Another McLaren one-two in a wet Spa, but the new suspension also benefits Leclerc

Although further rain was forecast during the race, by the time the race was scheduled to start at 3:00 PM, the rain had stopped, raising hopes for improved conditions. Earlier, in the early morning, the F3 race had been canceled due to bad weather after two red flag stops, resulting in no points being awarded. Later, at 10:00 AM, the F2 race resumed, but not before four formation laps behind the Safety Car. The Porsches also had a wet race, but after lunch the rain had stopped and the track had begun to dry. However, it resumed heavily at 2:30 PM, with 30 minutes to go until the Formula 1 race was scheduled to start.

Hamilton, Antonelli, Alonso, and now Sainz were scheduled to start from the pit lane after modifying the set-up in response to the rain at Spa. The changes, which included new suspension for Hamilton and a different rear wing for Antonelli, were decided in derogation of the parc fermé. The three also took advantage of the situation to install new engine components—ICE, MGU-H, MGU-K, turbine—with Hamilton also updating the battery and control unit. This means only 16 cars will be on the grid.

At 4:20 PM, Sunday's crowning Walloon motorsports race began behind the safety car, and after a dozen minutes to complete four laps, the rolling start was given. Piastri, midway through the lap, launched an attack on Norris, which was immediately successful, to seize the lead.

The good work of the new suspension fitted to the SF-25 is starting to show: Leclerc's third-place qualifying finish has already demonstrated his ability to close the gap to the papaya-colored championship leaders. And, despite Max Verstappen constantly nipping at his heels in the feature race until the checkered flag, Charles Leclerc climbed back onto the podium, leaving the reigning champion behind and moving two places behind his closest rival in the overall standings, George Russell, who had a 23-point lead before this grand prix.

In Saturday's Sprint race, Verstappen actually prevailed, winning in front of a nearly home crowd despite starting worse than Piastri but better than Norris. After this trio, however, the Ferrari driver from Monte Carlo finished in an excellent fourth place, earning five useful points.

Not as bad as expected for Hamilton, who, coming off a weekend marked by a disastrous qualifying performance, due to a penalty for exceeding track limits in Q1, still managed to bring the car into the points, albeit well behind his teammate. At least he held his own psychologically and avoided damaging the team in its pursuit of second place in the constructors' championship.

With the track gradually drying out, Hamilton was among the first to attempt the switch to slicks, gaining positions but risking paying the price in the long run for the high aerodynamic downforce.

Strategy played a decisive role: Norris fitted hard tyres to aim for a one-stopper, while everyone else opted for mediums. This created a battle between the two McLaren drivers, with Norris recovering but still far behind Piastri. But in this case, Ferrari made the better choice, as Norris came out on top compared to his teammate.

At the back of the field, several drivers outside the points zone attempted to make early pit stops, hoping for a dramatic turnaround, but to no avail. Antonelli, heavily penalized by a below-average qualifying performance, managed to make up a few positions, followed by Alonso and Stroll, who were also struggling.

The middle part of the race saw a general slowdown in action, with few overtaking moves and a small train of cars clustered around Gasly, battling for 11th place and, further ahead, able to get ahead of the increasingly less effective Tsunoda. For the Japanese driver, it was another disappointing race, with no points. Despite significant tire degradation and different strategies that left room for potential surprises in the closing laps, not much happened. Indeed, it was one of the races of the year with the fewest overtaking moves and changes of position.