Belgian Grand Prix F1 Highlights: Oscar Piastri Wins As Norris Finishes Second; Leclerc, Verstappen Follow

Greetings and thank you for joining us this weekend, as we take you through the lead-up and race action from the Belgian Grand Prix. A topsy-turvy qualifying has set it up nicely for what should be an intriguing main event in Stavelot. We will bring you up to speed with all of it.

Q1 goes green at 6:30pm IST. The Belgian Grand Prix will be live streamed on the FanCode app and website in India. It will not be telecast on any TV channel in the country.

As was expected and predicted, it is bucketing down in Stavelot currently, which means the start of the race could either be delayed or endangered. The wet weather makes the high-octane action risky, given how skiddy the tyres can get.

As suspected, the red flag goes up as the starting procedure is suspended, amid poor visibility. All the drivers head into the pits after the safety car. The delay extends as we await further updates.

After a brief respite, the rain returns and picks up in Spa. It is expected to continue raining for around half an hour, post which race control can take stock of visibility and track sogginess. The drivers have their feet up in the garages as they know this is going to be considerable wait.

The downpour is still as steady at Spa, but it is being forecast that the rain will cease around 7:30pm IST, that is in about ten minutes. Once that happens, race control will inspect the conditions and we could have the race starting soon after if all is well. Fingers crossed.

The rain has stopped and race control has swept through the track, giving an all-clear. We have a fresh start time: 7:50pm IST. The drivers are getting ready again and the crowd is delighted.

The drivers are finally out on the track. We are having a couple of laps with the safety car in front, and post that we should have the race proper beginning. 

It's a rolling start in Spa and Oscar Piastri uses the slipstream to overtake McLaren teammate Lando Norris almost right away. Norris appears to be having battery issues and he indicates the same on radio. Nevertheless, Piastri capitalizes and has the lead.

Piastri's lead over Norris is well over a second and Charles Leclerc, who had started at P3, continues to be third ahead of Max Verstappen. In the rear, Lewis Hamilton overtakes a bunch of drives to climb to 13th place.

Race leader Oscar Piastri pit stops, and so do Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and George Russell. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton pit stops a lap earlier than Piastri and surges into seventh position past all the drivers who pit later. The seven-time world champion appears to be in a zone his own today.

Gabriel Bortoleto moans on the radio that his Sauber team-mate Nico Hulkenberg needs to overtake Liam Lawson (P8) or let him go. "We are managing that", comes the response and Bortoleto indeed gets to swap with Hulkenberg for ninth position.

18 more laps remain as the gap between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris stands at over nine seconds currently. Things could get interesting if Piastri pits again, which would eat up several seconds.

After overtaking a number of drivers in the rear, Lewis Hamilton has stayed behind Alex Albon for quite some time in P7. But he's now beginning to close the gap and it stands at around six-tenths of a second currently.

Although Oscar Piastri looked llike he would win the race comfortably, some gripping issues have cut down his lead to 5.5 seconds, with Norris pushing hard behind. Meanwhile, Leclerc is having a go at his team over some communication trouble, and Verstappen is giving him a chase.

Absolutely terrific from Piastri, who saw his tyre gamble pay off spectacularly, and he finishes as the winner of the Belgian Grand Prix! Norris will be disappointed, as he had cut down the lead to almost three seconds at one point, but it's not enough.

1. Oscar Piastri (1:47.821)

2. Lando Norris (1:46.090)

3. Charles Leclerc (1:47.204)

4. Max Verstappen (1:47.201)

5. George Russell (1:47.340)

6. Alex Albon (1:47.129)

7. Lewis Hamilton (1:46.980)

8. Liam Lawson (1:47.232)

9. Gabriel Bortoleto (1:47.050)

10. Pierre Gasly (1:47.363)

11. Oliver Bearman (1:47.114)

12. Nico Hulkenberg (1:46.061)

13. Yuki Tsunoda (1:48.375)

14. Lance Stroll (1:47.294)

15. Esteban Ocon (1:46.744)

16. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (1:46.911)

17. Fernando Alonso (1:47.306)

18. Carlos Sainz (1:46.423)

19. Franco Colapinto (1:46.488)

20. Isack Hadjar (1:47.667)

This is the end of our live coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix. Thank you for sticking with us throughout this exciting, albeit rain-interrupted, race, with Piastri coming out on top at the end.