Belgium - Race

The 44-lap long Grand Prix at the historic Spa-Francorchamps began much later than anyone had expected. The race was scheduled to start at 3 pm local time, and that was when the drivers lined up on the grid. Only 16 out of the 20 spaces were occupied, as Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, and Fernando Alonso had made changes to their cars and were therefore waiting in the pit lane. The formation lap took place behind a safety car due to rain and standing water on the track. It was the only lap that the viewers got to see for a long time, since, due to unsafe conditions and low visibility, the starting procedure was suspended and the race was red-flagged. 

The Grand Prix did not properly begin for another hour and twenty minutes, and when it did, there was no lining up on the grid. Instead, the fans were treated to a rolling start and four laps behind a safety car. The real racing began with the start of the fifth turn around the track. 

Since there was still quite a lot of water on the famous corners of the Belgian circuit, all cars were on intermediate tires when Lando Norris, the man on pole, took the race back to full speed. His teammate, Oscar Piastri, was eager to take the lead away from the Brit and began attacking him almost immediately. Since Norris depleted his battery on the restart, it wasn't long before the Australian overtook him to claim P1. The only other change in the order was Carlos Sainz overtaking Lance Stroll for P16. 

While there was little to see at the front, save for Max Verstappen trying to chase down Charles Leclerc and move onto a podium-scoring position, the rest of the field provided more entertainment. The most impressive of the drivers further down the order was Lewis Hamilton, who began the race from the pit lane, and by lap nine managed to climb all the way up to P13. That wasn't the end of his impressive improvement.

On lap 12, Hamilton, as well as Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, and Fernando Alonso, dove into the pit lane for an early change to slick tires. The strategy was a gamble: if they chose the right moment, there were a lot of places to be gained, but if the track was not quite ready for the mediums they all chose, they were in for at least one agonizingly slow lap. Thankfully for them, it turned out to be the former. The slick-tried drivers soared through the track, showing that the inters should be disposed of as quickly as possible.

Most drivers pitted on the following lap. Since the two McLarens were too close for a double-stack, only one could bolt on a new set. Piastri was ahead, so he got the preferential treatment, while his teammate had to hold on for a lap longer. This made Norris a temporary leader, but also led to him losing a few good seconds to Piastri by the time he came out of the pits. He was the only driver on the grid who decided to go for the hardest available compound. All others opted for the yellow-rimmed mediums. 

Hamilton was, without a doubt, the biggest winner of the tire exchange. By the time the dust had settled and all drivers got rid of their inters, he had managed to move all the way to P7. The unfortunate title of the biggest loser went to Isack Hadjar, who pitted late and tumbled down the order, ending up second-to-last. 

His car seemed not to work too well with the medium tires and, before long, he pitted once more, this time changing to hards. 

It seemed like Norris was hoping that while he could finish the race on his tire, Piastri would have to pit once more, allowing him to regain the lead. Unfortunately for him, it quickly became clear that the mediums could also last the remaining distance. Of course, they would still degrade much faster, so his only chance of taking the win was waiting until Piastri's grip fell away and chasing him down in the last laps. 

Most of the race passed without many changes in the order, especially among the contenders for the point-scoring positions. There was more shuffling in the back where some drivers chose to pit for the second time, and a few found themselves stuck in a long DRS train, led by the Alpine of Pierre Gasly. The most interesting fights never truly came to fruition. Verstappen stayed around two seconds behind Leclerc for the bigger part of the race, but when the Monegasque locked up one of his front tires, his advantage melted to a bit more than a second. The viewers held their breaths as they awaited a fight between the two great wheel-to-wheel racers, but Verstappen could never get close enough to provide it. Alex Albon found himself at a similar checkmate with Hamilton: the Ferrari driver was stuck behind him for more than 30 laps and couldn't find enough space for an overtake. 

As the laps ticked down, so did the distance between the two McLarens at the front of the pack. With two laps two go, only three seconds separated the rapid Norris from his leading teammate. And then, just as lap 43 began, the Brit made a mistake. It wasn't anything big or race-ending, but it did cost him about a second and a half, effectively crushing his hopes of catching Piastri before the checkered flag. Indeed, it was the Australian who saw it first, winning for the sixth time this season and strengthening his position as the WDC leader. Norris had to settle for P2, and Leclerc closed off the Belgian podium. 

Order of the grid:

1. Oscar Piastri

2. Lando Norris

3. Charles Leclerc

4. Max Verstappen

5. George Russell

6. Alex Albon

7. Lewis Hamilton

8. Liam Lawson

9. Gabriel Bortoleto

10. Pierre Gasly

11. Oliver Bearman

12. Nico Hulkenberg

13.Yuki Tsunoda

14. Lance Stroll

15. Esteban Ocon

16. Kimi Antonelli

17. Fernando Alonso

18. Carlos Sainz

19. Franco Colapinto

20. Isack Hadjar