Oscar Piastri’s potential podium dreams lasted for eight whole laps.
After a disappointing qualifying session – marred by a hydraulic leak earlier in the weekend – Piastri started the Belgium Grand Prix in sixth position and seemed unlikely to recreate his 2025 victory at the same circuit.
But the opening lap provided the perfect opportunity. Lewis Hamilton collided with George Russell – sending his former Mercedes teammate into the gravel and ending his race, triggering a safety car. Piastri suddenly found himself in P4 and in contention for a potential podium.
Oscar Piastri ahead of Lewis Hamilton at the Belgian GP.Getty Images
By Lap 8, Piastri was locked in a fierce battle with Charles Leclerc for third, when the Ferrari driver defensively squeezed Piastri outand made contact with the front of the McLaren, sending debris flying.
The impact caused damage to Piastri’s wing and floor.
“He didn’t leave enough space, that could have been a massive crash – Piastri complained over the radio.
The incident was investigated, but the stewards decided to take no action and Leclerc was not penalised.
The Australian dropped places, but persevered– aided by fresh tyres – to climb back up the grid and managed to execute some excellent overtakes. But the McLaren driver ultimately didn’t have the pace to catch Hamilton and finished the race in fifth place.
Hamilton crossed the line in fourth place, however the seven-time world champion and Ferrari are under investigation for an unsafe release, so Piastri could be elevated to fourth place.
Once again it was Kimi Antonelli’s day – the teenager converted pole position to win the Belgian Grand Prix, strengthening his grip on the championship.
After some thrilling battles with Verstappen at the start of the race and in the penultimate lap with Leclerc, Antonelli held on to win his sixth grand prix.
In a post race interview, Antonelli admitted he was “a bit lucky in what happened in terms of the championship” but said he was grateful for win.
Race winner Kimi Antonelli celebrates another win.Getty Images
“That’s why you have to take every opportunity because it can really swing easily, the situation,” he said. “So we just gotta keep performing, keep bringing the result, and seeing what happens at the end of the year.”
Rounding out the podium was Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. McLaren’s Lando Norris had an impressive race, fighting his way up from P13 to take the lead of the race after delaying his pitstop. But the 2025 world champion suffered a dreadfully lethargic pitstop of 7.8 seconds, which saw him loose crucial time and drop places.
Fans at the famous Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps also got a nostalgic taste of McLaren inter-team racing, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri going wheel-to-wheel. However, it appears the team weren’t keen to implement their famous papaya rules – which states that the two can race each other.
A McLaren engineer interrupted Norris radio to tell him “We don’t want any yo-yo racing with Oscar, I’ll explain why later.”
Ultimately, Sunday’s biggest casualty was George Russell, whose race ended prematurely after the collision with Hamilton.
A devastated George Russell retired from the GPGetty Images
The devastated Mercedes driver told media he got “swallowed up on the straight”, but laid no blame on Hamilton.
“I lost three positions down the straight and the incident was a racing incident. Maybe I could have gone wider, maybe he [Hamilton] could have braked a bit more. I have no words at the moment,” he said in a post-race interview.
Russell’s retirements means the margin to his teammate and rival Antonelli has ballooned to 50 points. Antonelli leads the championship race by 45 points, with Hamilton in second and Russell in third.
The next race is the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 26