How the race unfoldedpublished at 17:21 BST 27 July
17:21 BST 27 July
Andrew Benson BBC F1 correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps
Oscar Piastri passed McLaren team-mate Lando Norris on the first racing lap of a wet-dry Belgian Grand Prix to take his sixth victory of the year and extend his championship lead.
The Australian swept past Norris as the race started after an hour-and-a-half delay for heavy rain and two laps behind the safety car and controlled the race from there.
Norris' side of the McLaren team chose a divergent tyre strategy when the drivers pitted to switch to slick, dry-weather tyres as the track dried.
The hope was that Norris would be able to go to the end on the hard tyres chosen while Piastri, who stopped one lap earlier, would have to make a pit stop for a second set of his mediums.
But Piastri, despite expressing initial misgivings about whether his rubber would last, made it to the end without stopping again.
His impressive win, mixing keen racing instinct with calm tyre management, moves him 16 points clear in the championship heading to the Hungarian Grand Prix next weekend.
'Turns out starting second in Spa isn’t too bad after all' - Piastripublished at 17:13 BST 27 July
17:13 BST 27 July
Image source, Getty Images
Race winner
Oscar Piastri said: "It was very lively, I knew lap one was going to be probably
my best chance of winning the race, I got a good exit out of Turn One and then
lifted as little as I did through Eau Rouge and it was enough.
"The rest of
the race we managed really well, I was struggling a bit at the end so maybe the
medium wasn’t the best for the last five or six laps, but we had it mostly under
control which is what I want.
"I was pretty
disappointed with myself after yesterday but turns out starting second in Spa
isn’t too bad after all."
On the
conditions and taking the race lead: "I was a bit disappointed with the rolling
start because I thought that was going to take away some opportunity.
"I got a
good exit out of Turn One and was able to stay close and then when I was going
that close I just knew I was going to life a little bit less than Lando [Norris]
did and try and keep it on the track.
"It was a bit
lively up over the hill but I managed to make it stick and then from there the
tow helped me out."
On the tyres: "I had the same plan if I was going to be second so I kind of knew that was
going to be a likely decision for Lando [Norris].
"For me, the medium was the
safest tyre to be on at that point, you never know if someone is going to crash
and there’s a safety car and you want a medium for the restart.
"Also, the
medium seemed pretty good in the sprint yesterday so I think it didn’t make too
much difference but when you’re fighting like that one-two, you’re always going
to try and get an advantage in one way or another."
On next weekend: "It's going to be exciting to go back, it's another track I enjoy. I'm looking forward to getting back and hopefully we can continue the momentum because this weekend the pace has been incredibly strong."
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Sam: Good win for Oscar, after seeing Max overtake him on lap one yesterday to win the sprint he knew he needed to do same to Lando ASAP to win the race today, and that he did.
'We will keep pushing' - Leclercpublished at 17:06 BST 27 July
17:06 BST 27 July
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Charles
Leclerc finished in third in his Ferrari. He said: "Max [Verstappen] was behind
the whole race within two seconds so it’s never easy.
"I knew the first part of
the race was trickiest one for us because we maybe didn’t have the downforce
that the McLaren or that Max had because they compromised a little bit in
qualifying to be better in the race today.
"Luckily it
dried up pretty quickly which was good but Max was right behind the whole race.
I’m pretty happy that we managed to keep
that third place."
On the race: "The pressure is high especially in those conditions because as soon as you’re 10-15
centimetres out the right line, it’s wet or greasy and then you can move the
line and do a very big mistake.
"I did tell
my engineer at one point to leave me alone but he’s trying to give me the most
information. Sometimes I need them and today I didn’t so I let him know."
On next
weekend: "Honestly we’ve had what we expected from this upgrade and that’s
really positive. We need to keep learning on how to maximise this new upgrade,
it’s still pretty new but it’s a good first weekend and I’m happy that we are
on the podium.
"We keep pushing and hopefully soon we will put a bit more
pressure on the McLarens."
'Oscar deserved it today' - Norrispublished at 17:00 BST 27 July
17:00 BST 27 July
Image source, Getty Images
Lando Norris has been speaking after finishing behind his team-mate and championship rival.
On the start: "Oscar did a good job. Nothing more to say. He committed more through Eau Rouge, but nothing to complain of, he had a better start. He deserved it today."
On whether the mistakes hampered his chances of winning: "Shoulda, woulda, coulda. Oscar deserved it. I'm sure he would have made a couple of mistakes too and I'll review my own. Great result for the team, our first 1-2 here in many years and a deserved result for the team and Oscar."
On the next race in Budapest: "It's one of the best ones for me in terms of what I've done in past years, and it's where i started my f1 career, so always good memories and it's one that suits me. I'm slightly disappointed today, but looking forward to next week."
Damon Hill 1996 world champion on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Image source, Gett
This race is all about McLaren and these two drivers who are fighting it out for the championship.
Oscar Piastri has extended his lead, Lando Norris is still in there, but it only takes one little slip and suddenly you can take 25 points over your team-mate in one hit if anything happens.
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Jeremiah: Piastri confirming he is indeed championship winner material. With this kind of courage and confidence, he is going to win the title. Norris can only blame his errors.
Oscar Piastri starts what is going to be a comfortable final lap now and take a win that will extend his advantage in the drivers' championship to 16 points.