The Rain and Risk at Spa: Belgian GP Review

The weekend at Spa was anything but expected.

With drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli, on the back foot and starting from the pit lane alongside Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso, it already looked like a tough drive. The long wait before we even got racing was typical Belgian GP fashion.

Very wet conditions for the aborted start at the Belgian Grand Prix. (Source: The Race)

By lap 11, the Intermediate tyres had hit a wall, and the first wave of drivers pitted for a set of slicks. This included Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, and Fernando Alonso, just a lap before the remainder of the field. The last drivers to pit for a new set of tyres on lap 13 were Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, Isack Hadjar and Esteban Ocon.

Whilst most of the drivers were able to make the slick tyres last, unfortunately, a few had to pit again. Isack Hadjar had new tyres from lap 20, Carlos Sainz was on lap 26, Franco Colapinto was by lap 28, Fernando Alonso was by lap 29, Kimi Antonelli on lap 30 and Nico Hulkenberg on lap 32. These drivers had issues ranging from temperature to serious tyre degradation.

After waiting for an hour and a half, we were finally able to get underway. Oscar Piastri made quick work of Lando Norris, with Norris being forced to use most of his battery pack and having nothing left to fight back. This led quickly to an extension in favour of Piastri. The McLaren drivers led the entire race to make it yet another dominant weekend and a 1-2 finish with Oscar Piastri maintaining the championship lead again and Lando Norris forced to settle for P2.

McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris during the Belgian Grand Prix. (Source: The Race)

Charles Leclerc was forced to work twice as hard to keep the creeping RedBull of Max Verstappen at bay, with his defensive tactics working in his favour. Verstappen was forced to settle for a P4 finish, instead of a podium. Although unhappy with not starting the race before the heavy downpour of rain, would this have worked in his favour in the end? For Charles Leclerc, though, Spa was a good race, adding another podium finish to his 2025 season, finishing P3.

George Russell was in a race of his own, cruising along the entire race and making it another point-scoring weekend, finishing P5. Whilst his teammate Kimi Antonelli had his work cut out for him. Starting from the pits, it was already a hard ask for the young rookie, with DRS trains and uncertain conditions, the young driver had to settle for a P16 finish. Although for a tough weekend, he still managed to receive the fastest lap of the race with a 1:44.861.

Similar results for the Williams Racing pairing, with Alex Albon scoring points for the team with his P6 finish, but Carlos Sainz only managing P18. This was a tough weekend for Carlos, given his initial problems during Free Practice 1. Another team with a half-and-half result was Racing Bulls, with Liam Lawson in P8, whilst his teammate was P20 and the only lapped car on track. A very difficult day for Isack Hadjar with strategy errors, which would not pay off.

Alex Albon during the rainy Grand Prix at Spa. (Source: Atlassian Williams Racing)

Lewis Hamilton made quick work of passing through the field, with 11 cars overtaken by lap 20. He managed to storm through the field, after pitting for the fresh slicks and ultimately finished P7. On a day when he was expected to struggle. He also received the Driver of the Day. Given his weekend at Spa, this was by far the best result for Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton during the Belgian GP. (Source: XPBimages)

Your P9 and P10 went to Gabriel Bortoleto and Pierre Gasly with a pretty quiet weekend. Bortoleto was in his own world, being that he was never under attack from another driver, so he had a relaxing race, so to speak. Pierre Gasly put his defensive driving tactics to use and was able to hold up Oliver Bearman (P11) and Nico Hulkenberg (P12).

A race to forget for two teams, Aston Martin and Haas, with neither one of their drivers finishing in the top 10. Lance Stroll managed to finish above Fernando Alonso in P14, whilst Alonso was down in P17. As for Haas, they had a strong qualifying session, but purely given the conditions, it was not meant to be. They managed to finish P11 with Oliver Bearman and P15 with Esteban Ocon.

With the mixed-race weekend in Spa complete, we prepare to return to Hungary this weekend. Could we see another Oscar Piastri win there? Will Lando Norris take home the trophy? Or maybe someone else entirely?