Piastri beats Norris in rain-hit Belgian Grand Prix

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS: McLaren’s Oscar Piastri beat teammate and title rival Lando Norris in a rain-delayed Belgian Grand Prix to stretch his Formula One lead to 16 points on Sunday.

Charles Leclerc was a distant third for Ferrari as dominant champion McLaren celebrated their sixth one-two finish in 13 races and the third in a row.

The race at Spa-Francorchamps was red-flagged after an initial formation lap and delayed by an hour and 20 minutes due to the weather, with standing water and heavy spray affecting visibility.

Max Verstappen took fourth in a largely static race and is now 81 points behind Piastri in the championship, his hopes all but over.

Mercedes’ George Russell took fifth after passing Williams’ Alex Albon in the wet early stages, while Lewis Hamilton drove an excellent race to take seventh from his pit lane start.

Piastri sealed his win with a trademark committed, decisive move on Norris when the conditions were at their most treacherous when the race finally started.

The drivers then sat in the pit lane for an hour and 20 minutes, followed by four laps behind the safety car before the race was finally allowed to start 90 minutes later than scheduled.

Piastri tracked Norris closely through the first corner and through the high-speed swerves at East Rouge before diving around the outside into the les Combes chicane at the end of the long Kemmel straight.

Norris complained over the radio that he was down on battery power, but was told he had used it up at the start behind the safety car.

And after the race he admitted that Piastri had simply done a better first lap by pushing harder through Eau Rouge, where in the wet drivers have to choose how much to lift off, when it is flat in the dry.