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.
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