30/07/2025

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | JULY 30, 2025

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3 things we learned from the Belgian GP DRIVERS and team bosses are divided on the future for wet-weather Formula One racing fol lowing an 80-minute rain delay that preceded Oscar Piastri’s victory in Belgium on Sunday. While old school racers including multiple champions Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen favoured a prompt start on a tricky circuit, younger drivers and team chiefs preferred to back race director Rui Marques’s caution and wait for dry weather. Here’s a look at three things we learned from Sunday’s race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit: SAFETY FIRST OPTION SPARKS DEBATE Piastri secured his sixth win of the season, with great aplomb that makes him favourite to beat McLaren teammate Lando Norris to the drivers’ title. The Australian’s consistency and mental strength helped him into a 16-point lead after 13 of this year’s 24 races, but his drive was overshad owed by post-race arguments about racing in the rain. Ferrari’s Hamilton and Red Bull’s Verstappen slammed the long delay and choice of rolling start, but others including Mercedes’ George Russell and Williams’ Carlos Sainz backed the “safety first”decision at a track with a dark history of fatal accidents. “We could’ve gone miles earlier, an hour ear lier,” said Verstappen. “It was a shame. It just ruins a nice classic wet race. “Either we push to go for a wet race – or we just stop racing in the wet… and wait for it to be dry. But that’s not what you want, right?” Verstappen’s car was set up for extreme wet conditions, as forecast, but the decision meant he and others were disadvantaged. He finished fourth. Triumphant McLaren team boss Andrea Stella, celebrating a sixth 1-2 this year, praised the move. “I think the race was managed in a very wise way by the FIA,” he said. “We knew there was a lot of rain coming and I think at a circuit like this if you make the calls late, it may be too late – and the outcome could be difficult.” He emphasised the unique risks of the high speed track through the forested valleys of the Ardennes. “I understand it would be entertaining, but the average speed is so high at Spa that in wet conditions it’s impossible to see.” New Red Bull chief Laurent Mekies said: “I think we were all surprised by how late we started.” RED BULL WIN DESPITE MAX LOSING Verstappen’s fourth-placed finish had one upside for Mekies as a performance break clause in his contract lapsed. According to paddock sources, the Dutchman had a right to leave for 2026 if he was outside the top three drivers at the end of July, but his points in Belgium, including a sprint race win on Saturday, mean he cannot be overhauled. Verstappen is third behind the McLaren duo but 28 points ahead of Mercedes’George Russell, whose future was under threat from Verstappen’s possible arrival. He cannot catch him even if he wins in Hungary this week. HAMILTON EYES TURNING THE CORNER Hamilton’s roller-coaster ride since joining Ferrari continued as he went from 18th, and a pit lane start, to finish seventh. On Saturday, he apologised to Ferrari for his “unacceptable” qualifying while critics noted that, at 40, he was struggling to cope – two days after revealing he had bombarded senior Ferrari staff with memos for team improvements. After seeing him storm through the field, team chief Fred Vasseur joked Hamilton was now “engineering the car himself”, before the Briton revealed he had invited a former Mercedes engi neer to join his team. “We’ll get stronger together now,” he prom ised. AFP

Russell demands Mercedes talks

M CLAREN boss Andrea Stella says teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are racing like cham pions and the Formula One title will probably be decided by fine margins and individual brilliance. The pair are 16 points apart in a two-horse race, with Australian Piastri leading McLaren’s sixth one-two of the season in Belgium on Sunday and taking his sixth win of the cam paign. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is third but 81 points behind with his hopes of a fifth succes sive title fast receding. There are 11 races left and the intra-team rivalry will be the major focus with McLaren set to retain the GEORGE RUSSELL has demanded a “sit down” with his Mercedes team following a miserable weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix. The four-time F1 race winner crossed the line in fifth, while teammate Kimi Antonelli failed to score at the Circuit de Spa Francorchamps. Russell’s campaign has been an interest ing case. In the first seven races, he scored four podiums and effectively maximised his result every weekend, but since then, Mercedes’ performance has been extremely inconsistent. The Brit held off Max Verstappen to win the Canadian Grand Prix, but he hasn’t fin ished higher than fourth in six of the last seven race weekends aside from that tri umph.

been since that point we’ve taken a step backwards, so you know, it sometimes takes a few races to understand what the real rea sons are for that lack of pace, but clearly it seems that we need to revert back to what we had earlier in the season.” As a result of the team’s recent struggles, a gap has opened to second-placed Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship standings. While former Mercedes man Lewis Hamilton continues to struggle, Charles Leclerc is heading in the right direction. The Monegasque racer put up a noble defence to hold off Verstappen for the final spot on the podium in Belgium, marking his fifth of the year. Ferrari are, therefore, 28 points ahead of the Silver Arrows with 11 races remaining in the 2024 campaign. – Express Newspapers

Antonelli, meanwhile, is being swamped. The Italian teenager has four DNFs, and 16th and 18th-place finishes to his name since the Miami GP, albeit with one podium thrown in. “Yeah, it was pretty underwhelming, to be honest,” Russell told Sky Sports F1 after the race at Spa-Francorchamps. “Because we tend to favour the cooler conditions. “So we couldn’t have really asked for bet ter weather for us. But we’ve just had no pace recently. We need to sit down, all of us. “We’re going to have a big meeting this week with all the designers and engineers. “To sort of understand the decisions we’ve made in recent weeks or months. And why we’ve gone backwards. So hoping for some improvements in Hungary. “I mean, we made a clear change of direc tion a couple of months ago, and I think it’s

‘Racing like champions’ McLaren’s Piastri, Norris turn F1 title fight into two-horse race

“I think the difference will be made by the accuracy, the precision, the quality of the exe cution,” added the Italian, who worked with champions at Ferrari and said Piastri and Norris were both operating at that level. At Spa, the regular grid lineup was replaced by a rolling start in wet conditions after four laps behind the safety car, with Norris finding pole position was no real advantage once the race got going. Piastri had discovered the same during the Saturday sprint, when Verstappen won from second on the grid after seizing the lead on the opening lap. “We saw in Silverstone that an issue, a sporting issue for Oscar, during the safety car restart and the consequent penalty cost him the race,” said Stella. “Here we saw that, somehow related to the circuit characteristic, it would have been very difficult for Lando to keep the position, start ing first at the safety car restart.” Stella discounted a battery problem that appeared to be an issue initially, saying a slight anomaly had occurred on both cars and Norris should not have been any worse off. “It would have always been very diffi cult for Lando to keep the position start ing first at the safety car restart, but at the same time I think Lando didn’t help himself by not having a great gap,” he said. “So I think the execution is what is going to make the main difference.” Piastri was not unhappy after qualifying second, observing that Spa was probably the best place not to have the best lap and plan ning his next move already. “The move through Eau Rouge, I knew it was going to be by far my best opportunity to try and win the race. I’d been thinking about it for a while, put it that way,” said the Australian. – Reuters rent team. And while Verstappen did have serious doubts about his future, he is set to drive for Red Bull next season. Reflecting on the whole weekend, he explained: “It’s of course not where I want to be, but we are trying. “Yesterday was a positive result for us, but it is not a realistic result, because we are way slower. But today, I tried. “All in all, with the decision-making and the set up that we chose with the wing didn’t help. “But nevertheless, P3 was probably the maximum possible with the ideal scenario and, unfortunately, this didn’t happen today.” – Reuters/Agencies

constructors’ crown with ease as they now a massive 268 points clear of second-placed Ferrari. Norris won in Britain after Piastri was penalised for braking erratically behind the safety car but the Australian triumphed at Spa by slipstreaming past from sec ond on the grid.

“There is very, very lit tle between our two driv ers and this is because the two drivers are racing at a very, very high level,” Stella told report ers.

McLaren F1 drivers Oscar Piastri (left) and Lando Norris. – REUTERSPIC

Marko confirms Verstappen staying for 2026 RED BULL RACING will have Formula 1 superstar Max Verstappen for at least another season. not be caught in Hungary. The understanding of Verstappen’s situa tion was confirmed when Marko spoke to German outlet Sport.De .

Team adviser Helmut Marko said yester day that the four-time defending F1 cham pion would return to the team in 2026 despite reported interest from Mercedes. A widely reported exit clause in Verstappen’s Red Bull contract would have allowed him to leave the team at year’s end if he were fourth or lower in the championship standings as of the Hungarian Grand Prix, which takes place this Sunday. Following the Belgian Grand Prix last Sunday, Verstappen sits in third place in the F1 standings and far enough ahead of fourth place George Russell (28 points) that he can

“Yes, I can confirm that Max Verstappen will drive for Red Bull in 2026,” Marko said. Verstappen also said to be committed to Red Bull, despite the fact he failed to finish on the podium for the third consecutive race on Sunday. According to De Telegraaf , Verstappen is feeling good at Red Bull and is very pleased with the cooperation of new team principal Laurent Mekies. The driver wants to look ahead, with his manager Raymond Vermeulen pointing towards his ongoing commitment to his cur