Belgian GP driver ratings: Hamilton makes amends as Norris gifts Piastri

Oscar Piastri picked up the eighth win of his F1 career as he overtook Lando Norris on the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix.

Away from the front runners, it was a race of defence with the likes of Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly performing well. Here’s how we rated all 20 drivers.

Driver ratings for the Belgian Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri – 9

Won the race in the opening lap and kept it clean from that moment onwards.

Having let the sprint victory get away from him, Piastri will be pleased to have won the main event and while it will not go down as his greatest race of all time, it extends his lead in the title fight.

Lando Norris – 6

In as close a title battle as this, Lando Norris cannot afford to giftwrap a race win to his team-mate.

He lost the lead at the start but even if that was not game over, he made a number of errors throughout the race that cost him.

The gap grows to 16.

Charles Leclerc – 8.5

After the brief opening laps where he could at least see the McLarens up ahead, Charles Leclerc’s race was all about a red, blue and yellow charging bull in his rear-view mirrors.

To his credit, Leclerc weathered the early storm and a slow Red Bull pit stop gave him some breathing room. Verstappen may have closed the gap towards the end but Leclerc was always a step ahead.

Max Verstappen – 8

If the race had been run in wet conditions, you would have bet on Max Verstappen more than anybody to work some magic but in the dry, the limitations of the RB21 held him back.

He looked like he was going to pass Leclerc early on but came out well behind after the round of pit stops and could not cut into that gap.

George Russell – 7.5

George Russell described it as his “worst performance of the season” as Mercedes’ fall continues.

To his credit, Russell did at least drag the car to P5 but having won in Canada, the Briton has not cracked the top four since then.

Alex Albon – 8

Despite a P16 in the sprint, Albon had some optimism in what he called a “good car” and that proved to be justified with a P5 quali spot.

In the race itself, he lost a spot to Russell but the P6 was still his best result since Imola.

Lewis Hamilton – 8.5

Up until the race, it had been an awful weekend for Lewis Hamilton who looked at complete odds with his Ferrari car.

However, setup changes overnight and a new power unit gave the seven-time World Champion a car he could trust and his cutting through the bottom of the pack at the start of the race brought back memories of Hamilton of old.

In the end, he salvaged P7 but is still a step behind Leclerc.

Liam Lawson – 8

Given all four Red Bull cars made it to the top ten in qualifying, Liam Lawson should be praised for being just one of two men left standing.

While Hadjar and Tsunoda had their issues, Lawson was able to use the Racing Bulls car’s speed in clean air to keep out ahead.

Gabriel Bortoleto – 8

Another impressive race on the CV for Gabriel Bortoleto who scored points for the second time in his F1 career.

He qualified and improved on that to cross the line ninth after a challenging race for a rookie.

Pierre Gasly – 8

The king of defence in Spa was Pierre Gasly who was fighting off a number of different drivers at various points.

The Frenchman had an issue in the sprint that saw him go out for exploratory laps rather than a competitive drive but that benefited him come race day.

Oliver Bearman – 7.5

P11. P11. P11. P11.

That’s how Bearman’s last four race results read and in Spa, it was Gasly who denied him.

While the previous three saw him have to recover from lower down the grid, in Belgium he started 12th but could not crack into the top 10.

Nico Hulkenberg – 7

After his heroics in Britain last time, Spa was a much more difficult race for Nico Hulkenberg.

He pitted for a second time with 11 laps to go, pointing to his front tyres as the issue, and said that staying out was not an option but it cost him a chance at points.

To his credit, he finished within one second of P10 Gasly but had Bearman ahead of him as well.

Yuki Tsunoda – 6

When Tsunoda qualified P7, he would have been hopeful of points but a miscommunication between him and the team cost him dear.

The Japanese driver said the call to pit came once he had already passed the entry and the extra lap on the inter tyre cost him plenty of time and ultimately points.

Lance Stroll – 6

Lance Stroll is supposed to be strong in wet conditions but there was not much sign of that here.

He qualified 16th and only rose a couple of places to 14th, which is a shame after his P7 at Silverstone.

Esteban Ocon – 5.5

It was the pit stops that did for Esteban Ocon as he emerged last having qualified P11. To make matters worse, he said he was put on used mediums rather than the new set he had available.

The Frenchman did manage to make some ground up but could only reach 15th by the time of the chequered flag.

Kimi Antonelli – 5.5

Kimi Antonelli looked teary in his post-quali press conference and the misfiring rookie has to find the positives when they come.

In Spa, that was keeping it on track in difficult conditions and Russell’s struggles show it is not all down to the 18-year-old.

Fernando Alonso – 5

Alonso and Aston Martin sacrificed his race with a change of power units but even after he emerged from the pit lane start, the Spaniard said the car “felt slow out there.”

Alonso’s run of four consecutive points scores came to an end.

Carlos Sainz – 5

Williams and Sainz gambled with his setup and made the car more effective in wet conditions so when the FIA decided to delay the race until it was practically dry, that was bad news for the Spaniard.

He finished 18th and has now gone three races without a point.

More reaction from the Belgian GP

Max Verstappen criticises FIA decision after rain delay to Belgian GP

Lewis Hamilton says FIA ‘overreacted’ after lengthy rain delay in Spa

Franco Colapinto – 4.5

Franco Colapinto has done little to suggest he deserves the Alpine seat beyond this season with another underwhelming weekend.

He started 15th but only went backwards and was the second last car to finish the race.

Isack Hadjar – 5

The wheels have slightly come off the Hadjar hype-train but there was little he as a driver could do in Spa as a power unit problem meant he was a sitting duck.

In quali, he finished eighth but come the end of the race, he was the only driver to be lapped.

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