The Belgian Grand Prix got off to a stuttering start at Spa-Francorchamps, with a 10-minute delay triggered by a technical glitch on Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin during the formation lap. Once the lights went out, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri wasted no time, diving past teammate Lando Norris into the tight La Source hairpin to snatch second place.
Pole-sitter Charles Leclerc held firm in his Ferrari, fending off Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who started alongside him on the front row. Lewis Hamilton, in his Mercedes, slotted into third, just ahead of Piastri and Norris.
Further back, Max Verstappen—penalized to 11th on the grid for an engine change—made steady progress, climbing to ninth by the end of lap one. The Dutchman overtook both Alpine cars and Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg in a composed opening stint.
Drama struck early for Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu, whose car ground to a halt on the formation lap with a suspected hydraulic failure, forcing him out before the race even began.
As the pack settled, Leclerc led Perez by a slim margin, with Hamilton, Piastri, Norris, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), George Russell (Mercedes), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Verstappen, and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) rounding out the top 10.
