Piastri beats Norris in Belgian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc was a distant third for Ferrari as dominant champions McLaren celebrated their sixth one-two finish in 13 races and the third in a row.
"I knew lap one was going to be my best chance of winning the race," said Piastri.
"Rest of race we managed really well," the Australian added.
"Oscar did a good job, nothing more to say," said Norris.
The Belgian Formula One Grand Prix started after four laps behind the safety car on Sunday following a delay of nearly an hour and a half due to rain and poor visibility at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
After an initial formation lap behind the safety car, the cars were brought into the pit lane and the starting procedure halted.
"I can't see a lot behind the safety car so I can't imagine what it's like for everyone else," McLaren's pole-sitter Lando Norris, who is nine points behind championship-leading teammate Oscar Piastri, said over the team radio. After the long wait, the FIA cleared the race to start once standing water had been removed.
The safety car then led the field around to assess visibility before a rolling start was decided. The rain-affected 2021 Belgian Grand Prix remains the shortest race in Formula One history with only three laps completed behind the safety car and half points awarded. "We should just run," said Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen over the radio when the red flags were shown. "They're way too cautious." Nico Rosberg, the retired 2016 world champion, told Sky Sports television that there was little drivers could do other than wait. "The conditions out there are horrendous and the race start will be extremely difficult," said the German. "You can't see anything. You have long straights but must stay flat, but you're blind, looking left or right at the wall to find a brake marker board."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Express Tribune
McLaren's Norris leads Hungarian practice
Lando Norris lapped 0.019 of a second quicker than Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri as the McLaren pair finished one-two in first practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday. Norris, 16 points behind his Australian teammate going into the last race before the August break, lapped the Hungaroring with a best time of one minute 16.052 seconds with the soft tyres on a sunny afternoon. The Briton was on pole at the circuit last year in a race won by Piastri, his first victory in F1. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third fastest, 0.217 off the pace, with Racing Bulls' French rookie Isack Hadjar in fourth. Lewis Hamilton, winner a record eight times in Hungary, was fifth for Ferrari and suffered a big lock-up as he wrestled with the car. Oliver Bearman was sixth for Haas, ahead of Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli and George Russell with Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen ninth and Lance Stroll completing the top 10 for Aston Martin. Russell complained about his car's balance and said it was hard to turn. Verstappen's Japanese teammate Yuki Tsunoda was only 17th. Brazilian Felipe Drugovich stood in for Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin, with the Spaniard suffering from back pain, and was 16th fastest. Estonian Paul Aron also took Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber for the session and was last after having to stop before the midpoint of the session due to a technical problem. McLaren's progress faster than Ferrari in Schumacher era: Stella McLaren's rate of progress may be faster than Ferrari during their golden era with German Formula One great Michael Schumacher, team boss Andrea Stella said on Friday. The Italian worked at Maranello with seven-times champion Schumacher as an engineer during that period but told reporters at the Hungarian Grand Prix that he had been surprised by McLaren's growth. The Woking-based team won the constructors's title last season and are running away with both championships this year with Piastri and Norris fighting for the drivers crown. McLaren have won 10 of 13 races so far and are a mighty 268 points clear of second second-placed Ferrari in the team standings. In 2023 they were fourth overall and in 2022 fifth. "It's always difficult to compare across seasons," said Stella, who joined McLaren from Ferrari in 2015. "In this case, we are comparing across teams, and even myself, I was in a very different role, so my field of view, my perspective was very different. "But if I had to pick a couple of features of the journey that is happening here at McLaren, I would say the rate of progress that we have had in a couple of years is in itself pretty unique. "And possibly the rate of progress itself was even faster than what we experienced at Ferrari in the very competitive times." Schumacher won five titles in a row between 2000-2004, with the last one a particularly dominant season and Ferrari winning 15 of 18 races. Stella said McLaren had set out an ambitious programme when deciding how much effort to put into developing their car this season, with a new engine era coming in 2026 that could shake up the pecking order.
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
European stocks end at over one-week low
FRANKFURT: European shares closed at a more than one-week low on Thursday, as investors were disappointed by a series of corporate reports from the likes of Sanofi and Ferrari, while beverage makers slid as they were faced with a 15% US tariff. Earnings were in full swing in Europe this week as traders gauged the impact US tariffs were likely to have on corporate performance for the rest of the year. The pan-European STOXX 600 index finished 0.75% lower, with Italian stocks underperforming the most in major markets with a 1.5% decline. Italian luxury carmaker Ferrari slid 11.7% - marking its biggest one-day drop since its listing nine years ago. The stock also weighed on the broader STOXX automobile sector which was down nearly 4%. The sports-car maker maintained its annual forecasts and said that it will reduce the price compensation it introduced earlier on some cars sold in the US, once the US-EU trade deal was effective. However, analysts mulled if the company can sustain its high profitability. Drugmaker Sanofi also dropped 7.8% after reporting lower-than-expected earnings, but said that the impact from US tariffs could be manageable. 'When we think about sectors like automotives, pharma and consumer discretionary names — the risk is these sectors are particularly vulnerable to US tariffs,' said Craig Cameron, portfolio manager and research analyst at Templeton Global Investments. 'So we're consciously deciding to lean away from them and focus more on utilities, industrials, and financials that are largely domestically driven and insulated from tariffs.'
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Express Tribune
Popovici builds a wall and his rivals pay for it
David Popovici said he builds mental walls around his lane to block out the competition and keep him focused on gold at the world championships after the Romanian added the 100 metres freestyle title to his 200 crown in Singapore on Thursday. Popovici, who also won the 100 and 200 titles in Budapest in 2022, touched the wall in 46.51 seconds at the World Aquatics Championships Arena ahead of American Jack Alexy and Australian Kyle Chalmers. "I think the one who wins is the one who can detach themselves from their competitors," the 20-year-old said. "So I managed to build walls between each of my lanes and imagined I was swimming alone. "Don't look at the others. Try not to think of what Kyle is doing. Try and not look to the left for what Jack is doing. "I managed to focus on what I had to do. And I delivered." Popovici said it was surreal to be competing beside Chalmers after watching the Australian on television at the Rio Olympics in 2016 when he won gold in the 100. "I was telling Kyle just before in the call room how crazy I think it is that when I was a 12-year-old, I was looking to him at the Olympics," he told Australian broadcaster Nine Network in Singapore. "I was 12, he was 18, winning gold at the Olympics. And so now being able to race with him for the same medals, it's just bonkers. And I'm really happy of how far I've come and we've come." Chalmers, whose bronze was his 14th medal at the worlds, said he was gutted not to break the 47-second mark after finishing in 47.17 seconds. "It's incredible how much this event has improved over the years, you knew it was going to be really tight and really fast," the 27-year-old said. "I've been training hard for that moment, I desperately wanted to get a 46 out tonight but wasn't quite there. To get on the podium is so special and I'm just really excited to go home now and become a dad. That's my biggest priority this year." Frustrated McIntosh Only Summer McIntosh could yell an expletive in disappointment after swimming the second-fastest 200 metres butterfly in history. The Canadian took her gold medal tally to three at the world championships in Singapore on Thursday but it was clear from her reaction that her target had been Liu Zige's record of 2:01.81, a mark set in 2009 during the "supersuit" era. McIntosh powered home 0.18 seconds behind Liu's mark in 2:01.99. A personal best (PB), a championship record -- but not good enough for the 18-year-old.
