The only practice session was brief but revealing. Red Bull and Haas chose medium tyres to start before swapping to softs; others followed a standard program, experimenting with tyre compounds. Both McLarens showed strong pace, hinting at their dominance across the weekend. There were no lap‑time records to note yet (the official record remained Pérez’s 1:44.701 from 2024), but the red flag was the collection of wet/dry forecasts for the weekend.

Sprint Qualifying came under overcast skies and mixed track evolution. All teams used mediums in SQ1 and SQ2, reserving their only set of softs for SQ3.

SQ1 Shocks

Lewis Hamilton delivered the weekend's most stunning blow: a spin entering the Bus Stop chicane on his final hot lap dumped him out in P18, along with Antonelli, Colapinto, Hulkenberg, and Albon. McLaren drivers made it through, but Piastri narrowly escaped elimination in SQ2 after his first lap was deleted for track limits, leaving him to rely on his backup lap.

SQ3: Piastri Dominates

In the one‑lap shootout with only soft compound allowed, Piastri unleashed a stunning lap of 1:40.510—breaking the earlier Spa lap record—and demolished the field, finishing nearly half a second clear of Max Verstappen (1:40.987) with Norris third (1:41.128). Verstappen, who had favored a low‑downforce setup for straight‑line speed, split the pair, warning that slipstreaming could be critical in the Sprint. 

Others in the SQ3 top five included Charles Leclerc (fourth) and Esteban Ocon (fifth in his Haas), delivering standout performances and a strong run for midfield teams.

Sprint Qualifying Grid

Piastri claimed sprint pole, Verstappen P2, Norris P3, Leclerc P4, Ocon P5. Hamilton was P18, carrying minimal momentum into a difficult Sprint race.

Heavy rain before the sprint left the track wet at the start. Max Verstappen, starting second, used a lower-downforce setup and superb slipstream on the Kemmel Straight to overtake Piastri and take the sprint win—his 12th career sprint victory. Piastri and Norris followed in formation, rounding out second and third. Leclerc finished fourth with Norris and Piastri behind him initially in formation, showing rivals’ speed but not enough straight-line pace to match Red Bull.

With the setup locked under parc fermé from the sprint shootout, teams headed into traditional qualifying. Traffic management at Spa—with one long lap and variable conditions—led to surprises.

Q1 and Q2

In qualifying, track limits continued to bite: Lewis Hamilton’s Q1 lap was deleted, placing him in P16 before a spin relegated him to P18. Along with him, Colapinto, Antonelli, Alonso, and Stroll were eliminated in Q1.

Q2 was fiercely contested. Russell snuck into Q3 with a late flyer, while Bearman, Gasly, Hulkenberg, Ocon, and Sainz were knocked out. Bearman suffered a huge moment at Pouhon, affecting his run; Hulkenberg had an earlier pit‑lane incident.

Q3 Shootout

When it mattered most, Lando Norris produced a brilliant lap of 1:40.562 (Softs) to eclipse his title rival, Oscar Piastri, by 0.085 s, claiming pole. Piastri managed 1:40.647 but had looked marginal earlier due to track‑limits issues. 

Charles Leclerc claimed third (1:40.900) while Max Verstappen was fourth, just 0.003 s off Leclerc—underscoring how tight marginal gains decide starting positions. 

This was McLaren’s first Spa pole since 2012, and Norris’s 13th career pole, pulling alongside Ferrari for the second‑most front row lockouts in F1 history.

Torrential rain dominated Sunday morning. Poor visibility meant the race start was delayed nearly 90 minutes and began behind the safety car once conditions marginally improved. 

All drivers started on intermediate tyres. After four safety‑car laps, a drying line emerged, prompting the first switch to slicks around lap 11: Hamilton led the way, then the entire field followed over the next two laps. Norris opted for hard tyres, while others favored mediums, gambling on evolving grip. 

First Real Racing Lap

On the first full-speed lap after the safety car, Oscar Piastri made a bold move at Les Combes to overtake Lando Norris, snatching the lead and never looking back. From there, McLaren secured a commanding one-two finish: Piastri first, Norris second. 

Charles Leclerc held strong to finish third, rounding out the podium for Ferrari yet again at Spa. 

Max Verstappen, unable to fully exploit his wet‑tracking setup in the drying conditions, crossed the line in P4, despite his strong Sprint performance. It marked Red Bull’s first race without Christian Horner, with Laurent Mekies now in charge.

Mid‑and‑Late Race

Lando Norris, despite front row advantage, suffered several late‑race lock‑ups which kept pressure on from Leclerc but did not allow him to challenge Piastri. McLaren’s smooth pace and strategic consistency saw them pull clear. 

Hamilton recovered from P18 to P7, a commendable recovery through the field despite earlier errors.

Spa was a masterclass in F1 drama: unpredictable weather, a bold overtake, strategic tyre gambles, and team dynamics all collided. McLaren’s renaissance in Belgium—after a 13‑year Spa drought—signals a turning point. Piastri’s composed front‑running drive cements him as a true title threat; Norris remains fast but must temper aggression. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s internal transition, Ferrari’s podium consistency, and Mercedes’ ongoing struggles add layers of intrigue. 

If Spa was a slipstream battle, it was Piastri and McLaren who emerged strongest. And as the championship heads into Hungary, the title chase is very much alive, richer in storylines and accelerating in pace.

“Chasing the Slipstream” wasn’t just a catchphrase—it was thematic: slipstream tactics shaped the sprint, overtake execution clinched the race, and McLaren’s strategic momentum pulled them ahead. If you travel to Spa chasing the slipstream, sometimes it’s the slipstream you lead that defines history. For Oscar Piastri and McLaren, Spa 2025 will be remembered as the weekend their season truly accelerated. 

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