Oscar Piastri drove away from everyone in the rain. © APA/afp / SIMON WOHLFAHRT

Rain and XXL waiting time: The chaotic race at Spa

After a game of patience in the disgusting weather at Spa, Oscar Piastri has further extended his lead in the Formula 1 World Championship.

July 27, 2025

From: dpa/det

The Australian was unfazed by the rain chaos in his McLaren and celebrated his sixth win of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of teammate Lando Norris. One day after his surprise sprint victory, world champion Max Verstappen had to settle for fourth place in the Red Bull behind Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. Lewis Hamilton finished seventh in the second Ferrari.

For Dutchman Verstappen, successfully defending his title again is becoming increasingly impossible. With his victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, the 24-year-old Piastri now has an 81-point lead over third-placed Verstappen, with Norris remaining second.

First attempt to start fails in the rain

A heavy rain shower a good half hour before the scheduled start at 15.00:13 p.m. prevented the normal start. An initial attempt behind the safety car failed on the wet track, primarily due to poor visibility, and the start procedure was aborted. Even before the first lap of the XNUMXth World Championship round of the year had been completed, the drivers had to return to the pit lane and get out of their cars.

Oscar Piastri celebrates his victory. © APA/afp / DIMITAR DILKOFF

"It's a bit silly. I mean, you should just do a few laps, for goodness' sake," Verstappen complained. "They're being way too cautious. Now the heavy rain is coming, and then there'll be a three-hour delay."

More than an hour break

That wasn't exactly what happened, but it wasn't until after a break of more than an hour that the race resumed in significantly better conditions. Four laps were completed behind the safety car before the race finally restarted at 16.32:90 p.m., more than XNUMX minutes late. Pole-sitter Norris immediately lost first place to Piastri. The Australian quickly and cleverly closed in and overtook effortlessly.

Piastri (front) left Lando Norris behind. © APA/afp / DIMITAR DILKOFF

Quite a few feared that things would repeat themselves at the same venue four years ago. In 2021, the shortest race in Formula 1 history allowed only two laps behind the safety car. In even worse conditions, Verstappen was not declared the winner until more than three and a half hours after the originally scheduled race start, but only received half the championship points. There was fierce criticism at the time because fans were not refunded their ticket money, even though there was no actual race.