Oscar Piastri triumphs at Spa and receives high praise from Nico Rosberg, while Lando Norris faces criticism: three mistakes, lost lead, and unanswered questions
Oscar Piastri makes another statement in the World Championship battle: With his well-considered maneuver against teammate Lando Norris at the Belgian Grand Prix, the Australian not only secured the eighth victory of his Formula 1 career, but also extended his championship lead to 16 points. While McLaren team boss Andrea Stella and CEO Zak Brown praised both drivers, Norris was sharply criticized by former world champion Nico Rosberg.
The Sky expert was full of praise for the young Australian after the race in Spa – and at the same time did not spare Norris from criticism: “Piastri was just gigantic. As an athlete, you sometimes only get one small chance – and he took it with ice-cold precision and drove sensationally.” Rosberg was particularly impressed by the decisive overtaking maneuver shortly after the flying restart: “Great maneuver, great through Eau Rouge – awesome!”
Rosberg directly analyzes the moment when Norris lost the lead at the restart after the safety car: “I had the feeling that he was a bit asleep. He got away very slowly. Oscar was right on his tail.“ Even more unusual was that Norris, as the leader at the restart, was unable to choose the right moment: ”You can surprise your opponent—Lando didn’t manage to do that.”
Norris with problems—and three crucial mistakes
The replay clearly showed that Even before the La Source hairpin, Norris was struggling with spinning rear wheels. Later, Norris explained that he had gone sideways twice coming out of the corner. Rosberg sees it even more drastically: “He made three mistakes – one at the restart, then coming out of turn 1, and in the chase he lost another three seconds or so. That’s what was missing in the end.”
According to Rosberg, it was no coincidence that Norris’ chase on hard tires also failed: “A Hamilton or a Verstappen wouldn’t have made three mistakes there.” And although Rosberg didn’t want to disparage Norris’ performance overall, his conclusion remains clear: “Unfortunately, that’s typical Norris. It’s a recurring pattern.”
Brown on Piastri: “He’s a machine.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown remains more diplomatic. When asked by Sky whether Piastri currently has the momentum on his side, he replies: “They both do – they’re driving at such a high level and engaging in these close battles.” Nevertheless, Brown praises Piastri’s consistency and tactical cleverness: “He’s a machine. What’s impressive is how aggressive he is, but always brings the car home.”
A special point: With 31 consecutive races in the points, Piastri has now built up an impressive streak – comparable only to stars like Hamilton or Verstappen. “That’s a record. It shows the level he’s driving at,” said Brown.
At the same time, the McLaren boss emphasizes that no clear number one driver has been designated internally – and that this open team structure is a conscious choice: “It’s going to be a coin toss every weekend. And that’s how it should be.”
Stella: It’s all about precision and execution
Team boss Andrea Stella is also impressed by the level of both drivers and makes it clear that the smallest details will now be decisive: “Both are driving at an extremely high level. I think the title will be decided by the quality of execution – by precision, avoiding mistakes and consistency.”
In Norris’ case, Stella mentions a “slight problem with battery usage” at the restart, but emphasizes at the same time: “This happened to both drivers. There was no disadvantage for Lando compared to Oscar.” The decisive factor was rather that Norris “didn’t have a big enough lead at the restart” – a prerequisite for staying ahead on the long straight to Les Combes.
Stella also emphasizes how tactically smart Piastri was: “He managed tire wear perfectly and remained in a position to control Lando’s times – including the fastest lap shortly before the end of the race.”
The clever restart – Piastri’s instinct proves decisive
Piastri himself described his maneuver soberly, but with a wink: “I was already close in the chicane and came out of turn one well. I knew that if I wanted to win, I had to try it through Eau Rouge.“
He deliberately dropped back slightly, possibly to save some battery power, and then made the most of the slipstream. ”Of course, it’s more difficult in the rain than in the dry. But I knew that was my best chance.”
The decision was made early on and ultimately proved to be the key moment of the race. Despite having better tires in the final stages, Norris was unable to mount a decisive attack. This was also due to a slow pit stop and other minor driving errors.