Piastri wins Belgian GP to extend F1 title lead

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium -- Oscar Piastri's decisive aboriginal walk proved to beryllium capable for a captious triumph implicit teammate and rubric rival Lando Norris astatine the Belgian Grand Prix.

Piastri turned successful a flawless race to triumph by a comfy 3.41 seconds contempt Norris having a tyre vantage successful the closing stages.

The win, the sixth of his play and eighth of his career, extended Piastri's rubric pb to 16 points and denied Norris, who had started from pole, a 3rd consecutive win.

"Let's go!" Piastri said implicit his vigor post-race. "Nicely done. Nicely f----- done."

After the contention Piastri reflected connected his beardown presumption starting connected the beforehand row.

"I knew Lap 1 would beryllium my champion accidental of winning the race," helium said. "I got a bully exit retired of Turn 1, lifted arsenic small arsenic I dared retired of Eau Rouge.

"The remainder of the contention we managed truly well. I struggled astatine the end. Maybe the mediums were not the champion for the past 5 oregon six laps. We had it mostly nether control.

"I was beauteous disappointed with myself yesterday but turns retired starting P2 was not arsenic atrocious arsenic I thought."

Meanwhile, Norris said: "Oscar conscionable did a bully occupation [at the start]. Nothing much to say. I committed a spot much done Eau Rouge, and had the slipstream and got the run.

"So thing to kick of. He did a amended occupation successful the beginning, and that was it. Nothing much I could bash aft that point. I would emotion to beryllium up top, but Oscar deserved it today."

Charles Leclerc took a morale-boosting podium for Ferrari up of reigning champion Max Verstappen, albeit successful a distant conflict down the ascendant McLaren pair.

"Max was down the full contention wrong 2 seconds, truthful it's ne'er easy," the Leclerc said. "Luckily it dried up beauteous quickly, past the gait was good. But Max was down the full race, truthful I'm beauteous blessed we managed to support 3rd place.

"The unit is high, particularly successful those conditions. At 1 constituent I told [my engineer] Brian to permission maine alone! Obviously helium was trying to springiness maine the astir information, sometimes I needed it, sometimes I didn't."

Heavy rainfall earlier the commencement delayed the race officially by 1 hr and 15 minutes but the benignant of wet-weather classical truthful often produced successful akin conditions successful Belgium ne'er materialised, with the way acceptable for adust tyres by the 12th lap.

One enactment thigh had taken spot up of the scheduled commencement astatine 3 p.m. section time, but operator feedback meant the FIA deemed the conditions undriveable.

A agelong and frustrating hold followed earlier the cars were backmost connected way down the Safety Car astatine 4:20 p.m. section clip for 4 laps.

Norris had led the battalion into Turn 1 aft a rolling commencement for Lap 5, but his teammate soon proved wherefore rod presumption is often seen arsenic a poisoned chalice astatine Spa-Francorchamps.

Piastri stalked Norris done Turn 1 and past utilized the agelong tally up done the celebrated Eau Rouge country to slingshot himself up astatine the Kemmel Straight.

It was an nonstop reversal to what had happened to Piastri astatine the opening of Saturday's sprint race, erstwhile helium started connected rod but mislaid the pb to Max Verstappen connected the opening lap.

Verstappen was the past idiosyncratic to triumph the Belgian Grand Prix from pole, doing truthful successful 2021, erstwhile conscionable 2 laps were completed down the information car earlier the rainfall was called disconnected owed to dense rain.

Norris had appeared to springiness himself a accidental to marque thing hap astatine the end, opting for the much durable hard compound erstwhile it came clip to power to adust tires -- Piastri had gone onto the medium.

But a grandstand decorativeness ne'er materialised, with Piastri bringing his car location for a comfy win, adjacent though Norris had astatine 1 constituent started slashing distant astatine the pb retired successful the front.

McLaren were connected a antithetic satellite successful presumption of pace, with Leclerc finishing 20 seconds down successful 3rd position.

Verstappen took fourth, up of Mercedes operator George Russell.

After qualifying a superb 5th connected Saturday, Alex Albon claimed sixth presumption for Williams, his champion effect since Imola.

Lewis Hamilton had cut a dejected figure aft being eliminated from Q1 connected Saturday, but helium provided amusement aboriginal successful the contention from the backmost extremity of the grid.

The seven-time satellite champion utilized the operation of his accomplishment successful the bedewed and his quicker car to carve done the little bid aboriginal connected with a bid of beautifully executed moves.

Hamilton past was the archetypal to power from the intermediate bedewed tyre to dries connected Lap 12, allowing him to look seventh erstwhile everyone other had done the same, though helium could not get past Albon precocious on.

Racing Bulls operator Liam Lawson took a superb eighth up of Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, who had been allowed past teammate Nico Hülkenberg erstwhile quicker astatine a important portion of the race.

After failing to commencement Saturday's sprint from a promising presumption Pierre Gasly snatched a constituent for Alpine.

Yuki Tsunoda's best qualifying performance for Red Bull came to nothing, with the Japanese operator staying retired a thigh excessively precocious arsenic the way switched from bedewed to adust and dropping down the bid arsenic a result.

Formula 1 volition contention adjacent week astatine Budapest's Hungarian Grand Prix, the last lawsuit earlier a four-week summertime break.