Max Verstappen victorious in the Belgian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen won his eighth F1 race in a row on Sunday at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Liege, Belgium. The reigning champion started the race in sixth position before mounting a comeback to pick up another comfortable victory.
Verstappen was the quickest in qualifying but was penalized for a grid penalty, ensuring he started the race in sixth. Charles Leclerc started in the pole position, with Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez starting in second.
Due to damage to Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz’s vehicles, Verstappen climbed to fourth in the first two laps of the race. Perez took the top spot shortly after the start of the race.
Verstappen took his time passing his old rival Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes before taking his chance in the eighth lap and climbing to third. Just two laps later, Verstappen had also caught Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, meaning it was a battle between both Red Bull drivers for the top spot.
After both drivers had gone in for their first tire change, Verstappen caught the Mexican driver and took the top spot in the 17th lap. It started to rain in the 20th lap, with Verstappen nearly losing control of his car a few laps after. “**** I almost lost it,” he told his team shortly after the incident.
Verstappen went for his second pit stop in the 31st lap to get the quickest lap which he succeeded in two laps later. Nico Hulkenberg had the fastest lap before this. However, Lewis Hamilton had bettered his lap by the end of the race.
The gap to Perez had risen to eighteen seconds. Verstappen had some back-and-forth with the Red Bull team. After being warned of the wear and tear on his tires and to “use his head,” Verstappen quipped, “I can also push a bit more and that we do another pit stop, a bit of pit stop training.” “No, not this time,” was the reply from his team.
Verstappen could equal Sebastian Vettel’s record at the Dutch Grand Prix on the 27th of August if he were to win. It has been four months since the 25-year-old failed to win a race.
