Belgian F1 Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wins sprint race ahead of Oscar Piastri
Careful not to put a foot wrong after the drama of Silverstone, polesitter Piastri settled for the runner-up finish behind Verstappen in a result which extended his world title lead to nine points ahead of teammate Lando Norris who finished in third.
It was a risk-free run from the sensible Australian, knowing it was better to pocket seven points than push the limits and risk not taking home any rewards.
Oscar Piastri during sprint qualifying. Picture:'I tried my best to snake my way through the straights and not give too much of a tow (off the start) but I just did not have enough straight line speed and then obviously did not have enough straight line speed for the next 15 laps either,' Piastri said.
'It is still a good result, still got points. This is only the sprint, the main points are tomorrow. Pretty happy with it but just a bit frustrated that we couldn't get past.
'The weather is looking pretty bad for tomorrow … but I don't really want to repeat the sprint we've just had.
'We will have a look and see what we can do. But there are a lot of things to look into for tomorrow.'
Verstappen's race win capped a remarkable turnaround for the Red Bull outfit, after they sacked team principal Christian Horner in the break after Silverstone.
Proving he is the ultimate racer, Verstappen cast aside all the team distractions to pilot his Red Bull to a 12th sprint victory in his F1 career and now sits 68 points behind Piastri in the world title battle.
Piastri had started on pole position for the 15-lap Saturday race after smashing the lap record during qualifying by a remarkable seven tenths of a second, four tenths clear of Verstappen.
But the one-lap speed meant little at the race start as Verstappen's flatline speed advantage proved decisive, as the Red Bull champ used the slip stream down the back straight to execute an overtake heading into turn five.
Mario Isola, Director of Pirelli F1 presents Sprint Pole qualifier Oscar Piastri with his Pirelli Sprint Pole award. Picture:'It worked out really well, that is the only real opportunity you're going to get against them around here,' Verstappen said.
'I knew it would be tough to keep them behind, it was cat and mouse.
'I couldn't afford any mistakes.
'For us a great result to keep them behind … it's a sprint win but still it counts.'
Piastri had feared that exact sequence would play out prior to the race, telling Sky Sports he was wary of Verstappen's speed advantage off the start.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc did the exact same manoeuvre on Norris to take third place on the opening lap, but the Briton managed to use DRS three laps later to reclaim third place.
Even with the benefit of DRS, Piastri could never challenge Verstappen's Red Bull and pull alongside or make a dive with late braking.
The big question facing McLaren now is how can they compete with Verstappen's superior straight line speed in the race on Sunday - where wet weather is predicted.
'The Red Bull is just too quick in the straight for us to catch up,' Norris said.
'I'm not too fussed about sprint races, main races I prefer to win.
'I am still confident we can have a good result later.'
Ferrari's Leclerc finished fourth in the sprint, ahead of Esteban Ocon of Haas, with Carlos Sainz (Williams), Oliver Bearman (Haas) and Izack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) completing the top eight to collect points.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SBS Australia
16 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Tour de France Femmes: Local hero Squiban claims back-to-back wins
Australia's Sarah Gigante has kept pace with the Tour de France Femmes leaders as France's Maeva Squiban delighted home fans with a solo victory in the seventh stage. The overnight victory was Squiban's second in two days, making her only the fourth rider to claim back-to-back stages at the race. Gigante, who moved into the leading group after finishing in the leading pack on Thursday AEST, came home in 16th place for the second day running, one minute and 11 seconds behind the winner. The result meant the AG Insurance-Soudal rider slipped a place to eighth in the general classification, one minute and 14 seconds behind yellow jersey wearer Kimberley Le Court Pienaar. Squiban, 23, made pace on the upper slopes of the Col du Granier to reach the finish of the hilly stage alone, which lifted the UAE Team ADQ rider to second in the polka dot jersey standings, level on 17 points with Dutchwoman Silke Smulders. 'You have to give everything' "Honestly, winning once on the Tour is already huge and now a second was an incredible day. I think it was one of the hardest days of my life, mentally as well as physically. But you have to give everything," Squiban said. "On the last climb, I just wanted to lie down on the ground, and by the end, I think for the last 15 kilometres, I was barely present — I couldn't hear anything in my ear." It was another French one-two as Cedrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) crossed the line 51 seconds behind Squiban to take second place, and American Ruth Edwards was third. A 17-rider breakaway had lit up the 159.7 kilometre stage from Bourg-en-Bresse, with Fiona Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal) becoming the first Irish rider to win an intermediate sprint at the Tour. The move split on the Cote de Saint-Franc before Squiban's decisive attack on the final climb. Mauritian rider Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) lost ground on the Granier but finished sixth to retain the yellow jersey. Le Court is ahead of Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) by 26 seconds and Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma Phinney (Canyon-SRAM) by 30 seconds. Mountains classification leader Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) endured a difficult day and was distanced from the peloton before Squiban's climb. Ruby Roseman-Gannon was the only other Australian rider to finish inside the top 100 and she is 68th overall. Sunday's mountain stage will be from Chambery to Saint-Francois-Longchamp. The place to watch the 2025 Tour de France — live, free and exclusive — plus the fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is right here on the SBS On Demand Hub .
7NEWS
16 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Statement issued after Formula One star Max Verstappen throws towel from car at Hungarian Grand Prix
Lando Norris completed an impressive practice double over his McLaren teammate and championship rival Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday. Norris trails Piastri by 16 points heading into Sunday's round at the Hungaroring - the final race before the summer break. But the British driver laid down an early marker in the first running of the weekend when he beat Piastri to top spot by just 0.019 seconds. He then extended his advantage to 0.291 seconds in the day's concluding session. Norris' world championship bid suffered a setback at last weekend's rain-hit Belgian Grand Prix when Piastri overtook him on the first racing lap and went on to claim a comfortable win. Piastri is happy to be back in Hungary where he enjoyed his breakthrough F1 victory last year. The 24-year-old Melburnian has developed into a genuine title contender over the last year and said on Thursday: 'I have a lot of confidence in myself that I can do it. 'The pace in the last few weekends, especially (Belgium), I've been very confident in and very proud of. I'm more than capable of continuing that for the rest of the year.' However, it was Norris - never previously out-qualified by a teammate in six visits to the Hungaroring - who stole an early advantage with an impressive performance on Friday at a circuit he has declared among his favourites on the calendar. There was one moment of concern for Norris when he ran wide at the final turn. But he managed to retake control of his McLaren, and survived without ending up in the wall. Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, four-tenths off the pace, but three places clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. In the first session, Hamilton complained his car didn't 'feel good', and ran off the road at the first corner following a major lock-up. He was then beaten by both Aston Martin drivers in the second running. Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were fourth and fifth respectively - the latter returning to his cockpit after he missed the opening session with a back injury - while George Russell ended the running in seventh. Max Verstappen, who ended speculation on Thursday that he could leave Red Bull at the end of the year, finished a distant 14th in practice, more than 1.1 seconds slower than Norris. Red Bull were then reprimanded for a bizarre incident involving a face towel which Verstappen threw out of his car and on to the track. The four-times world champion was summoned after the second session at the Hungaroring as stewards reviewed the video evidence. 'Shortly after Car 1 was released from its garage, the driver of Car 1 (Verstappen) was observed to have thrown a towel out of the cockpit,' they said in a statement. 'The driver explained that while in the garage, the face towel had slipped from his lap to the side of the seat and the team was unaware that it remained in the cockpit. 'When the driver realised it was there, he moved to the far right of the track and attempted to throw it as far away from the car and the track as possible.' The towel landed on the asphalt, however, and remained there to the end of the session. The stewards accepted that the towel was more dangerous inside the car than out, with the potential to become lodged in the footwell and interfere with Verstappen's ability to control the car fully. They also ruled that Red Bull had therefore released the car in an unsafe condition, although less serious than leaving a hard object in the cockpit.
News.com.au
16 hours ago
- News.com.au
Red Bull cops official warning as Max throws white towel
Lando Norris completed a commanding 'double top' on Friday with the fastest times ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The 25-year-old Briton, who is 16 points behind Piastri in the drivers' title race, clocked a best lap in 1:15.624 to outpace the Australian by 0.291 seconds after a tense second session at the Hungaroring circuit. 'The car felt pretty good from the first lap,' he said. 'And all of my laps were decent, but the second session was a bit more messy with more mistakes. But that's all part of practice I guess. 'We have a good understanding and I know what I want from my car, but of course it is difficult to get it. I have a better car than last year, when I was on pole, and so should have a better chance, but there is tough competition.' Just Lando and Oscar almost colliding at Turn 1... in practice 😵 #F1 #HungarianGP — Formula 1 (@F1) August 1, 2025 Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, adrift by nearly four-tenths, ahead of the Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari. George Russell was seventh for Mercedes ahead of Racing Bulls' rookie Isack Hadjar, Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull and Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes. All this left four-time champion Max Verstappen, grumbling throughout about his car's poor balance and performance, down in 14th place, 1.167 seconds off the pace and three tenths adrift of his teammate. To make matters worse for the Dutchman, who described his car as 'undriveable', his Red Bull team picked up an official warning into his disposal of a cloth towel from his cockpit during the session. The towel had been left in his car after a pitstop and was a possible danger to his driving if it fell from his lap area between his legs or the car's pedals. Red Bull were warned of the 'unsafe release' of the car from the pits. 'It was just a towel that you normally wipe your face with when you come back in so it was still in the car when I went out,' Verstappen said. 'Instead of leaving it to, potentially, maybe, fly in between my feet, which is the dangerous part, I drove off the racing line and got rid of it in the safest possible way. 'I think the stewards understood that.' From the start, it was clear that the duelling McLaren title protagonists were in no mood to take the session lightly as they traded best laps and, in a final late incident, ran close to making contact as Norris locked up and Piastri swept past him around Turn One. On a bright, dry afternoon, Nico Hulkenberg - who had missed the first session to give reserve driver Paul Aron an outing for Sauber - was first out and within five minutes ran wide and scattered gravel across the track. FP2 CLASSIFICATION McLarens on top, both Astons in the top five ðŸ'� #F1 #HungarianGP — Formula 1 (@F1) August 1, 2025 As Norris and Piastri dominated, endorsing the clear impression that a McLaren intra-team duel was in prospect for Sunday's race, Verstappen was down in 10th, adrift by a second, and reported, when asked about his car's balance, that it was like 'driving on ice'. His teammate Tsunoda was a tenth faster in ninth. Showing signs that he was feeling the pressure, Norris endured 'a moment' when he slid wide on the grass at the final corner and recovered with 15 minutes remaining on used softs.
