It may be one of the greatest circuits in the world, but it's fair to say Spa didn't produce the goods this time around, with the 2025 edition of the Belgian Grand Prix being one that will be quickly forgotten.
That's largely because the FIA were far, far too cautious in deciding to delay the start of the race until the rain had died down and the track had dried, but that caution is somewhat understandable given the multiple tragic deaths in other categories that have occurred at the circuit in the last few years, so I won't dwell on it too much.
Besides, with there being another battle between the title rivals, a thrilling charge from the back of the grid and a huge development away from the track, we're not short on talking points.
In the battle with Piastri, only Norris' best is good enough
The narrative of the 2025 title fight looked to have potentially changed at the British Grand Prix, but F1 leaves Belgium with it very much restored: Lando Norris' best is good enough, but only his best.
It looked like that perhaps wouldn't be the case going forward when the relentlessly consistent Oscar Piastri finally put a foot wrong at Silverstone, braking too hard behind the Safety Car and picking up a penalty that handed Norris the win; was the pressure finally getting to him? Was that a sign of things to come? Well, in short, no.
Norris produced an excellent lap to beat his teammate to pole position, but he didn't make the best start to the race, and that was all that Piastri needed to claim the win. He passed his rival without too much trouble, Norris made a few small mistakes trying to chase him down, and that was that.
We've seen multiple times this season that when Norris is at his best, he has the pace to beat Piastri, but the championship leader's consistency demands that the Brit is at his best week in, week out, and he just doesn't seem capable of that.
He can still win the title, but it feels like he'll need to produce a remarkably flawless run of form that we've only really seen from Max Verstappen in the last few years if he's to do so.
The best and the worst of an ageing Lewis Hamilton
By far and away the most entertaining part of the race was watching Lewis Hamilton fight his way through the field with a vintage drive, but we saw the worst as well as the best of the driver that he is today across the weekend in Belgium.
At 40 years of age, he's a different driver to the one who dominated the sport for years, and we saw the downsides of that in qualifying for the main race on Saturday. He just doesn't have the outright pace to beat teammate Charles Leclerc, and in his efforts to do so, he pushed too hard and made a mistake that caused him to start at the back of the field.
However, what followed was a masterclass in overtaking that he might not have been able to produce even in his prime. He used his years of experience to find the grip in changing conditions and wait for the right moment to make a move, displaying precision and patience that many of his younger rivals lack.
As well as the race craft, he clearly still has the motivation and the work rate to win titles too, as shown by his revelation at the start of the weekend that he spent his three weeks between the races meeting with numerous people at Ferrari and presenting documents that he'd prepared analysing the structure of the team and their 2025 car.
Mentioning that Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel both failed to win a title at Ferrari, he stated: "I refuse for that to be the case with me, so I’m going the extra mile."
Interestingly, he didn't specify that he was talking about a Drivers' Championship, and has spent more time talking about improving the team than improving his driving, so I can't help but wonder if, aware that he just isn't fast enough to beat Leclerc over the course of a season, he's made the final goal of his F1 career helping Ferrari win their first Constructors' Championship in almost 20 years.
Max's Mercedes move off the table, and most likely the 2026 title with it
In the long run, the biggest moment of the race may prove to be one that didn't seem particularly noteworthy at face value: Max Verstappen crossing the finish line in fourth, a place ahead of George Russell.
It's long been rumoured that a release clause in Verstappen's contract would be activated if he entered a summer break outside the top three of the standings, and with that now not a possibility this year, it's being reported by reliable sources De Telegraaf and The Race that he'll be staying at Red Bull for 2026 as a result.
That puts an end to all the talk of the Dutchman potentially joining Mercedes for next season, and most likely puts an end to his chances of adding another title to his belt next year, too.
It's an open secret at this point that the Mercedes engine, used by the German team and McLaren, will be the best on the grid in 2026 and quite comfortably too. What's more, Red Bull's power unit is unlikely to be second-best, given it'll be the first year of their in-house project with Ford.
Engines aren't everything, but with him also likely to lack a teammate able to assist him in the fight at the front of the field and the team lacking a proven leader with Laurent Mekies just replacing Christian Horner, things aren't looking good.
It's now a distinct possibility that the reigning champion will spend next year trying to secure a 2027 seat elsewhere - most likely at Mercedes or Aston Martin, depending on how Adrian Newey does there - while picking up the odd podium.
Whether for good or just for a few years, the era of Max Verstappen seems very much over.
