The 2025 Belgian Grand Prix weekend ran to a Sprint Race format, and the outcomes of the two races around Spa Francorchamps were decided by winning moves on their respective first laps.
Overtaking at Spa-Francorchamps is never easy unless the chasing car has a big speed delta, and that is something Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri knew pretty well, and as such, they formulated their battle plans with that in mind.
In the Sprint Race, Verstappen, starting from second on the grid, made sure Piastri was not in the lead at the end of Lap 1 and went on to deliver 15 qualifying laps to keep the Australian at bay, successfully doing that.
As for the Grand Prix on Sunday, Verstappen was out of contention starting from fourth, but Piastri was in his position and took a leaf out of the reigning Formula 1 Champion's book.
When the Race Director finally decided to unleash the drivers after a few laps behind the Safety Car, Piastri stuck to the gearbox of Lando Norris' MCL39 in the trickiest of conditions and pulled off a brave pass to take the lead.
After that, the championship leader never looked back—well, maybe a bit, as he needed to make sure his Medium tyres lasted till the end, as his chasing teammate was on more durable Hards, something he managed to do hence securing his sixth win this season.
Other than that, let's be honest, the Belgian Grand Prix—its dry part—was a borefest, while the Sprint Race was a 15-lap procession.
Piastri needed to halt Norris' momentum... He did
The silver lining? Well, those F1 cars going flat out up Eau Rouge/Raidillon was a glorious view, which for me is more than enough to justify why Spa should always be on the sport's calendar... Not alternating...
Piastri arrived at Spa with one thing on his mind: to strike back after Norris, who won the last two races in the UK and Austria.
The usually cool Aussie was livid after the penalty he received in Silverstone for the Safety Car infringement, which was extra motivation for him to deliver a strong result at Spa Francorchamps, his favorite track on the F1 calendar.
Indeed, Piastri was on the offensive as soon as his MCL39 hit the track, topping the only practice session and the Sprint Qualifying, while Norris seemed to be on the back foot.
While the Briton turned the tables in Qualifying, taking pole, Piastri made sure he did not complete a full Grand Prix lap in the lead with that brilliant pass on the Kemmel straight.
We already know McLaren have all but secured the 2025 F1 Constructors' Championship, and that Verstappen needs a miracle, a huge one, to win a fifth Drivers' Crown.
But the identity of the driver that will prevail this season is far from decided, as Norris and Piastri continue to slug it out, each trying to bag a maiden F1 Drivers' Title, and the result of the Belgian Grand Prix ensures that the championship battle will go on a bit longer.
Piastri enjoys driving Spa, but now we head to Hungary, a track that Norris enjoys driving around, so hopefully he hits back and extends the title battle even further.
It is not working for Red Bull and Verstappen at the moment
Red Bull brought an upgrade package to their RB21 this weekend, but from what we have seen, it was not enough to close the gap to the mighty McLarens, and instead, Verstappen ended up fighting Charles Leclerc on Sunday.
Early on, Red Bull opted for a low downforce setup, which helped Verstappen win the Sprint Race, but then reverted to a higher downforce setup ahead of qualifying and the race.
That decision was, of course, taken with Silverstone in mind, where Verstappen took a brilliant pole with a Monza-spec car but got destroyed in the race, which turned out to be more wet than dry.
With rain forecasted for Sunday in Belgium, Red Bull decided to increase the downforce on the #1 RB21, but what they had hoped would happen at Silverstone happened in Spa.
While Sunday's Grand Prix started in wet conditions, with the delay in the start and the laps behind the Safety Car, the track dried out quite quickly, which meant the racing was mostly done under dry conditions, which Verstappen spent staring at the gearbox of Leclerc's SF-25 and its new rear suspension, as his car's setup simply meant he could not make any advances.
Here, we also have to credit Leclerc's defensive driving in the early part of the race, managing to keep his low-downforce Ferrari on track despite the relentless attack of Verstappen.
While Red Bull claimed their latest upgrades improved the RB21, they are not enough, and granted Christian Horner was the cause of the team's current woes, it is still too soon to see the impact of his replacement, Laurent Mekies, who made his debut in his new job last weekend in Spa.
Lewis Hamilton's weekend at Spa
Hamilton came to Spa on the back of strong statements on how he is working within the walls of Maranello to improve the Ferrari SF-25 and meeting with team personnel.
His SF-25 had an upgrade package this weekend, including a much-talked-about rear suspension, but the seven-time F1 champion was struggling from the word go, and it was painful to see that.
Eliminations in SQ1 (Sprint Qualifying) and Q1 (Qualifying) were humbling blows to Lewis, and a miserable Sprint Race only added to his misery.
Hamilton's first season in Red has been far from what he would've hoped it to be, and after being beaten by George Russell at Mercedes last year, Leclerc seems to be picking up from where Russell left off this season.
That has inevitably raised valid questions regarding Hamilton's performance and whether he is now on the decline, given how Leclerc manages to extract more performance from the Ferrari, which was also the case in Spa.
But then, Ferrari changed the setup of the #44 SF-25 for the Grand Prix, and Lewis drove a brilliant race from the pit lane to finish seventh, and had the wet conditions lasted longer, he probably would've ended up higher on the grid at the chequered flag.
It was a drive that reminded us of the Lewis of old, especially when you saw the manner in which he was passing cars out on the track.
Naturally, Hamilton is not the driver he used to be, and maybe he needs the perfect car to deliver his best, but with seven championships, 105 race wins, and 104 pole positions, I think he has earned the right to demand such a car, and Ferrari must deliver.
The Ferrari/Hamilton marriage is too important for our sport, and the folks at Maranello should spare no effort to try and make it succeed.
Belgian Grand Prix Quick Hits
- Will the time ever come when we have a wet race and not have to worry about it being cut short or contested behind a Safety Car?
We know the Pirelli full wet tyres are rubbish, but now they claim they are better in 2025, but despite that, visibility is now cited as the reason why we cannot race in wet conditions.
If that is the case, and if the FIA and F1 cannot sort out the visibility issue through car design, let Pirelli drop the full wet tyres. Since they are never used, that would be more sustainable, right? - As for the duration of the Safety Car at the start of the race, it was a lap or two too long, and Verstappen and Hamilton nailed it when they asked for the racing to start.
Although safety is paramount, we were all watching, and it was clear that conditions were good enough for the racing to start long before race control deemed that possible.
These are the best 20 drivers in the world, and we can't keep holding their hands as soon as the rain falls. - Not a good weekend for Mercedes. Kimi Antonelli continues to struggle, while Russell could not deliver his usual strong performance.
- A decent weekend for Williams. Carlos Sainz impressed in the Sprint Race, while Alex Albon did the same in the Grand Prix.
- A solid Grand Prix from Liam Lawson. It should have been the same for Isack Hadjar, but the team messed up the timing of his pit stop.
- Gabriel Bortoleto continues to impress, and the same can be said of Pierre Gasly.
2025 Formula 1 Standings after 13 Rounds of 24
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