Oscar Piastri took a dominant win at the Belgian Grand Prix, as the Australian extended his championship lead over team-mate Lando Norris.
Charles Leclerc completed the podium as the drivers had to deal with tricky wet-to-dry conditions at Spa Francorchamps.
Piastri made a great move on the opening lap of the race to slipstream past his championship rival and take the lead from pole sitter Norris.
After almost a 90 minute dela,y the race began under safety car as visibility was an issue for the drivers in the early stages.
Reuters
|Oscar Piastri extended his championship lead with a dominant display
There were initial worries for Norris as he complained about battery issues in the first few laps, however the deployment issues were quickly solved.
The crucial moment for the Woking-based team came as they came in to switch to the dry tyres. Piastri had track position and was able to pit for his medium tyres at the right point, whereas Norris had to wait till the following lap, where he chose to take the hard compound tyres.
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The difference in strategy allowed Piastri to have a nine-second advantage after the stops.
But with tyres that would wear faster, however, Norris was not able to make his more durable tyres count, falling short by five seconds.
Last year’s race winner, Lewis Hamilton put on a show as he overtook three cars in one lap as he aimed to claw places back after a shocking Friday and Saturday for the seven-time world champion.
Reuters
|The start to the race was delayed due to adverse weather
Hamilton was also the first driver to venture onto slick tyres as the circuit dried up quickly as the cars moved the standing water. His stop promoted the whole field to make a move to the dry tyres, and the strategy call gained the Briton six places.
Hamilton’s team-mate Leclerc had a race filled with issues as he battled understeer in his SF-25. The Ferrari driver had his hands full as he had to try to keep a charging Max Verstappen behind, but managed to do so with the reigning F1 champion finishing in fourth.
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George Russell finished fifth for Mercedes and Alex Albon put in a stellar performance to finish in sixth for Williams.
As the teams transitioned to the dry tyres, the pace started to settle as drivers attempted to get their tyres to the end of the race.
Norris did have an adventure off track as he ran wide on a wet curb and lost a second to his team-mate, but there were no big issues for the McLaren duo.
Reuters
|Lando Norris was unable to close the gap to his teammate
The Australian now leads his team-mate by 16 points as the duo continues to battle it out for the driver's title throughout the season.
The teams will now head to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix, before they have a few weeks off and get back on track for the second half of the season.