Verstappen wins Belgian GP sprint race

At the Belgian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen of Red Bull fought off Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris’ McLarens to win a tense sprint race.

Verstappen used his Red Bull’s straight-line advantage to hold the Australian at arm’s length for the entire 15 laps to pass Piastri on the opening lap using the slipstream up the long Kemmel straight.

Verstappen was always a second or less behind McLaren, but Piastri never quite managed to take the lead.

On the opening lap, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took third place behind Norris. The Briton ended the lead fight, where he was unable to advance like Piastri, just after the Monegasque had passed him.

With qualifying for Sunday’s grand prix later on Saturday, Piastri moved one point ahead of Norris in the standings.

By nearly 0.5%, Piastri had taken one of the most impressive pole positions of the year on Friday, but McLaren ultimately paid for the loss of Verstappen’s slightly higher downforce.

Due to the long run from the La Source hairpin through the quick Eau Rouge swerves to the Les Combes chicane, Piastri was always going to be vulnerable on the first lap. It is notoriously challenging for a pole winner to hold the lead on the first lap at Spa.

Verstappen passed the McLaren around the outside into Les Combes and followed Piastri right away.

Verstappen was a force to follow, but Piastri was never able to get far enough to stop at the end of the straight to retaliate.

On lap 11, Verstappen was only within striking distance of the Red Bull’s straight-line speed, even without the DRS overtaking aid.

Norris was unable to advance, even though he quickly closed on the lead pair.

Verstappen remarked, “It turned out really well. We have the only real chance to defeat them, and that’s the only way you can.

Then I knew it would be difficult to keep them behind, and then it comes cat and mouse, DRS and battery play. Within 0. 7 seconds, the entire race. For us, it’s a great outcome.

I tried my best not to give too much of a tow (on the first lap), but I also didn’t have enough straight-line speed for the next 15 laps, according to Piastri. I was pretty happy with it, but I was a little frustrated.

McLaren is faced with a difficult decision regarding how to approach the grand prix in light of the race.

The temptation is to lower the force a little to give them more of a chance of passing if they come out ahead of Verstappen once more on the straights.

However, with the threat of rain forecast for Sunday, it might be too difficult to drive in the wet, as Verstappen did when he crashed to fifth place in a wet race after setting up for pole position with a low-downforce setup.

It’s a great question, Piastri said. You don’t want to take off too much wing, but I don’t want a repeat of today because the weather looks pretty bad for tomorrow.

The race was as static as it was in the lead until the top three.

After slipping behind Norris, Leclerc found himself comfortably in fourth place. As a result of the placement changes in the other top-eight points positions, Haas driver Esteban Ocon placed fifth behind Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who finished eighth, had a water leak before the start and had to start the race from pit lane two laps adrift.