Formula 2025: Belgian Grand Prix Review

The Cut Of The Century?

Let’s start with the giant elephant in the room: Red Bull has hired new management. After 20 years, Christian Horner has been fired, effective immediately. He will no longer be involved with the team and has been replaced by Laurent Mekies.

Mekies was the team principal for Red Bull’s sister team, Racing Bulls (RB), and Alan Permane has now taken charge of RB: a complete reshuffle and new configuration for the Red Bull teams. 

There is a clear statement of intention in firing Horner midway through the season, rather than waiting a few more races until the summer break or even letting him finish the 2025 season. 

There have been several points in this season where it looked like Horner might be leaving. Let’s not forget the recent implications surrounding sending explicit messages to a female coworker. Jos Verstappen (Max Verstappen’s father) has also made a few suggestive remarks regarding the after-effects for the team and the bad press.

Let’s Get Down To Racing! 

The Belgian Grand Prix is a busy weekend with the sprint race added to the drama. Only one practice session for the drivers before they dive headfirst into the Sprint qualifying. 

Antonelli dives into the gravel in SQ1, spinning off dramatically, but manages to continue, albeit with issues, and ends his qualifying in last place. 

A dramatic end to SQ1 as Hamilton spins out onto the gravel and ends his Sprint Qualifying session. Alongside Hulkenberg down in 17th after his phenomenal podium performance in Silverstone, let’s see if he can turn it around. 

It’s double trouble for Aston Martin and Racing Bulls as both teammates are out in SQ2, with Russell splitting them, clearly showing that Mercedes are struggling so far. 

Piastri pins the rest to the post as he comes out on top with Verstappen behind him and his teammate Norris snagging 3rd. A strong showing from rookies Hdjar and Bortoleto in the top 10, with both Haas cars finishing 5th and 7th. 

A Speedy Sprint Race

Gasly’s car had a water leak and was unable to start the sprint race, which is unfortunate, as he had qualified in the top 10. 

As the cars line up, Verstappen is angled towards Piastri and ready to overtake, and the lights go out. And within the first few corners, Verstappen uses his straight-line speed to excel into first place.

Leclerc uses Norris’ slipstream to overtake him up into a podium position, so both McLarens have lost out on the start. After four laps, Verstappen had created a bit of a gap from Piastri, but Norris managed to overtake Leclerc and gain his position back. 

Alpine decides to get Gasly’s car out even though he’s two laps behind, to test his car and gather more data. A good showing so far for both Haas drivers as they hold onto their 5th and 7th positions.

We’re halfway through the Sprint race now, and the quick-paced race ignites excitement in all the fans cheering their teams on. Verstappen is still ahead, Piastri beginning to show his desperation as he dips a tyre into the gravel, going too wide and ultimately losing more time between them. 

Hamilton is unhappy as he lacks grip on his tyres and complains he has no rear. Norris is slowly gaining on his teammate, the current leader of the championship. With five laps to go, Antonelli is gaining on Hamilton, and Bearman is holding Hadjar at bay, keeping his points finishing position.

Verstappen defended his position from Piastri as he tried to make a move stick, but it didn’t. Sainz is gaining on Ocon, and there is an actual midfield fight between Hass and Williams.

The final lap, and Verstappen is still ahead, and Piastri is losing the chance to take back his position. Verstappen wins the Belgian sprint race, marking a new era for Red Bull without Horner. The McLaren duo took the other podium positions. 

A Masterful McLaren Qualifying

Now, for the Race qualifying, the first round, all cars are on soft tyres, but there’s a collision before the vehicles have even been able to get out on track. Hulkenberg and Stroll hit each other trying to get the best track position. 

As the race track improves, all the cars take to the final lap. Antonelli is unable to make it through again, and Colapinto is losing time. Both Aston Martins are out in the first round, an unfortunate weekend for them so far. 

And it seems Bortolleto has made it through on the skin of his teeth, as Hamilton broke the track limits and had his last time deleted so that he will be starting in 16th. 

In Q2, it’s a depressing end for Sainz and Hulkenberg as they’re out together. Gasly slips into 13th, hopefully he’ll be able to start the race. A near miss for Bearman as he slides over a curb leaves him and his teammate out of Q2. 

For the final round of Q3, both Norris and Verstappen are down in the first sector, and Piastri is ahead of them. Then Norris put in the best middle sector as Verstappen crossed the line in 3rd place. 

Norris remains in provisional pole, with his teammate Piastri just missing out, but McLaren secures a front row. Leclerc sneaks in ahead of Verstappen, taking third place and a sensational lap from Albon as he takes 5th place.

Tsunoda is in 7th, alongside both Racing Bull cars, which means all four Red Bull cars are in the top 10. Some believe the removal of Horner allows the drivers to be distracted, but I think this says otherwise. Bortoletto in 10th, a great showing from the rookie.

A Rainy Race

A torrential rain shower has changed all the potential outcomes for today’s race. The start of the race has been red-flagged due to heavy rain and poor visibility for the drivers. 

After just over an hour, the Belgian Grand Prix race gets underway following a safety car, all tyres on intermediate tyres as the track is still wet, but the rain has stopped and the visibility is better. 

After four laps behind the safety car, the race begins with a rolling start, and it’s all down to Norris as he sprints away. All caution disappeared as Piastri swept past him, taking pole position from him. 

Norris had a battery issue as he used it up on the restart and had nothing to defend against his teammate. Hamilton speeds past Sainz, getting up to 16th just as Antonelli goes off, but manages to rejoin safely. 

Piastri striding away now, a 1.5-second gap from Norris and Hamilton up into 13th after 10 laps, showing his experience with well-executed overtakes. Verstappen was desperate to overtake Leclerc, trying to overtake every chance he could get.

After only 11 laps, issues with tyres arose for many drivers, prompting Ferrari to pit Hamilton, which triggered a chain reaction among other drivers, including Piastri, the current leader, who had also put on slick tyres. 

Fourteen cars on slick tyres on lap 13, let’s see if that will pay off. A few unsafe releases and Norris pits a lap later, maintaining his second position but putting on hard tyres.

Albon loses a place to Russell, and Hamilton pitted first, coming out 7th and is getting the fastest laps; it’s looking good for him so far. Piastri heavily managed his new tyres, and we’re not even halfway through it, so it seems like it will be a two-stop race for some drivers. 

Norris is nearly 10 seconds behind Piastri, but this could all change with another pit stop later on, and the racing order can change at any minute. 

Some drivers have fresh tyres with 12 laps to go, trying to see if new tyres can help them overtake, such as Hulkenberg, who secured his first podium last week. He’s trying out this risky strategy against Piastri, who’s being told that he needs to hold the other drivers off and keep the degradation of his tyres to a minimum. 

With only 7 laps to go, it’s not looking suitable for Haas, as both drivers have fallen out of the points, and Tsunoda, currently down in 11th. Gasly, in 10th, is holding off Tsunoda and hoping to secure the last available point. 

Norris has been gaining on Piastri with only a few laps to go; he’s now cut the gap in half, but with not many laps to go, it might not be possible. Verstappen is nearly within a second of Leclerc, but unfortunately, he doesn’t get past him. 

Piastri wins the Belgian Grand Prix, with Norris in second, marking another 1-2 finish for McLaren and showcasing their consistent domination in the 2025 season. Leclerc placed 3rd, holding Verstappen at bay in 4th place.

Russell finished in 5th, with Albon just behind, for a great weekend that saw him score valuable points for Williams. Hamilton won the Driver of the Day vote, coming in 7th place, and rookie drivers Lawson and Bortoleto put in a great showing, earning good points. Gasly secured the final point available. 

A busy weekend in Belgium with a sprint weekend and many cars thrown in the mix. The result emphasises McLaren’s dominance with both teammates, but also highlights some glimmers of hope for other teams, as they secure essential points. 

We look forward to seeing you next weekend for the Hungarian Grand Prix.