Max Verstappen won the Belgian Grand Prix by force majeure on Sunday. Due to a series of grid penalties, the Dutchman eventually started the race at Spa-Francorchamps in fourteenth position, but he passed all his opponents with apparent ease and then rode unthreatened to victory.
Behind the Dutch World Cup leader, teammate Sergio Pérez came in second, ahead of Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz who left pole. George Russell finished fourth, ahead of Fernando Alonso (fifth).
41-year-old Alonso benefited from a penalty for Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver, who had started 15th, was given a five-second time penalty after the race for driving too fast in the pit lane. As a result, he fell from fifth to sixth place.
With his win, Verstappen further extends his lead in the World Cup position. The reigning world champion was partly due to the bonus point for the fastest lap at 284 points. Pérez went over Leclerc and follows with 191 points. Leclerc himself now has 188. His late attempt to set the fastest lap failed.
Belgium GP result
- 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- 3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- 4. George Russell (Mercedes)
- 5. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
- 6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 7. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- 8. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
- 9. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
- 10. Alexander Albon (Williams)
Verstappen does not need a good starting position for victory
In Hungary he did it from tenth place, in Belgium it even succeeded from fourteenth. Verstappen does not need a good starting position to win, and at Spa-Francorchamps he even succeeded with great force majeure.
Already after twelve laps the Limburger had moved on to the lead, although he was given that a little gift by a pit stop by Sainz. After Verstappen had exchanged his soft tires three laps later, he ended up behind the Spaniard again. It didn’t take long before the Dutchman appeared in the mirrors of the Ferrari again. In lap fifteen, Verstappen finally took the lead.
The necessary chaos preceded this, but Verstappen also worked through it well. On the opening lap he had to give way to Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll. When Verstappen overtook the Canadian, he passed a series of drivers without DRS activated.
Safety car for stuck Bottas
This was also due to an interruption due to the safety car in the opening phase. Valtteri Bottas had to swerve for the purring Nicholas Latifi and got stuck in the gravel box. That is why the race had to be neutralized for a while.
Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton had already come into contact with each other before. The Mercedes driver slammed the door hard when he had just overtaken the Spaniard, and paid the price for it himself. His car was badly damaged, forcing him to stop the fight. Moments later, when Bottas was freed and the safety car went back into the pits, leader Sainz pulled out of the field.
Verstappen then continued his advance, also overtaking teammate Pérez quite easily. The Mexican participated in the front at Spa, but did not get nearly the same from the Red Bull as his Dutch teammate.
Leclerc strategically at a disadvantage early on
Leclerc was already at a strategic disadvantage at that time, because a piece of plastic had blown into his brake cooling in the opening laps. Ferrari brought in the Monegask to remove the plastic and sent him back out on track with a set of mediums. After that, Leclerc did not come close to the podium, also because Mercedes driver Russell had a good pace.
Sainz didn’t have the speed to keep Pérez behind him, but he held out for a podium place. It all happened far behind Verstappen’s back. With his umpteenth beautiful victory of the season, he holds the second world title firmly with one hand.
