Oscar Piastri smashed a Lewis Hamilton record on his way to pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix Sprint Race.
The Aussie made good use of his dominant McLaren car to secure a spot at the front of the grid for the sprint race. It could be a crucial result in a tight title battle between Piastri and Lando Norris.
| Position | Drivers' Championship | Points |
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | 234 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | 226 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | 165 |
He and Norris have been nearly untouchable this season, especially in recent races, and Piastri even broke an incredible Hamilton record with his qualifying lap.
Oscar Piastri breaks Lewis Hamilton’s lap record at Spa
Piastri’s time of 1:40.51 smashed the lap record around the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit, previously held by Hamilton.
It’s an impressive feat, beating one of F1’s all-time greats in the legendary W11 Mercedes, which managed a time of 1:41.252 in 2020. It was one of the best laps in the sport’s history, and Piastri blew it out of the water.
The 2025 McLaren is gaining a reputation for being one of the best cars in F1’s history. Ferrari brought upgrades to Spa, and Charles Leclerc said he felt the improvement, but they were still miles off the championship leaders.
A deflated Leclerc reacted to McLaren’s pace, “I felt the changes, but today the gap was huge. I’m sure we took a step forward, but for some reason, the McLaren seems to be even faster than usual around this track.”
Taking home the sprint win should be no problem for Piastri at a circuit he holds a good record at. He finished second in the 2023 sprint at Spa, his best result of his rookie season, and George Russell’s disqualification in 2024 meant Piastri took second in the Grand Prix last season.
A win could prove vital in this tight title battle, as Piastri continues to prove himself as one of the best drivers on the F1 grid.
Lando Norris ‘not quick enough’ in sprint qualifying
He has a dominant car, but Norris only managed third on the grid for the sprint race and was six tenths behind the rapid Piastri. Norris has made some ground on his teammate by winning the last two races, but this was a crash back to reality.
“Not quick enough” was Norris’ assessment after the session. That’s a worrying sign. There was no mistake, nothing to blame. He was just simply slower than his title rival.
That was also the case at Silverstone, where Norris took his maiden home win. Piastri led the race but was handed a 10-second penalty, and the Brit therefore had the top step of the podium.
Piastri was furious after the race, and he looked to be taking out his frustration on Spa. That was his best lap of the season so far, and he’ll look to cement that with a sprint win.