Piastri wins Belgian Grand Prix (and praise from title rival Norris)
Heading home McLaren teammate Norris, who had started on pole, means Australian driver Piastri's lead has jumped from nine to 16 points.
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Perth Now
12 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Backstroke superstar McKeown keen to find happy place
Australian backstroke star Kaylee McKeown has a chance to nab a world championship gold medal against her arch rival on Tuesday night, but she won't be satisfied unless she has fun while doing it. McKeown did what was needed on Monday night in qualifying second fastest for the 100m backstroke final at the world swimming championships in Singapore. Only one person was faster than McKeown in the semis - American Regan Smith. McKeown is the two-time Olympic champion in the 100m backstroke, but it's Smith who holds the current world record after posting a time of 57.13 seconds in 2024. That edged out McKeown's previous world record effort of 57.33. The pair's showdown in Singapore on Tuesday night is set to be huge, but McKeown doesn't want to adopt a win-at-all-costs mentality. "In Paris I really got consumed by the pressure and the nerves, especially the ones I put on myself," McKeown told Channel 9. "So I've really just taken a step back and I'm just trying to enjoy swimming again. "I love the sport and I don't want to ever lose that. So that's my focus for this week, just finding the love for it. "I don't care if I come last (or) first. I'm just here for a good time." Australia won two golds on the opening night after coming up trumps in the men's and women's 4x100m freestyle relays. Bronze was Australia's only reward on Monday, with Alexandria Perkins finishing third in the women's 100m butterfly in a race that was won by star American and world record holder Gretchen Walsh. Perkins' third-placed result was still enough for Australia to retain top spot on the medal standings with two gold, one silver and one bronze to their name. But Canada is right on their tail after 18-year-old superstar Summer McIntosh won her second gold medal of the meet, following up her 400m freestyle success with victory in the 200m individual medley on Monday night. McIntosh is aiming for five individual gold medals across the championships, and she'll take some beating if her early form is anything to go by. Australian Lani Pallister will be up against American great Katie Ledecky in the women's 1500m final on Tuesday night. Moesha Johnson, who won Olympic silver in the 10km open swim for Australia at the 2024 Games in Paris, is also in the 1500m final. Other finals on Tuesday night include the men's 200m freestyle, men's 100m backstroke, and women's 100m breaststroke. Queensland's Sam Short, who won silver in the 400m men's freestyle final on Sunday, will compete in the 800m freestyle heats on Tuesday.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Oscar Piastri clinches historic win
Andy Park: He's long been fettered as the one, the one Australian Formula One driver who'll go beyond all others. But on the weekend, well, that's already happened. Melbourne-born Oscar Piastri's win at the Belgium Grand Prix all but seals his record. He's already arguably the best Formula One driver in Australian history. It comes as his home Grand Prix in Australia eyes some major changes designed to accommodate soaring crowd numbers. Dijana Damjanovic prepared this report. Archive: Oscar Piastri wins the Belgian Grand Prix. He beats his team to the world record. Dijana Damjanovic: He's the man on track to be the best Formula One driver Australia has ever seen. And he's just clinched another historic victory in the Belgian F1. Oscar Piastri's McLaren team weren't holding back when showing their satisfaction with his performance. Archive: Great afternoon. Really good. Let's go. Really good job, mate. Really good. Nicely done. Nicely done. Dijana Damjanovic: The man himself sticking with his signature disciplined tone post-race. Oscar Piastri: Yeah, I got a good exit of turn one and then, yeah, lifted as little as I did through Eau Rouge and, yeah, then that it was enough. We had it mostly under control. Turns out starting second at Spa's not too bad after all. Dijana Damjanovic: After a disappointing first day performance in Belgium, Piastri turned the tables in a first lap masterstroke on day two, passing teammate and first placed Lando Norris, and he hung on. Matt Cooch is an F1 journalist. Matt Cooch: We had to wait something like 80 minutes for that because of rain delays and all sorts of things. But once the race got going, he tucked himself in behind Lando Norris, his McLaren teammate, got the slipstream and then made the move happen at the first time of asking and from there on controlled the race. Really beautifully resisted pressure as it built through the final third of the race and brought home another fantastic win. Dijana Damjanovic: This latest win is Piastri's sixth for the 2025 season, breaking the record for most wins by an Australian driver in a single Formula One season. Jack Brabham won five races when he won the second of his three world championships in 1960. Alan Jones equalled Brabham's mark in 1980, but now Oscar Piastri has surpassed them both. Stephen Ottley: And so I think this is really just the inevitable outcome of an incredibly talented young man who's going to, I think, have a very long and successful career in Formula One. Dijana Damjanovic: Piastri also now has as many race career wins as Australian racing star Daniel Ricciardo. Stephen Ottley is the editor of Talk Cafe, an online automotive magazine. He says Piastri could be coming to the Australian Grand Prix in March next year as the world champion. Stephen Ottley: I think that's only going to drive more interest and it's only going to drive more spectators and you're going to need to, you know, the organisers are going to need to accommodate that. Dijana Damjanovic: As the sport grows in Australia with spectator numbers on the rise, the Victorian government is also looking to make changes to the Melbourne Grand Prix Race Festival. It's now seeking feedback on extending the race period from seven days to three weeks to give organisers more time to set up race infrastructure. Stephen Ottley says as a spectator himself, the change is needed. Stephen Ottley: The scale of it in the last few years that I've been is enormous. The bridges, all those kind of infrastructure, I think, need to be expanded so we can get more people in and in a more comfortable and safer way. Dijana Damjanovic: And to the tournament underway, the F1 heads to Hungary this weekend. The same track Oscar Piastri got his first ever victory last season. Oscar Piastri: Yeah, it's going to be exciting to go back. It's a track I enjoy and yes, seeing my first win last year. So I'm looking forward to getting back and hopefully we can continue the momentum because this weekend the pace has been incredibly strong. Andy Park: Australian Formula One driver Oscar Piastri ending that report by Dijana Damjanovic.
The Australian
3 hours ago
- The Australian
F1 British GP qualifying: Where Oscar Piastri will start at Silverstone
Australia's Oscar Piastri unleashed a near-perfect lap in the wind to pip his teammate and Formula One title rival Lando Norris to qualify alongside defending champion Max Verstappen on the front row of the British Grand Prix. Piastri looked all set to snatch pole position at the high-speed Silverstone circuit when he posted the fastest time with his first flying lap in the top-10 shootout, only to see Verstappen go a fraction quicker in his Red Bull on his final run. 'I was happy with the first lap. The first time was mega, to be honest,' Piastri said. 'I was trying to think of how I was going to go faster and I didn't. 'It's tough. Especially when you think it's a good lap, you don't want to overdo it and try and go over the limit. I think it was a couple of corners where maybe I was a bit safe on the way in and tried to make up for it on the way out and it didn't quite work.' Currently third in the championship standings but 61 points behind the leader Piastri, Verstappen claimed his fourth pole position in 12 races this season and will be favourite to win the race if he can hold the lead after the first corner, which promises to be a wild ride and test of nerves for the drivers. He will be joined on the front row of the grid by Piastri while his McLaren team Norris starts third and Mercedes driver George Russell fourth. For Piastri, his main goal will be to beat Norris, who is his closest rival in the championship standings. The Australian leads by 15 points approaching the halfway point of the 24-round season. Oscar Piastri will start from second on the grid. 'It's always little bits,' said Piastri. 'It's fine margins as we know, but ultimately pretty happy with second on the grid. So, I'm looking forward to a fun race.' The most consistent driver all season, Piastri has now qualified on the front row seven times in 2025. In his previous six starts from the front, he has gone on to finish on the podium all but once. The only time he didn't was in Australia, when he spun in heavy rain and came ninth. With rain forecast for Silverstone on Sunday, the Australian is in a great position to bag another big haul of points but is also aware of the threats both in front of him and behind. 'It's going to be a fun race,' Piastri said. 'It's been very evenly matched between Max, the Ferraris, I saw even George being up there at the end. 'I think it's going to be a pretty evenly paced race, and all of have us got slightly different strengths. 'Red Bull is very quick in a straight line, we're going to be quick in the high speed. So yeah, it's going to be a fun one. That's all. We're going to enjoy it.' Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen talks to McLaren's Oscar Piastri after they qualified first and second for the British Grand Prix. With all the drivers on the limit and battling high winds, Verstappen saved his best for last, getting everything he could out of his car to stop the clock just a tenth of a second faster than the Aussie ace. 'It was tricky out there with the wind,' the Dutchman said. 'It was all shifting around a bit. And around here with these cars, it's extremely sensitive to it. 'But you know, this is a proper track, in qualifying when you have to go flat out in all these corners. It's really, really committed and that's really enjoyable.' Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris will occupy the front three spots on the grid. Norris has won three races this year, all from pole, but was satisfied with starting from row two at his home Grand Prix, knowing there's still a long way to go. 'I'm not going to be unhappy with third. Of course I'd love to be on top here in Silverstone, but Max did a good job,' Norris said. 'Qualifying here at Silverstone is pretty fast and it's enjoyable and good fun. Yeah, not the top but still a good day. 'Little margins, little mistakes, little things. You're talking a couple of hundredths here and there can win or lose you the game. 'It was so tough, especially with the wind and the conditions. A little bit of rain every now and then. But still, all good fun.'
