F1 Today | Piastri triumphs at Spa, Verstappen and Hamilton criticise delay

22:50, 27 Jul
Updated: 23:12, 27 Jul
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It was an eventful day at Spa-Francorchamps, but a less eventful Grand Prix. World champions also reflected on the delayed start of the Belgian Grand Prix. In the end, it was Oscar Piastri who claimed victory in the Ardennes.

Piastri triumphs in Belgium

It took some time for the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix to get underway, however, a repeat of the 2021 season did not take place. The race began around an hour and twenty minutes later after it was planned.
After a mistake after the rolling start, Oscar Piastri immediately took the lead from pole sitter Lando Norris, and did not look back afterwards. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen was stuck behind Charles Leclerc, as he finished in fourth place just behind the Ferrari driver.
With this result, Oscar Piastri could extend his lead in the drivers' standings ahead of his teammate in the standings. The gap currently stands at 16 points. Meanwhile, Verstappen's deficit has increased to 81 points.

Champions critical of start delay

Some drivers were satisfied with the delay of the Belgian Grand Prix's start time.
To begin with, Verstappen was disappointed with this decision. Talking to GPblog among others, he said, "[I would have started] 3 o'clock straight away. It was not even raining. And of course between Turn 1 and 5 was quite a bit of water, but if you do two or three laps behind the safety car, then it would have been a lot more clear. And the rest of the track was anyway ready to go and it's a bit of a shame."
Lewis Hamilton was also on the same page as the four-time world champion. The Briton added: "We obviously started the race a little too late I would say."