Belgian Grand Prix – Sprint Race: Max Verstappen holds off McLaren to win
At the end of a relatively calm race, the Red Bull driver gave his new boss Laurent Mekies a victory as a welcome gift.
As often, the Combes corner decided the fate of the first lap of a race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Starting second, Max Verstappen managed to gain the advantage over Oscar Piastri at the end of the Kemmel straight, amid cheers from the Dutch fans who came in large numbers to fill the stands of the Ardennes rollercoaster.
Behind them, Charles Leclerc managed to do the same on Lando Norris, before the McLaren driver regained third place from the Monegasque two laps later.
Piastri stays glued to the diffuser of Verstappen’s Red Bull, which allows him to benefit from the DRS. With Leclerc out of the way, Norris has caught up with the leading two, and it is now a trio fighting for victory with only five laps remaining out of the fifteen scheduled for this Sprint race.
Verstappen complains of braking problems as he has to defend his leader position against the two McLarens. In fourth place, Leclerc is six seconds behind, the same gap that separates him from Esteban Ocon’s Haas behind him.
The positions remain unchanged in the final laps and Verstappen wins ahead of the McLarens of Piastri and Norris. Leclerc follows in front of an excellent Ocon. Carlos Sainz, Oliver Bearman, and Isack Hadjar are the other drivers who score points at the end of this weekend’s first race in Belgium.
