Oscar Piastri details what he finds ‘terrifying’ about the Belgian Grand Prix during rarely-seen sim session

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The Belgian Grand Prix marks the start of the second half of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

After 12 races, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is perhaps the unlikely leader of the drivers’ championship.

Piastri finished last season 82 points behind teammate Lando Norris and nearly 150 points behind eventual champion Max Verstappen.

However, McLaren have strengthened their position compared to their rivals in the paddock this season, and the Australian has taken full advantage.

Piastri has won five Grand Prix this season and only finished off the podium twice, in Australia when he spun off the track in treacherous conditions, and Canada when Norris crashed into him in the closing stages.

McLaren have no interest in using team orders to tell Norris and Piastri how to race, which should make the second half of the season extremely exciting given that they’re only split by eight points.

Piastri has impressed the likes of David Coulthard this season with his progression, but knows he now needs to finish the job to become a Formula 1 world champion.

The Belgian Grand Prix is the first task he faces, and in a rarely-seen video, he’s described his thoughts on the track and what leaves him ‘terrified’ once he leaves the pit lane.

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Oscar Piastri admits he finds Eau Rouge at the Belgian Grand Prix ‘quite terrifying’

Piastri posted a TikTok where he shows himself jumping on his personal simulator during a day off at home.

He calls Spa his ‘favourite track’ before describing the lap in his car, stating: “Coming out of the pits, it’s not one of my favourite corners.

“The first time you come out of the pits, you see Eau Rouge, it’s always pretty terrifying.

“Not so much when you have a reset button. This downhill corner[into Bruxelles] is always quite painful, just goes forever, and is probably one of my least favourite corners on the track.

“Pouhon here is one of my favourite corners on the track, because for us in an F1 car, it’s pretty much flat out these days, but not quite.

“For me, one of the cool things about Spa as well is just how much elevation change there is as well.

“Turn one is a pretty important corner, also quite a painful corner if you get it wrong, because you then have about 30 seconds to think about how badly you screwed it up, which is never very nice.”

Piastri then goes on to point out that from turn 11, it’s possible to see the famous Bus Stop chicane near the end of the lap, highlighting the elevation change on the track he was speaking about before.

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Oscar Piastri thinks McLaren can fix his ‘biggest complaint’ with their 2025 F1 car

McLaren have been doing everything they can to make Piastri and Norris as competitive as they possibly can be.

The constructors’ championship is ultimately their goal, and it’s likely that Andrea Stella’s team will wrap that up in the next couple of months.

Interestingly, McLaren made a change to Norris’ front suspension a few races ago to combat an issue he had with the car.

Piastri was offered, and subsequently turned down, the adjustment, suggesting that it didn’t make the MCL39 faster.

However, Piastri believes McLaren have fixed his ‘biggest complaint’ with the car, which should give him another boost as he seeks his first F1 championship.

Norris will take confidence from winning back-to-back races ahead of travelling to Spa, even if he needed the Australian to pick up a 10-second penalty at Silverstone to earn his eighth career victory.