Despite a five-place grid penalty for changing a gearbox, Max Verstappen made quick work of his competitors in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix to score his eighth consecutive win of the Formula 1 season.
Quickly picking his way through the field at Spa-Francorchamps, Verstappen swiped the lead away from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc shortly after to secure triumph.
Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez completed a Red Bull 1-2 finish on the podium, over 20 seconds behind his teammate.
“I knew that we had a great car, it was just all about surviving turn one,” Verstappen said. “I could see it was all getting pretty tight. I’ve been in that position before myself, so I was just like, ‘I’m going to stay out of that’, so it worked out.
“I think we all made the right overtakes, moves, I just got a little bit stuck in the beginning in a DRS train. Once that (was) clear I could do my own pace. Again, really enjoyable!”
It was Red Bull’s first sweep of the front two spots since the Miami Grand Prix in May. Verstappen also swept the weekend after winning Saturday’s sprint race as well.
“Today was a good day for the team,” Perez said. “The race started really well and then Max came through strong, especially on the second stint where he pulled away. After he overtook, it was all about bringing it home for the team and managing the pace until the end, that was the main objective.
“I ended up slipping on turn 11 due to the tricky conditions so we wanted to then look after the car, manage the tires and keep the position. Two podiums in a row now and our main objective is to continue to stay on the podium.
“We have the summer break to make sure we stay on top of things and have some time to reset. Max did a tremendous job and it overall was a great team result. I am looking forward to the summer break and going into the second half of the season to come back even stronger.”
Leclerc hung on for the final podium spot in third, while seven-time F-1 champion Lewis Hamilton slotted his Mercedes in fourth position. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso completed the top-five in fifth.
Hamilton’s teammate George Russell bagged a sixth-place effort, while McLaren’s Lando Norris launched to seventh by race’s end after electing for soft compound tires during a brief rain stint.
Esteban Ocon nabbed an eighth place finish with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda rounding out the top 10.
Haas F-1’s Kevin Magnussen ended his day in 15th, with teammate Nico Hulkenberg placing 18th, last among drivers left in the running.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri tangled on lap one, sending Piastri to the pits immediately. Sainz limped his car around the track for 23 laps before retiring from the event.
The F-1 season goes on summer break before returning to action in four weeks for the Dutch Grand Prix.