Spa-Francorchamps

Heavy rainfall in the Ardennes caused an 80-minute delay and forced the race to start behind the Safety Car on Lap 1. The track was so treacherous initially that a red flag was shown during the formation lap due to standing water and poor visibility. Once racing finally commenced on Lap 5, drivers had to contend with a wet-dry transition that defined the Sunday afternoon.

The top ten finishers represented a healthy cross-section of the 2025 grid, featuring six different constructors. McLaren dominated with a one-two finish, but Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, Williams, and Racing Bulls all secured points. The presence of Alex Albon in 6th and Gabriel Bortoleto in 9th showcased points potential for teams across the entire performance spectrum.

The gap between the top two was extremely tight for the duration of the 44 laps, with Oscar Piastri beating Lando Norris by just 3.415 seconds at the line. While Charles Leclerc finished a further 17 seconds back in 3rd, the lead battle remained a high-tension affair until the penultimate lap when Norris made a small error at La Source. The close margin between the McLaren teammates kept the fight for the win alive until the final minutes.

The wet-to-dry nature of the race meant every driver utilized at least two distinct families of rubber. The field started on Intermediate tyres due to the damp surface and switched to slicks as the racing line cleared around Lap 12. This shift from treaded wet weather tyres to the high-performance slicks ensured maximum compound variety across the stint.

The grid was shuffled by Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz, and Kimi Antonelli all being forced to start from the pit lane after their teams made changes to their cars under Parc Fermé. While the front of the grid remained relatively stable, Hamilton provided the bulk of the movement, surging from 18th to finish in 7th. Outside of the pit lane starters and Hamilton's recovery, the starting positions mostly held steady in the points.

Strategies were largely dictated by the crossover point from wet to dry conditions, with most drivers opting for a two-stint race. Oscar Piastri pitted for Mediums on Lap 12, while Lando Norris chose the Hard compound a lap later, creating a slight tactical divergence at the front. Further down the order, Lewis Hamilton was among the earliest to gamble on the switch to slicks, which aided his charge through the field.

The race had a significant interruption before it truly began, with a red flag during the initial formation lap and four subsequent laps completed behind the Safety Car. However, once Bernd Maylandre pulled into the pits on Lap 4, the race ran cleanly to the end without further full-course yellows. The lack of mid-race crashes kept the flow consistent once green flag conditions were established.

The race featured a decent amount of overtaking, totaling 34 passes, largely assisted by the DRS zones on the Kemmel Straight as the track dried. Lewis Hamilton was the primary protagonist in this department, picking off cars like Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly during his climb from the back. George Russell also contributed by pulling off a clean move on Alex Albon to secure 5th place early on.

This Grand Prix was more of a tactical chess match than a chaotic highlight reel, resulting in a lower excitement rating. The most significant action occurred at the very beginning of the green flag running, leaving much of the middle and late stages as a management race. While the conditions were tricky, the lack of incidents after the start reduced the overall drama.

Overtaking among the lead pack was extremely limited, with most of the podium order settled in the first few seconds of racing. Oscar Piastri’s decisive move on Lando Norris along the Kemmel Straight on Lap 5 was the only overtake for the lead. Beyond George Russell's pass on Albon, the top positions remained largely static as drivers focused on managing tyre wear on the drying line.

Remarkably, despite the treacherous wet start and the high-speed nature of Spa-Francorchamps, every driver who started the race saw the checkered flag. There were no retirements due to mechanical failures or collisions, which is rare for a race featuring such heavy initial rain. This high reliability meant no late-race reshuffling caused by attrition.