With the conclusion of the Belgian GP the curtain officially falls on the first part of the season. The Spa-Francorshamps Circuit is the perfect setting for the last showdown before the summer break which, unfortunately, comes at the most fun time of the last year and a half. Everything is still open, everything will still be open when we return to Holland. But let's go back to the present, to the Belgian GP which ended with a sensational 1-2 Mercedes, with Russell on the top step of the podium with just one stop in a race that was truly fought down to the last metre. Also on the podium was Oscar Piastri who beat Norris in his home match.
It's been raining since yesterday qualification he reversed the scenario, exalting Red Bull - who without Leclerc's excellent lap would have done 1-2 in qualifying, and putting McLaren, who were definitely suffering compared to Friday, as well as Mercedes, in difficulty. Max Verstappen wiped out the competition in the wet, showing off his greatest skills and taking advantage of the load available on a track made to measure for the RB20 as demonstrated by Perez's front row, the only driver from the top teams to have not yet won a championship. Grand Prix in 2024. Degradation, however, is the real key to understanding a dry race. Despite having to make a comeback, Red Bull in fact chose a more loaded configuration, risking waiting for a degradation which however did not occur. The Austrian team in fact finished the race once again outside the podium. A significant result, given the precedents on this circuit.
Hamilton gets off to a flying start as he overtakes Perez and chases Leclerc
The choice of tires is as follows: everyone goes with the mediums, except Sainz and Zhou who try something different with the white and Ricciardo with the red. A risk perhaps given the beating sun on the Belgian circuit.
As the traffic lights went out, Charles Leclerc got off to a good start from Pole, and the battle was already getting intense behind him. Hamilton sees the opportunity and takes second position from Sergio Perez who follows without risking too much. His future depends on this match and it is best for him to be cautious. Disastrous start for Lando Norris, the Englishman climbs to seventh position behind Carlos Sainz at the end of the first lap. Max Verstappen immediately began to recover positions, starting from P11 and already arriving in P8 after just one lap. Leclerc's leadership doesn't last long, on the third lap Hamilton overtakes the Monegasque, his future teammate. The distance to Perez is more than second, Leclerc therefore manages to keep out of the DRS zone. The group is still very compact, up to P8 they are all under one second from the car in front. In the meantime, Zhou Guanyu proceeds slowly on the track after suffering a loss of power. After a couple of laps he returns to the pits for the inevitable retirement.
Oscar Piastri is slowly getting closer to Perez, he knows that his pace can allow him to easily take the podium, but the Australian would like to get rid of this practice as soon as possible, also considering that Perez is not so docile when it comes to defence. The first to make the obligatory stop was Nico Hulkenberg, who mounted the white tire after just 7 laps. Meanwhile, the group splits, up to Verstappen they are all attacked due to the DRS but also the similar race pace. Alonso in P9 marks the start of the second group, 3 seconds behind the Dutchman glued to Norris. At the moment the degradation is limited compared to what we saw in FP2.
First pit stops of the Belgian GP, Verstappen and Russell attempt the undercut
The first of the top teams to stop were Verstappen and Russell, who attempted the undercut. Let's remember that in Hungary Max paid the price for his strategy and therefore for not stopping earlier. McLaren reacts by calling Piastri in. Hamilton and Perez also enter while the two squires Ferrari and Norris remain out. Russell manages to take the position on Piastri who, however, is not intimidated and takes back what had been taken from him.
On the edge but Ferrari with Leclerc, helped by the lapped, he manages to escape the undercut and stay ahead of Perez who also loses his position on Piastri. The only ones who didn't stop in front were Sainz and Norris. The real ranking therefore sees Hamilton in first position followed by Leclerc, Piastri, Perez, Russell, Verstappen. After 15 laps the garage called for Lando Norris to pit and after the stop he returned to eighth position. Sainz therefore remains the only one who did not return. Ferrari can think about the single stop but having to fit the yellow Sainz will have to resist.
Belgian GP: Mercedes flies, Ferrari doesn't give up and Red Bull suffers
Hamilton and Leclerc set the same times, 1:47.973 for Lewis and 1:47.982 for Leclerc. Verstappen, in P7 is engaged in a fight with Russell. Norris, without traffic, set the best time of the Belgian GP with the white one, quickly recovering ground to get closer to the group of top teams. Sainz returns behind Norris on lap 21 on medium tyre, in the meantime Russell overtakes Perez with a great pace for fourth position. Now the two Red Bulls are paired, but Red Bull breaks all hesitation and calls Perez to the pits for the second stop.
Norris is also approaching Verstappen, the Red Bull, being very loaded on the straight, struggles a lot, as Perez underlines on the radio. The degradation is not as high as they expected, and now Norris with fresher rubber is targeting the Dutchman for yet another showdown.
Everyone pushes as much as they can, with low degradation you don't need to manage much, and this makes the group increasingly compact. However, Lewis Hamilton takes the lead with everyone, the 7-time world champion does his magic in the second sector. On lap 26 Ferrari responds to Red Bull and protects itself from an undercut, returning for the second stop with Leclerc, who returns to the track with another white one. Mercedes responds to Leclerc. Up front everyone has hard tyres, Russell is thinking about the one stop.
The final sprint, Russell accomplishes the feat with just 1 stop
After the stops, Oscar Piastri demonstrated the true McLaren pace with a clear road, taking the fastest lap of 1:47.024. In the meantime, Verstappen and Sainz return to the pits, with only 7 laps on the yellow tyre. Norris also returns to mount the white tyre. Russell remains out, continuing his one-stop strategy and Piastri enters, who however goes long and loses precious time. On the track Max sets a super time, 1:46.447 after pitting. However, Norris immediately took the time away from him, setting a 1:45.563. The race is still very open.
The top 5 with 10 laps to go sees a sensational 1-2 Mercedes with Russell and Hamilton in the first two positions, followed by Leclerc, Piastri and Verstappen. Russell is looking for the feat, even if it's a long 10 laps at Spa. While Leclerc and Piastri compete for the podium with the Australian passing the Monegasque with 8 laps to go. Hamilton moves to 2 seconds and 8 behind George Russell who is starting to suffer.
In the final there are three of them in a couple of seconds, for a heart-pounding sprint. Hamilton sees Piastri approaching and Russell blocks him. But English he doesn't give up and reaches the checkered flag in front, accomplishing an amazing feat! And it's 1-2 Mercedes in Belgium, Plastri on the podium, limits the damage. Perez, who moved up to P8, consoled himself with the fastest lap after fitting the soft tyres.
Here is the final top 10
P1 George Russell
P2 Lewis Hamilton
P3 Oscar Piastri
P4 Charles Leclerc
P5 Max Verstappen
P6 Lando Norris
P7 Carlos Sainz
P8 Sergio Perez
P9 Fernando Alonso
P10 Esteban Ocon
