Oscar Piastri extended his Formula One drivers’ championship lead after battling past McLaren teammate Lando Norris to win the rain-soaked Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The race at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps was delayed by more than an hour after heavy rain made racing impossible.
But when action did get underway, it didn’t take long for Piastri to impose himself on the race.
The Australian started second on the grid, behind his McLaren teammate Norris. Due to the conditions, though, the race started under safety car supervision, with racing only getting properly underway after the fourth lap.
It was during that first racing lap that the 24-year-old made his move, sling-shooting past Norris.
“I had to be committed. I got a good run out of turn one and then I could stay very close … it was not the easiest, there were a few moments but then I could stay super close out of there,” Piastri told Sky Sports about his brilliant start to the race.
“The actual overtake itself was reasonably straightforward. I could get ahead before the breaking zone but, yeah, the leading up to it took some risk.”
Piastri then managed his tires well enough to fend off Norris as the track dried out from the previous deluge.
In truth, Norris’ strategy of picking more durable tires gave him a real chance of overtaking Piastri in the final laps, but a number of small errors and a slow pit stop extinguished that hope.
He eventually finished over three seconds behind first place, but wasn’t too frustrated. After the race, Norris noted how tricky it was to start from the front on a wet track, with his car having to go through water first which created a slip-stream for those directly behind him.
“It’s tough to lead from the beginning,” Norris told Sky Sports after the race.
“Not saying I did the best job but, yeah, just seems like this weekend it was a headwind down that straight and just pretty much impossible to keep ahead.
“Nothing to complain about too much. It was a good race otherwise. I gave it a good shot, I was pushing hard but not enough.”
Norris now finds himself 16 points adrift of Piastri in the drivers’ standings, with the Australian now winning six races this year.
Piastri said he was happy to get back on top of the podium having last won a race at the Spanish Grand Prix in June.
“I think the last couple of weekends I felt very good in how I’ve driven and the pace, but I’ve just not ultimately pulled it off,” he said.
“To finally get the win this weekend is a really nice feeling and I felt like, you know, qualifying wasn’t the best, but the race I did everything as well as I could have and I’m very happy.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the podium on Sunday, finishing in a distant third.
Next up is the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend, with the McLaren teammates set to battle it out again.
