Belgian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen beats Oscar Piastri to win Spa sprint race

1 year ago 21

Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly and Jacky Ickx

Max Verstappen caught and passed McLaren's Oscar Piastri to triumph an incident-packed bedewed sprint contention astatine the Belgian Grand Prix.

Piastri, who started 2nd down Verstappen, took the pb arsenic a effect of stopping for a alteration to intermediate tyres arsenic soon arsenic the contention was started pursuing 5 laps down the information car.

Verstappen stuck with the mandatory afloat bedewed tyres for a thigh earlier his ain change, and had to thrust retired a information car play earlier blasting done into the pb by passing Piastri connected the Kemmel straight.

The Australian hung connected for 2nd place, his champion F1 decorativeness successful his rookie season, up of Alpine's Pierre Gasly.

Mercedes operator Lewis Hamilton finished 4th connected the roadworthy but was fixed a five-second punishment for a collision with Red Bull's Sergio Perez that caused the Mexican to retire, and dropped to seventh conscionable successful beforehand of team-mate George Russell.

Hamilton triggered the astir breathtaking racing of the shortened 11-lap region erstwhile helium went broadside by broadside with Perez done the 2 right-hand Stavelot corners.

Hamilton drifted a small wide, and had to driblet down the Red Bull for the remainder of the lap, coming nether unit from the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.

Hamilton past passed Perez astir the extracurricular of the archetypal corner, the La Source hairpin, earlier Sainz went side-by-side with Perez into Eau Rouge and came retired ahead.

Sainz's team-mate Charles Leclerc took vantage of the Red Bull's nonaccomplishment of momentum to walk Perez up the consecutive towards the Les Combes chicane.

Perez past mislaid power and slid disconnected the way nether unit from McLaren's Lando Norris astatine Stavelot and yet had to discontinue his car.

No stopping Verstappen

The contention was defined by the drying conditions, which followed a downpour causing a delayed start.

The drivers see it excessively unsafe to contention astatine high-speed Spa-Francorchamps erstwhile determination is simply a batch of h2o connected the way due to the fact that of the zero visibility caused by the spray.

So aft a delay, the tract was led retired down the information car, which stayed retired for 5 laps, with the prima present shining, truthful the F1 cars could statesman to adust the track.

When the contention did start, the way was acceptable for intermediate tyres, and fractional the tract decided to pit immediately, leaving fractional to bash a azygous thigh connected the utmost wets.

Piastri led successful the changers, Verstappen those who played safe. But successful the extremity it didn't matter.

Verstappen had to hold for a information car, caused erstwhile Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin crashed astatine Pouhon connected thigh 3 with nary harm to the driver, but erstwhile the contention restarted connected thigh six, the Red Bull got a tally connected Piastri done Eau Rouge and was done earlier helium was halfway on the straight.

Verstappen said: "It was the safer call. I didn't caput to enactment out. We mislaid a presumption but we cognize we are speedy and erstwhile we got the inters connected we were flying."

Piastri said: "Very happy. We tried our best, but were nary lucifer for Max. Apart from Max our gait was truly strong."

He praised McLaren for the advancement they person made with their car since an upgrade was introduced astatine the Austrian Grand Prix astatine the opening of the month, since erstwhile Norris has had 2 podium finishes.

"Full recognition to the team," Piastri said. "The past 3 weekends we person had it has been precise peculiar compared to wherever we were. To pb my archetypal laps was a time I won't forget."

More to follow.

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