Oscar Piastri’s victory in the Belgian Grand Prix underlined the fine margins that will likely decide the world championship battle with his team-mate Lando Norris.
The Australian bounced back after two consecutive victories for Norris on a weekend on which the advantage swung back and forth between the McLaren drivers almost from session to session.
The pair arrived at Spa-Francorchamps on the back of Norris’ win from the front in Austria, and his somewhat fortuitous after a penalty for Piastri at Silverstone.
They took a pole position each in Belgium – one for Piastri for the sprint, and one for Norris for the grand prix. And the race turned on a few key moments.
Piastri’s drive was from the top drawer – he took the lead from Norris at the rolling start after a few exploratory laps behind the safety car in the wet by being, by Norris’ admission, a little braver through Eau Rouge on the first lap.
And he managed his position with careful judgement to make his medium-compound tyres last to the end while under pressure from the closing Norris on more durable hards.
But Norris may look back on a few small errors in which he could have done better. He said he “couldn’t have won”. He probably could not. But he could have given himself a slither of a chance, despite the difficult position he was in by leading at the start.
