During the Belgian Grand Prix, Lando Norris was the driver who got to start from pole position. After a wet track forced the race to be postponed by an hour, the field finally got to underway. The race director opted for a rolling start to the race as the track was still wet and spray was coming off the cars.
After four laps behind the safety car, the Formula 1 grid finally got to go racing. Only when the race finally started, it only took Oscar Piastri 30 seconds to speed past Norris for the race lead. A moment that Lando Norris and Zak Brown couldn’t agree on as to the cause of it.
The first lap overtake that divides McLaren’s opinions
Following this overtake, Norris went on the radio to complain about his battery deployment. Most noticeably, his lack of battery deployment as he tried to defend from his teammate. When asked after the race whether this issue affected his pace at the start, Norris confirmed that it didn’t affect him that much:
“It was more the slipstream, and we saw it already on Saturday. The slipstream, especially when it’s wet and especially when you’re the first car, you have to push through the first bit of water, which means the following effect in the rain like this is even more than normal.”
Oscar Piastri wastes no time in seizing control of this race 🤩#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/DaRxFSDtCt
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2025
During Saturday’s Sprint Race, we saw Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc complete a first-lap overtake on a McLaren driver without DRS. With the rain added on top of the slipstream, the amount of overspeed created when behind another car is massive. Zak Brown however had a completely different explanation for the first lap change for the race lead.
A battery issue or just an unlucky start?
Zak Brown was interviewed by Sky Sports F1 after the race. Here, the McLaren team principal was asked whether the battery issue affected Norris on the opening lap of the race:
“We had a small battery issue which we’ve got to look at, which I think didn’t help him. It only takes a little bit especially going up the hill.”
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While Brown seems to think that the battery element was the determining factor in what ended up being the race win. Lando claims that this was not the issue. In fact, Lando used up all his battery during the safety car restart before turn 1. Piastri on the other hand saved his battery until they approached Eau Rouge which is when he had the best opportunity to pass his teammate.
With the slipstream effect already enhanced by a wet track and a long run up to turn 5, Lando had to have had a clean run until the end of the Kemmel straight. But he didn’t. In addition to this, Piastri showed an insane level of commitment through Eau Rouge that allowed him to get the slipstream he needed to complete that overtake.
