The Red Bull driver swept through Spa-Francorchamps from 13th on the grid to claim his ninth win of the year. Sergio Pérez completed the Red Bull one-two over poleman Carlos Sainz, and Fernando Alonso finished fifth after an initial collision with Lewis Hamilton.
For many, the question on Saturday was not whether Max Verstappen he would not be able to win the race, but when would it take him to take the lead. The Dutch driver did not take long to answer this question, and he ended up leading more than half of the Belgian Grand Prix with a large margin and solvency to win his ninth victory of the year, the third in a row.
In turn, he led Red Bull’s fourth double in 2022, completed by a Sergio Pérez more effective than brilliant, with Carlos Sainz completing the podium after starting from a pole that he could not defend too much in the race, and Fernando Alonso finished fifth on a day that started very busy for the veteran two-time champion.
Start: Alonso and Hamilton collide, Safety Car on track
Being the only driver in the top 12 to start on the soft tyre, Sainz easily kept the first position, aided by a dreadful exit from a Sergio Pérez who lost three places almost immediately. Fernando Alonso moved into second place, but Lewis Hamilton sought to overtake him around the outside of Les Combes. Despite the fact that the Asturian closed the line as much as possible, The two collided, lifting the Mercedes several meters into the air.
The incident cost Alonso two places, with Pérez who had given it back to George Russell taking second, but Hamilton was eventually forced to drop out in the third sector. The maneuver was not sanctioned, although the British admitted guilt later. The race did not last much longer with a green flag, since a run off the track by Nicholas Latifi defending his 12th place from Esteban Ocon caused Valtteri Bottas to find him and both ended up outside, leading to a period of Safety Car.
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Vettel the climber, Verstappen the climber
Behind, Vettel had climbed meteorically to fifth placeand Max Verstappen, who started 13th after Pierre Gasly also had to start from pit lane, was already eighth with Charles Leclerc at his side before the Safety Car. Both started on soft, but the Monegasque chose to change tires during the Safety Car before the restart on the fifth lap.
Having lost the four-second lead he had before the interruption, Sainz re-launched the test at the front, and Alonso tickled Russell around the outside of Les Combes to no avail. Verstappen, meanwhile, was going about his business, and passed Alonso and Russell without disheveled on the Kemmel straight to place third on lap 9. Faced with the clear degradation of his softs, without Pérez being able to approach, Sainz stopped to ride mediums on lap 12, the same as Alonso, having to battle the Ferrari afterwards with Daniel Ricciardo and Russell to avoid waste time.
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Verstappen reaches the top before the equator
Verstappen waited for lap 15 and came out of the pits in second place, four seconds behind Sainz. It didn’t take him long to make up ground, and on lap 18 he overtook Sainz with almost insulting ease to take the lead of the test. Just three laps later, Pérez followed in his wake and passed the Spaniard, but by then Verstappen already had a six-second margin.
For its part, Alonso was sixth after his first stop, far from Leclerc, but well ahead of his pursuers. That margin was slowly gobbled up by Vettel, despite the German riding hard in this stint by the middle of the top six. In this way, Ferrari was the first to change tires again on lap 26 with its two drivers, riding medium Sainz and hard Leclercas a Pérez would do two laps later, who was already 12 seconds behind a Verstappen who would not pit until lap 31. In his case, he rode medium.
Ocon shines advancing two by two
The race was not exempt from overtaking in this period, but mostly from low positions or by drivers who had just made their stop. One of the most active was Esteban Ocon, who completed two double overtaking to reach seventh place. The last of these was a brilliant maneuver on the Kemmel straight to leave Gasly and Vettel in the lurch. After his second stop, Russell began to progressively cut Sainz’s timebecoming an upcoming threat for the final podium position that did not fully materialize.
With an advantage of almost 20 seconds, and full capacity to take care of his new mechanics until the end, Verstappen took a victory that ratifies his status as the sole candidate for the title. With his second place, Pérez recovers the runner-up in the general, placed the Mexican 92 points off the lead. Leclerc, 40 seconds behind Russell, received the lace with a five-second penalty for exceed the speed limit in the pits, which cost him position with Alonso. Behind the Alpines, Sebastian Vettel finished a good eighth on Gasly, with Alexander Albon scratching a point for Williams in tenth.
Belgian Grand Prix Race Time Table
A very flattering situation for the Dutch fans who will see their idol next week in Zandvoortheading for a more than plausible coronation which, at this rate, could come at Suzuka four races in advance.
Photos: Red Bull Content Pool