Oscar Piastri emerged victorious in a wet-to-dry thriller at Spa-Francorchamps, fending off relentless late pressure from his McLaren team mate and title rival Lando Norris. But while the Australian extended his championship lead to 16 points, Charles Leclerc quietly stole the spotlight for Ferrari with a dogged drive to third, keeping Max Verstappen at bay against the odds.
The race began almost 80 minutes late thanks to torrential rain, with drivers tiptoeing on intermediates when the lights finally went out on Lap 5. Pole-sitter Norris looked set to dictate the pace, only for Piastri to launch a bold move through Eau Rouge and sweep past on the Kemmel Straight before Les Combes. Once ahead, Piastri never looked back, managing his tyres and the drying track with ruthless efficiency.
Norris, forced to pit a lap later than his team mate, rejoined nine seconds adrift after swapping to hard tyres. Despite a spirited charge, he never truly threatened Piastri’s control, and a mistake at La Source on the penultimate lap ended any hopes of a last-gasp attack.
Leclerc, meanwhile, delivered a performance Ferrari desperately needed. The Monegasque had the pace to stay ahead of Verstappen, who had romped to Sprint victory on Saturday and was expected to breeze past. Instead, Leclerc held firm, crossing the line 20 seconds behind Piastri but a crucial 1.5s clear of the Dutchman, claiming only his third podium of the season.
George Russell secured a lonely fifth for Mercedes, while Alex Albon impressed by keeping Lewis Hamilton’s charging Ferrari at bay for sixth. Hamilton’s recovery drive from a pit lane start to seventh underscored his racecraft, as he was one of the first to gamble on slicks at the crossover point.
Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber) brought home solid points in eighth and ninth respectively, while Pierre Gasly’s Alpine survived a train of cars snapping at his heels to take the final point.
The rest of the field – including Oliver Bearman, Nico Hülkenberg, and Yuki Tsunoda – fell just short of the top ten, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso endured a forgettable afternoon, finishing well outside the points. Remarkably, all drivers saw the chequered flag in a race that, once underway, ran without a single caution period.
For Piastri, it was a masterclass in precision under pressure. For Leclerc, it was a podium earned the hard way, and perhaps a sign Ferrari might still have some fight left in them this season.
