Oscar Piastri defies rain delay to win Belgian Grand Prix, bolster F1 title hopes

Oscar Piastri overcame an extended rain delay to prevail at the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

The race at Spa was hit by periods of rain shortly before the start and what would have been 15 minutes into the race, the standing water hindering visibility and justifiably leading to a delay of 80 minutes.

Once it got underway, Piastri cruised past Norris to take the lead, benefitting from the Briton's battery pack not being fully charged.

That ultimately proved to be the pivotal moment during the 44-lap showpiece as Piastri avoided any dramas out in front.

During the closing stages, Norris did close on the Championship leader, only to lose ground from a first-corner lock-up on the penultimate lap to hand victory to Piastri.

In the battle for third, Charles Leclerc came out on top as he held off the challenge of Max Verstappen throughout the afternoon.

Fifth went to George Russell, the Mercedes driver passing Alex Albon during the early stages and having to settle for the minor places.

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After a hugely disappointing Saturday, Lewis Hamilton came out of the weekend with some credit, an early pit-stop eventually catapulting up the leaderboard to finish in seventh after a pit-lane start.

How does the F1 Championship standings look?

With his sixth victory of the season, Piastri now sits 16 points clear of Norris in the Championship standings.

Verstappen is now a mammoth 81 points adrift of Piastri and is effectively battling for third, holding a 28-point lead over Russell.

Leclerc is 18 points behind Russell after his fifth podium of the season, while Hamilton trails his Ferrari teammate by a 30-point deficit.