Lando Norris stormed to pole position for the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix, leading a dominant McLaren front-row lockout just hours after Max Verstappen claimed Sprint Race honours.
In warm and grippy conditions at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Norris edged teammate Oscar Piastri with a stunning 1:40.562s lap, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Verstappen settled for the second row.
It was a session full of surprises and standout drives, none more so than from Kiwi Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar, who both reached Q3 and qualified inside the top 10, separated by just 0.018s in a tight midfield battle.
Piastri lit up the timing screens in Sprint Qualifying, setting a new track record with an impressive 1:40.510 lap — a clear statement of intent ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
He enters the weekend with a 9-point lead over teammate Lando Norris in the championship standings, while Max Verstappen trails further back in third, 98 points adrift.
Following the qualifying session, several drivers had been sent to the pit lane for the Grand Prix start after their teams made changes that breached parc fermé restrictions.
Carlos Sainz, who had lined up 15th for Williams, will not retain his grid spot after overnight adjustments to both the car’s setup and aero package.
He’ll be joined at the pit exit by Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Kimi Antonelli, all of whom were hit with pit lane starts for taking on fresh power unit components after qualifying 16th, 19th, and 18th respectively.
2025 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix Starting Grid:
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- Oliver Bearman (Haas)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Nico Hülkenberg (Kick Sauber)
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Rain began falling at Spa-Francorchamps around 30 minutes before the race, easing off by the formation lap with only light drizzle lingering. After a single lap behind the Safety Car, race control deemed visibility too poor due to the recent rain and standing water on the track, prompting a red flag.
The field returned to the pits and lined up in the fast lane, awaiting further instructions.
Many drivers reported poor visibility during the formation lap, with those further down the order struggling most due to heavy spray from the cars ahead.
A band of heavy rain was expected to hit the circuit within 10 minutes, and the plan was to delay the race start until the worst of the weather had passed.
After a one-hour and 20-minute delay, including 50 minutes of heavy rain, the cars finally returned to the track to get the 44-lap race underway, with sunshine breaking through to aid in drying the circuit.
The field completed four laps behind the Safety Car to assess track conditions and visibility before preparing for a rolling start.
After a lengthy weather delay, the race officially got underway on Lap 5, with all drivers starting on intermediate tyres and DRS disabled due to the damp conditions.
Lando Norris led the field across the line, followed closely by Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Alex Albon.
Piastri made an assertive move on his McLaren teammate before the final chicane, seizing the lead before the first full lap under green. By Turn 9, he had already pulled out a 1.2-second gap.
Norris immediately reported issues over team radio: “Why do I have no pack?”—a concern his engineer linked to heavy battery deployment during the Safety Car restart: “It’s coming back on, we used a lot on the safety car restart.”
Further back, George Russell passed Albon on Lap 6 to climb into fifth, while Verstappen ramped up the pressure on Leclerc in a bid for third. By Lap 8, Leclerc was struggling with understeer and had fallen 3.6 seconds behind Norris.
Racing Bulls duo Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson were locked in a close contest for eighth.
Hadjar began to slip back from Tsunoda, with the gap growing from one to over two seconds, while Lawson remained within striking distance.
The Kiwi eventually made his move on Lap 11, diving past Hadjar to snatch eighth.
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton was on a charge. Starting from deep in the pack, the Ferrari driver had gained five places by Lap 11, moving up to 13th after overtaking Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, Nico Hülkenberg, and Pierre Gasly.
Hamilton was the first to make the switch to slicks, boxing on Lap 12. He was quickly followed by Hülkenberg, Gasly, and Fernando Alonso.
One lap later, the bulk of the field responded. Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Lawson, Bortoleto, Albon, Bearman, Colapinto, Sainz, Antonelli, and Stroll all came in for slicks on Lap 13.
Lawson rejoined in 11th but was quickly overtaken by Hamilton, who had a warmer tyre advantage.
Lawson’s move on his teammate proved decisive, securing him priority for the first pit stop and enabling him to rejoin ahead — effectively pulling off an undercut.
Norris, Tsunoda, and Hadjar pitted on Lap 14 to complete the first pit stop cycle.
Piastri was then back in the lead of the race, followed by Norris, Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Albon, Hamilton, Lawson in 8th, Hülkenberg and Bortoleto who rounded out the top 10.
Hamilton has gained an impressive eleven places in the first 20 laps of the race.
In the second half of the field, Gasly was now in 11th, Tsunoda in 12th, followed by Alonso, Bearman, Colapinto, Hadjar in 16th, Antontelli, Stroll, Sainz and Ocon.
By Lap 19, Piastri had extended his lead to 8.4 seconds over Norris, with Leclerc trailing a further six seconds back in third.
At Kick Sauber, team orders were issued for Hülkenberg and Bortoleto to swap positions, allowing the Brazilian a clear run at closing the gap to Lawson ahead.
Meanwhile, Hadjar returned to the pits after slipping to 19th, struggling for pace on his previous stint. He switched to the hard compound tyre in a bid to run to the end, joining Norris as the only other driver on the grid opting for the hards, while the rest of the field continued on mediums.
Tsunoda continued to hold 12th place, with Bearman, Alonso, and Antonelli all line astern behind him in a tight DRS train. The quartet remained locked together, each within a second of the other.
Antonelli eventually broke free from the train just long enough to make a move on Alonso, climbing to 14th with a clean pass.
Further up the road, Lawson was still holding firm in eighth, successfully fending off pressure from Bortoleto, the gap remaining steady since Kick Sauber instructed their drivers to swap positions.
Ahead, Hamilton continued his charge, now just 1.2 seconds behind Alex Albon in the fight for sixth, having already built a 10-second buffer over Lawson by Lap 29.
Antonelli pitted for a fresh set of tyres on Lap 31, with Alonso and Colapinto following shortly after to switch onto new medium compounds.
At the front, Norris set the fastest lap of the race as he pushed to close the gap to Piastri. With seven laps remaining, the margin had narrowed slightly to 6.3 seconds.
Further back, Hadjar continued to struggle, now running in last place on Lap 34. The Racing Bulls driver was 11.3 seconds adrift of Colapinto and appeared to be contending with ongoing pace issues.
Meanwhile, Lawson had solidified his position in eighth. The gap to Bortoleto behind had grown to four seconds, while the Kiwi maintained a consistent 10-second deficit to Hamilton ahead, who remained on the hunt for a top-six finish.
With five laps to go, Norris continued to close the gap to Piastri as tyre wear began to affect the race leader’s pace on the medium compound. The margin shrank to 4.5 seconds, and Piastri was forced to navigate lapped traffic, notably putting Hadjar a lap down, while fending off the late charge.
Behind them, Albon found a burst of pace to break free of Hamilton’s DRS and solidify his grip on sixth.
Despite Norris’s relentless pursuit, Piastri remained composed in the closing laps, managing the gap perfectly to cross the line 3.4 seconds ahead, claim victory at the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix and extends his Drivers’ Championship lead to 16 points.
Norris followed him home to secure a brilliant McLaren 1–2, extending the team’s advantage in the Constructors’ Championship.
Leclerc fended off a late push from Verstappen to hold onto third, his fifth podium of the season, leaving the Red Bull driver to settle for fourth. Russell rounded out the top five, with Albon and Hamilton finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.
Lawson impressed once again, bringing his Racing Bulls car home in eighth to collect four more championship points. He now sits tied on 16 points in the Drivers’ standings with Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz but moves above them to 14th in the standings, now only 6 points away from Hadjar who sits in 11th.
Gabriel Bortoleto and Pierre Gasly completed the top 10, securing the final points-paying positions.
Antonelli, despite finishing 16th, clocked the fastest lap of the race. Meanwhile, Lawson’s teammate Hadjar endured a tough afternoon, finishing 20th, with Yuki Tsunoda taking 13th.
Formula 1 returns to Hungaroring next weekend for the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix on 2-4 August.
Header Image: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
