Long-term winner Max Verstappen grabbed the towel for a moment, but his next triumphal drive in Spa hadn’t really made him sweat. Once again, the Red Bull driver completely outclassed the rest of Formula 1 and can now break Sebastian Vettel’s record series. After the overwhelming success at the Belgian Grand Prix, Verstappen is only one win away from the record set by his German predecessor, who had won nine races in a row in 2013.
One day after winning the sprint in the Ardennes, the Dutchman easily secured first place in the main race despite a grid penalty. “Just to enjoy,” enthused Verstappen afterwards. “That was another magical race,” praised team manager Christian Horner.
Verstappen was so superior in Spa that he joked over the radio in the last third of the race: “I could make an additional pit stop, then we would have a little extra training.” For the Red Bull team it was the 13th Grand Prix victory in a row, no other racing team has won this season.
Red Bull dominates
Second behind Verstappen was teammate Sergio Pérez. The Mexican was an enormous 22.3 seconds behind at the finish and, as second overall in the World Championship, is already 125 points behind Verstappen at the start of the summer break. Third place went to Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari, who started from pole position.
Pretty much everything went wrong for Nico Hulkenberg in Belgium. Hydraulic damage stopped him in qualifying on Friday. In the hunt for a starting place for the sprint on Saturday, his Haas team sent him off too late, so he couldn’t set a time and ended up last. He finished the sprint in 17th place. Because many parts were changed on Hülkenberg’s car before the main race, he had to start from the pit lane.
Shortly before the start of the race, Hulkenberg noticed smoke and a lack of engine power during a test lap. The problem was solved just in time in the garage. He only reached the goal in 18th place.
penalty accepted
Verstappen hasn’t had such worries for a long time. Knowing that their Red Bull car was superior, the team changed the gearbox on the double world champion’s car for the fourth time this season before the race and accepted a penalty for this irregularity. After his best time in qualifying, the 25-year-old had to start five places further back, but didn’t stay there long.
Verstappen was fourth after the first lap. Before him, Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri collided in the McLaren and fell back. The Australian Piastri soon had to give up, Sainz, who caused the accident, dragged himself another 23 laps with a hole in the body.
At the top, Pérez replaced Leclerc after just a few meters. The Monegasque had inherited pole position after Verstappen’s penalty transfer, but had no chance against the strength of the Red Bull. After nine laps, Verstappen also passed Leclerc, having just overtaken Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton.
Zoff on the radio
The world championship leader was far from satisfied with that. On the pit radio, Verstappen briefly quarreled with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase about race tactics and when to change tires. doesn’t matter. On lap 17, Verstappen grabbed his stable rival Pérez and disappeared never to be seen again.
The moody weather was not a factor this time. After a lot of rain on Friday and Saturday and a debate about safety on a wet track, the race remained largely dry. Two fatal accidents in junior races in Spa in recent years, the images of huge clouds of spray behind the heavy Formula 1 cars and the fear of accidents when flying blind had led to discussions.
But the feared chaos did not materialize. Only the strong wind disturbed Verstappen’s lonely journey a little. “I really have to hold onto the steering wheel,” he reported. But there was no real tension. Only Silver Arrow star Hamilton disturbed the Red Bull party a little when he secured the extra point for the fastest lap at the very end.
In four weeks it will continue in Zandvoort. The next Verstappen Festival could follow at the Oranje home game.
