Formula 1: Articles & News Reports.

[Fortitude]

Piastri lays down marker in Belgian GP FP1.
Oscar Piastri has made the perfect start to his Belgian Grand Prix weekend, topping the timesheets in Free Practice 1 by four tenths of a second.
25 Jul 2025
Ben Waterworth
Speedcafe

The championship leader looked fast throughout the hour-long practice session — the only one of the weekend due to it being a sprint round — setting the early pace on the hard tyres before clocking his best time of 1:42.022 on his final lap on softs. His time was 0.404s faster than Max Verstappen, while his teammate Lando Norris finished the session in third, 0.504s behind the Aussie.

‘Piastri lays down marker’;

https://speedcafe.com/f1-news-2025-p...inant-mclaren/


Belgian GP: Free Practice 1 Results
Full results from Free Practice 1 for the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix.
25 Jul 2025
Ben Waterworth
Speedcafe

POS. NO. DRIVER TEAM TIME / GAP LAPS
1 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:42.022 23
2 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.404s 23
3 4 Lando Norris McLaren +0.504s 22
4 63 George Russell Mercedes +0.576s 27
5 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.906s 22
6 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.957s 23
7 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +1.063s 24
8 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.090s 17
9 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.098s 22
10 6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +1.100s 19

‘Free Practice 1 Results’;

https://speedcafe.com/f1-news-2025-b...1-fp1-results/


Belgian GP: Piastri tops free practice from Verstappen and Norris
25/07/2025
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri laid down a commanding performance in the only free practice session for the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix.

The Australian’s late charge on Pirelli’s soft C4 compound in the closing minutes of the hour-long session saw him edge out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by four tenths, signaling McLaren’s strong form heading into the weekend.

The session, dominated by setup work and testing of new aerodynamic upgrades, offered a glimpse into the intense development race as teams fine-tune their packages before the season’s latter stages.

‘Piastri tops free practice’;

https://f1i.com/news/544508-belgian-...nd-norris.html


Lewis Hamilton the target of team radio rant after ‘dangerous’ Belgian GP near miss
25 Jul 2025
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com

Lewis Hamilton was the target of an angry team radio rant by Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto during FP1 at the Belgian Grand Prix. Bortoleto took to team radio to air his frustrations, telling his race engineer: “Mate, what the f**k is Hamilton doing? He’s always in the middle of the track.”

Leclerc was similarly unimpressed by the sight of two cars dawdling at a dangerous part of the circuit. He responded: “Ah, come on. This is dangerous.”

“Mate, what the f**k is Hamilton doing?”;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-...n-gp-dangerous


What happened in sole Spa F1 practice session
Jul 25, 2025
Ben Anderson
The Race

Oscar Piastri led the way for McLaren in the only practice session for Formula 1’s 2025 Belgian Grand Prix, as McLaren team-mate Lando Norris went off and lapped slower than Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. The Red Bull features a substantial upgrade for Spa, incorporating revised front wing, front suspension, sidepod inlet, engine cover and rear corner, but Verstappen still complained of a “weird” feeling with the car mid-corner, unable to rotate it as he wished.

Verstappen’s Red Bull was predictably supreme through the first sector of lap, which after La Source (Turn 1) is basically an extended straight through Eau Rouge and Radillon before the braking zone at the end of the Kemmel Straight. Red Bull usually runs a bit light on downforce here and asks Verstappen to work his magic through the twistier middle sector, but any gains Red Bull made through having a slippery car for sector one were more than wiped out by Piastri’s impressive pace and stability through sector two.

A tow in sector one didn't hurt Piastri either. McLaren has brought a lower-downforce rear wing option for Spa, but that car’s greater overall aerodynamic efficiency this season suggests at this early stage it has a potentially more suitable compromise for this circuit than Red Bull is potentially able to achieve.

‘Oscar Piastri led the way for McLaren’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/w...ctice-session/


Where is Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase at the F1 Belgian GP? Why Red Bull’s trusted voice is missing at Spa
With Gianpiero Lambiase absent for personal reasons, Max Verstappen will rely on Simon Rennie as his race engineer for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, marking another major change for Red Bull during a turbulent season
25 July 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport

For the first time since his breakthrough into Formula 1’s elite, Max Verstappen is taking on a race weekend at Spa-Francorchamps without Christian Horner and trusted race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase by his side.

Instead, Verstappen will rely on the experience of Simon Rennie to help guide him through one of the most significant races of the season for Red Bull, as the team deals with dramatic upheaval both on and off the track. The news broke in the lead up to the Belgian Grand Prix that Lambiase, affectionately known as ‘GP’ in the paddock, would not be present due to personal circumstances.

Now, Verstappen will need to summon that same flexibility and composure in the Ardennes, with Simon Rennie returning to the pitwall for a second time this year. Red Bull have not confirmed if Lambiase will be back for Hungary, adding an extra layer of uncertainty to Verstappen’s bid to reassert himself at the front of the championship battle.

‘Gianpiero Lambiase absent for personal reasons’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/max...lgian-gp-2025/

[Fortitude]

Piastri takes pole by 0.477sec from Verstappen - 2025 Belgian GP sprint qualifying results.
Championship leader Piastri dominates sprint qualifying to grab pole from Verstappen and Norris
July 25th 2025
Pablo Elizalde
Motor Sport Magazine

Oscar Piastri secured a dominant pole for the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race after beating Max Verstappen by nearly half a second.

Piastri, who had also topped practice in the morning, beat Verstappen by 0.477 seconds with a superb display at a sunny Spa.

The championship leader outqualified McLaren team-mate Lando Norris by over six tenths of a second, the Briton having to settle for third position.

‘0.477sec’;

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a.../?nowprocket=1


F1 2025 Belgian Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying Results
July 25th 2025
Motorsport Week

Position Driver Team Time Gap
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:40.510
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:40.987 0.477
3 Lando Norris McLaren 1:41.128 0.618
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:41.278 0.768
5 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:41.565 1.055
6 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:41.761 1.251
7 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:41.857 1.347
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:41.959 1.449
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1:41.971 1.461
10 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber 1:42.176 1.666

‘Sprint Qualifying Results’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...fying-results/


Martin Brundle spots something ‘highly unusual’ in Lewis Hamilton onboard amid Belgian Grand Prix woes
25 July 2025
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

Hamilton joined Mercedes successor Kimi Antonelli in making an early exit. Williams’ Alex Albon, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto were also knocked out. SQ1 runs for just 12 minutes – six minutes shorter than the Saturday equivalent. Hamilton only had time for two runs, both of which were spoiled by apparent errors.

On the first error, he suffered a snap of oversteer at Stavelot, costing him plenty of momentum on his run through Blanchimont. A broadcast graphic estimated that he’d lost seven-tenths of a second. That put Hamilton under pressure to deliver on his second attempt, and he was on course to progress through the first couple of sectors. However, the five-time Belgian Grand Prix winner spun on the entry to the final chicane, confirming his elimination.

Watching the replay, Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle said Hamilton was totally caught off the guard when he applied the brakes. “His rear axle locked up under braking, highly unusual,” Brundle remarked. “I don’t think there’s anyone more surprised at that than Lewis Hamilton.” Hamilton was silent on the radio after the spin, which meant the explanation was initially unclear. He’d complained of rear locking during the solitary practice session.

“His rear axle locked up under braking, highly unusual”;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/mar...and-prix-woes/


Piastri storms to Belgian Sprint pole with spinning Hamilton left in 18th
25 July 2025
Sky Sports

F1 championship leader Oscar Piastri stormed to a dominant pole position for Saturday's Sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix, with chief title rival Lando Norris behind Max Verstappen in third.

After the frustration of his race-losing penalty to Norris at the British GP three weeks ago, Piastri has hit the ground running at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit and had already set the pace in Friday's sole practice session before claiming the weekend's first of two poles by a whopping 0.4s margin.

Verstappen, whose Red Bull team are at a race weekend without former team boss Christian Horner for the first time after 20 years, beat Norris to second in the effective single-lap shootout of SQ3. Hamilton will start Saturday's 15-lap dash from 18th after spinning in his Ferrari on his final lap of SQ1, while 2024 Spa victors Mercedes qualified 13th and 20th with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli respectively.

‘Piastri storms… … spinning Hamilton’;

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...-hamilton-18th


Belgian GP: Piastri surges to Spa sprint pole as Hamilton hits new low
25 Jul 2025
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri has claimed pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race at Spa. The Australian clocked a fastest lap of 1:40.510 in SQ3 in Belgium, going 0.477s faster than Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. Piastri’s McLaren team-mate Lando Norris will start third.

Stavelot also proved tricky for Lewis Hamilton with the Ferrari driver catching a snap on entry to the corner, leaving him 16th after the first runs. Hamilton suffered another moment at the end of his final effort, locking up his rears under braking and spinning at the Bus Stop chicane, with the yellow flags compromising the laps of a number of drivers behind.

‘Piastri surges… … Hamilton hits new low’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/belgia...lifying-report