Belgian GP: Verstappen beats McLaren for first Red Bull win in the post-Horner era

Max Verstappen used the slipstream from pole-sitter Oscar Piastri to pass the McLaren driver on the opening lap of the Sprint at Spa and set up the victory.

Verstappen claimed the win by 0.753s ahead of the championship leader, with Lando Norris third.

Max Verstappen wins the Sprint at Spa

On a warm day at Spa, the drivers lined up for the 15-lap Sprint without a single Alpine car on the grid. The team announced earlier in the day that Franco Colapinto would start from the pit lane after a smaller rear wing was bolted onto his A525, while Pierre Gasly, who qualified P8, made his way to the grid only to be pushed back into the Alpine garage.

The team announced: “Pierre will not start today’s Belgian Grand Prix Sprint Race from the grid due to a suspected water leak on his car. The team will look to rectify the issue as soon as possible ahead of the start.”

Oscar Piastri made a good start from pole position, but Max Verstappen was right on his rear wing and used the slipstream to overtake the McLaren driver down the Kemmel straight to lead at Spa. Running a higher downforce than their rivals, Lando Norris also lost a position as Charles Leclerc moved up to third.

With DRS enabled, Piastri closed up on Verstappen with the top four running all within two seconds. Gasly joined the race two laps down.

Norris regained third place from Leclerc, while Piastri had a tougher time against Verstappen.

Further back, Oliver Bearman in seventh was under threat from a DRS train that included Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoleto, Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda and George Russell. Remember only the top eight score points in a Sprint.

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Running down in 16th place, Lewis Hamilton reported: “I’ve got no rear already”. He was under threat from Kimi Antonelli, who was all over Hamilton’s rear wing.

Back at the front, Verstappen was holding off Piastri while Norris chased back onto his team-mate’s exhaust as the trio dropped Leclerc, who in turn had pulled clear of Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz.

11 laps in, Piastri was the closest he’d been to Verstappen and got a run on him into Les Combes, but the Red Bull driver managed to stay ahead. “I can’t brake,” Verstappen complained.

Heading into the final lap, Verstappen had both McLarens within a second of his RB21 but Piastri wasn’t able to make a move on the Red Bull, nor could Norris attack his team-mate.

Verstappen claimed the victory by half a second ahead of Piastri, with Norris completing the Sprint podium in third.

Leclerc was fourth ahead of Ocon and Sainz, while Bearman kept the DRS train at bay to secure seventh place ahead of Hadjar.

Belgian GP Sprint result

1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.753
3 Lando Norris McLaren +1.414
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +10.176
5 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team +13.789
6 Carlos Sainz Williams +14.964
7 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +18.610
8 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +19.119
9 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber +22.183
10 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +22.897
11 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing +24.551
12 George Russell Mercedes +25.969
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +26.595
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +29.046
15 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +30.175
16 Alexander Albon Williams +30.941
17 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +31.981
18 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber +32.867
19 Franco Colapinto Alpine +38.072
20 Pierre Gasly Alpine +2 laps

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