Kimi Antonelli set the fastest lap of the F1 2025 Belgian Grand Prix with a 1:44.861 to take some slight comfort out of what was a very difficult weekend for the Mercedes rookie at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps has been.
The teenager had qualified 20th for the Sprint Race and could only convert that result to 17th, before a similar outcome happened for Sunday’s event as he found himself starting from the pit-lane and only able to fight back to 16th.
The run continues a challenging period of form for the young Italian, who outside of his podium at the Canadian GP has only managed to finish a Grand Prix for the second time in seven outings on July 27.
His fastest lap came as part of a two-stop strategy after he boxed for new tyres later into the race to get out of a DRS train headed by Pierre Gasly, in a roll of the dice from the Silver Arrows pit wall to simply try to do something different.
Whilst he didn’t manage to get to the points, he did make some nice overtakes and eventually came home in 16th and a few tenths behind Esteban Ocon’s Haas car on a day he was no doubt simply happy to see the chequered flag.
He’ll now look to reset and go again at the Hungarian GP as he seeks to finally bag points for the first time since sixth-place finish at the Miami GP all the way back in early May.
More from the Singapore GP
Catch up with Total Motorsport's latest Singapore GP coverage, including Max Verstappen's victory at Marina Bay, Ferrari's costly strategy gamble, the full race classification, and the updated 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings.
Piastri shrugs off Norris challenge to win 2025 Belgian GP
Meanwhile at the front, Oscar Piastri managed to do everything he needed to in order to claim the victory at Spa – including overtaking his championship rival when the racing got underway on July 27.
Lando Norris tried to go early to catch his colleague out but the power of the slipstream was too much, even in wet conditions, and the Australian blasted past into the Turn 5 Les Combes corner.
From there, he quickly pushed to open a second and managed his won race, even in the face of strategic adversity as Norris looked as though he was on the better tyres for that stage of the race.
Yet the 24-year-old produced an excellent display of tyre management and proved to be error-free in what was enough to beat his British teammate to the punch by just 3.4 seconds on Sunday. The championship advantage for Piastri now grows to 16 points.
“I knew Lap 1 would be my best chance of winning the race,” Piastri told F1 TV. “I got a good exit out of Turn 1, lifted as little as I dared out of Eau Rouge.
“The rest of the race we managed really well. I struggled at the end. Maybe the mediums were not the best for the last five or six laps. We had it mostly under control.
“I was pretty disappointed with myself yesterday but turns out starting P2 was not as bad as I thought.”
