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Oscar Piastri came out on top at the Belgian Grand Prix, taking his sixth win of the season and stretching his championship lead over teammate Lando Norris to 16 points. The McLaren pair started from the front row, but it was Piastri who made the decisive move early on and never looked back.
The race at Spa-Francorchamps was delayed by an hour and a half due to heavy rain, with the first few laps run behind the safety car. Once racing finally got underway, Piastri made his move almost immediately taking the lead from Lando.
"I knew that lap one was going to be probably my best chance of winning the race," Piastri said. "I got a good exit out of Turn One and then lifted as little as I dared through Eau Rouge. It worked out pretty well."
Norris, who started on pole, had no answer. "Oscar did a good job, nothing more to say," he admitted. "Committed a bit more through Eau Rouge and got the run. That was it."
The pair split strategies when the track dried. Piastri was the first to pit, going for mediums. Norris waited one more lap and switched to hards, aiming to make it to the end without stopping again. It looked like the harder tyres might help Norris fight back, but Piastri kept his cool up front even as the gap shrank to under four seconds with just a few laps to go.
In the end, Piastri crossed the line 3.4 seconds ahead of Norris. "Let's go! Nicely done. Nicely f----- done," he shouted over the radio.
Behind them, Charles Leclerc took third for Ferrari, managing to stay ahead of Max Verstappen despite pressure early on. Verstappen, who won Saturday's Sprint, had to settle for fourth.
George Russell finished fifth for Mercedes, while Alex Albon had an impressive run to sixth for Williams. Lewis Hamilton, who started from the pit lane after a qualifying error and a setup change, carved his way through the field and ended up seventh. He was the first to switch to slick tyres and made the most of it.
Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson finished eighth, followed by Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine's Pierre Gasly, who grabbed the final point.
Next up is the Hungarian Grand Prix, one last race before the summer break.
