Max Verstappen held off intense pressure from both McLaren drivers to win the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix Sprint Race, delivering a composed and strategic drive to secure his 12th career sprint victory.
The reigning world champion didn’t have it easy. Starting alongside Oscar Piastri on the front row, Verstappen found himself momentarily behind as the Australian surged ahead at Turn 1.
Verstappen made the decisive move just a few corners later, reclaiming the lead at Turn 4 in what would prove to be the race-defining pass.
From there, Verstappen controlled the race, but only just. Piastri stayed within DRS range for most of the 12-lap dash around Spa-Francorchamps, while Lando Norris recovered from an early drop to fourth to snatch third from Charles Leclerc on Lap 4 and begin closing the gap to his teammate.
As the laps ticked down, the fight at the front intensified. By Lap 9, just 1.3 seconds covered Verstappen, Piastri, and Norris, and the cat-and-mouse battle saw all three trading fastest laps and managing energy deployment with precision.
Verstappen held his nerve despite a slight wobble into the final corner late in the race.
“That was the only real opportunity you’re going to get against them,” Verstappen said post-race.
“It was very much cat and mouse with DRS, battery usage… the whole race was within seven tenths. I couldn’t afford to make big mistakes, but it worked out really well.”
Piastri crossed the line just 0.753 seconds behind, with Norris close behind in third to give McLaren a double podium. The British team looked genuinely competitive throughout the sprint, confirming their growing dominance over Red Bull.
Leclerc, who had briefly run as high as third, couldn’t keep pace with the McLarens and slipped to fourth by the end, finishing 8.7 seconds off the lead. Esteban Ocon delivered a strong drive for Alpine in fifth, followed by Carlos Sainz in sixth.
Rookie Oliver Bearman impressed again with a solid run to seventh, fending off a late charge from Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bulls, who finished eighth and scored the final sprint race point. Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto held onto ninth after a close fight with Liam Lawson, who rounded out the top 10, just missing out on points.
Lawson, who started 11th, gained an early position when Pierre Gasly’s Alpine failed to start with the field due to unresolved technical issues. Gasly would later rejoin two laps down before officially retiring.
Throughout the race, Lawson showed strong defensive skills, keeping Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda at bay. The Kiwi steadily increased the gap to his more experienced stablemate and remained within striking distance of Bortoleto in the closing laps, but couldn’t find a way past.
Further down the order, Andrea Kimi Antonelli salvaged 17th after passing Nico Hülkenberg late in the race, while Lewis Hamilton endured a frustrating afternoon. Still reeling from his off in Sprint Qualifying, the seven-time world champion reported grip issues early on and could only manage 15th.
The full sprint classification saw Verstappen first, followed by Piastri and Norris. Leclerc, Ocon, Sainz, Bearman, Hadjar, Bortoleto, and Lawson completed the top ten.
Tsunoda and George Russell were just outside the points in 11th and 12th, with both Aston Martins, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, finishing 13th and 14th respectively.
While the sprint may only offer a fraction of the points, it delivered a full dose of action at Spa, setting the stage for an even more intense main Grand Prix on Monday morning (NZST)
Header Image: Andy Hone/LAT Images via Red Bull Content Pool
