Belgian GP: Five quick takeaways

Piastri stops Norris’ momentum just in time

Two consecutive wins brought Lando Norris within striking distance of his team-mate and now sole championship rival, reigniting hopes of reclaiming the championship lead before the summer break. The Brit has made significant progress in recent races, particularly in adapting his driving style, which has paid off in a series of strong performances.

However, Spa wasn’t ideal. While you can likely forgive Norris for losing the lead to Oscar Piastri after the safety car dove into the pits, given the challenges of Spa’s first sector, it’s fair to say he could have been more precise in his pursuit of the Australian. A couple of mistakes cost him valuable time, ultimately preventing him from challenging Piastri in the final laps. It’s unclear whether he would have caught him anyway, given the pit stop delay, but Norris certainly wasn’t at his best.

Piastri, on the other hand, showed once again that he excels under pressure, and now heads to Hungary with a more comfortable championship lead.

– Oleg Karpov

Ferrari still isn’t great – but it might be enough for P2 in the championship

“I don’t think there’s anything in the car that makes us think we can fight with Red Bull or McLaren, unfortunately,” Charles Leclerc admitted after finishing a distant fourth in Saturday’s sprint race.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photo by: Simon Wohlfahrt / AFP via Getty Images

However, things looked somewhat different on Sunday. The Monegasque capitalised on Max Verstappen’s poor final lap in qualifying to secure third place on the grid, and later showed he had the pace to keep the Red Bull behind him on merit, securing his fourth podium in the last six races.

Leclerc’s strong performance, combined with Lewis Hamilton’s impressive recovery from 18th to seventh, is helping to consolidate Ferrari’s position as the ‘best of the rest’ behind McLaren in the constructors’ championship.

Make no mistake – Ferrari is still far from a great team. But while Red Bull continues to rely on just one driver for points and Mercedes seems to have lost its way after its win and double podium in Canada, the Maranello squad is getting the job done.

It remains to be seen whether the revised rear suspension geometry – which debuted this weekend, along with other recent updates to the car – will be enough to turn the SF-25 into a potential race winner before the end of the season.

– Federico Faturos

Spa highlights the challenge Mekies faces despite Verstappen’s sprint success

Laurent Mekies’ start as Red Bull team principal was marked not only by praise but also by Max Verstappen’s sprint victory at Spa – his first sprint win of the season. Red Bull made a smart call by running the sprint race with less rear wing, allowing Verstappen to hold off the McLarens in impressive fashion.

But on Sunday, reality kicked in once again. In terms of pure race pace, McLaren was in a league of its own, and Red Bull’s altered set-up meant Verstappen couldn’t overtake Charles Leclerc for third, leaving him off the podium. It underlines that there is no silver bullet for Red Bull this year.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Yves Herman / Pool / AFP via Getty Images

The team introduced a major update package in Belgium, and while Verstappen confirmed that the new parts do work, they haven’t solved the RB21’s balance issues. This season simply can’t be turned around anymore – or as Verstappen put it during his regular chat with Dutch media in the paddock: “When I watch certain onboards, I know enough.”

– Ronald Vording

Albon and Williams stop the rot

Williams built up a handy lead in the first third of the season, but as midfield rivals started bringing bigger upgrades the Grove team’s fifth place in the constructor’s standings suddenly didn’t look so rosy anymore, with a much improved Sauber squad starting to steal its thunder.

A series of chronic cooling issues and other gremlins further dented Williams’ chances to reliably score points, but in Belgium the squad struck back with a sizeable upgrade package, including a new floor. In the hands of Alex Albon, the upgraded Williams fought at the front of the midfield once again, with Albon taking sixth in both a dry sprint race and a mixed weather grand prix.

While Carlos Sainz suffered a difficult race from the pitlane, Albon expertly held off a resurgent Lewis Hamilton over the second half of the Spa-Francorchamps race, giving the squad a boost as it heads to a Hungaroring circuit that will be more challenging for its car. It now knows it will head into the summer break with what likely will be a decent lead on its midfield rivals.

– Filip Cleeren

Late (re)start exposes F1’s ongoing wet weather issues

The disaster scenario of 2021 thankfully wasn’t repeated, but the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix didn’t quite become a classic either. With rain, an intriguing starting grid, and a spectacular track, all the ingredients for a thrilling race seemed to be in place – but in reality, it fell rather flat.

The FIA Safety Car in the Pitlane.

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

One of the main reasons for this was the significantly delayed start following the red flag. By that time, it had already been dry in the Ardennes for a while, making the FIA’s approach appear overly cautious. Drivers were able to switch to intermediates immediately, and after just 11 laps, slicks were already viable.

The FIA’s decision highlights two persistent issues F1 faces in wet conditions: visibility and the full wet tyres. This time, visibility was clearly the bigger problem, as numerous drivers complained about it over the radio. The FIA had hoped that the current generation of cars would reduce spray-related issues, but Spa once again showed that it remains a significant obstacle for racing in the wet.

– Ronald Vording