distance.
The prospect of a second stop lingered in the background, while Norris, running long on hards, looked to close the gap. But as the laps wore on, Piastri managed his pace, never allowing the threat to fully materialise.
Norris gradually closed the gap, reducing Piastri's advantage to under four seconds in the final stint.
But small mistakes, such as the one at Pouhon and later at La Source, stalled his momentum just as it began to build.
Piastri remained composed and crossed the line 3.415 seconds clear to seal McLaren's sixth one-two finish of the season.
'I knew that Lap 1 was going to be probably my best chance of winning the race,' Piastri said. 'I got a good exit out of Turn 1 and lifted as little as I dared through Eau Rouge, and then it was enough.'
Red Bull begin new era without Horner
For the first time in over two decades, Red Bull arrived at a Grand Prix without Christian Horner in charge. Laurent Mekies, the French engineer and former Racing Bulls team principal, took the reins for the first time.
Speaking on Friday, he acknowledged Horner's legacy and confirmed the two had remained in contact. 'Yes, we have spoken, he has been nothing other than supportive,' Mekies said. 'Even this morning and yesterday, we texted. It's very impressive in the context.'
Max Verstappen began the weekend on the front foot, winning the Sprint with a well-timed move on Piastri up the Kemmel Straight and securing his first victory since the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May. For Sunday's race, however, Red Bull opted for a higher downforce set up in anticipation of sustained rain.
When the race finally got under way after an 80-minute delay and the track dried more quickly than expected, that decision proved costly. Verstappen spent the afternoon chasing Charles Leclerc but lacked the straight line speed to mount a serious challenge, eventually crossing the line in fourth.
'All in all, with the decision making and the set up that we chose with the wing didn't help,' he said. 'P3 was probably the maximum possible with the ideal scenario and, unfortunately, this didn't happen today.'
Ferrari's upgrades paying off
Ferrari arrived at Spa having implemented another development package, including a revised rear suspension.
Building on the new floor rolled out in Austria, the upgrades appeared to offer immediate benefits – at least for Leclerc. He capitalised on the improvements with a composed and consistent weekend, securing his fifth podium of the season and a third straight third-place finish at Spa.
'Max was behind for the whole race, within two seconds, so it is never easy, and the first part of the race was the trickiest for us,' said Leclerc after spending the whole afternoon holding off Verstappen.
Hamilton, meanwhile, endured a difficult start to the weekend. He was eliminated in the first round of both Sprint and Grand Prix qualifying, starting near the back in both races and finishing 15th in Saturday's short run.
But on Sunday, in mixed conditions and with a pit-lane start, Hamilton produced a dazzling recovery race. Pulling off a string of decisive overtakes in the early laps, he worked his way up to seventh and was voted Driver of the Day. It wasn't the outcome he had hoped for, but it was a determined recovery from a weekend that had come close to falling apart.
Russell bemoans 'worst' weekend
George Russell left Spa with growing concerns about Mercedes' direction, describing it as the team's worst performance of the season after finishing a distant fifth.
He crossed the line nearly 35 seconds behind Piastri and well off the pace of Verstappen's fourth-placed Red Bull.
Russell attributed the team's recent struggles to a development shift made earlier in the year, which he now believes has backfired. 'We made a clear change of direction a couple of months ago and it's been since that point we've taken a step backwards,' he said.