Max Verstappen defeats Oscar Piastri in rain-delayed Belgian Grand Prix sprint race

Max Verstappen won Saturday’s Formula 1 sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix, overtaking McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri for the victory. Here’s what you need to know:

Heavy rain caused the start to be delayed by 30 minutes before the field completed five laps behind the safety car.
Piastri took the lead after Verstappen stayed out one extra lap before switching from wet to intermediate tires.
But Verstappen retook the lead on Lap 6 of 11 following a brief safety car period before going on to win by 6.6 seconds, extending his championship lead by a further eight points.

Belgian GP sprint race provisional results

Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Lando Norris (McLaren)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
George Russell (Mercedes)
Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri)
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Alex Albon (Williams)
Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
Logan Sargeant (Williams)
Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)

Ret. Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
Ret. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

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The Athletic’s instant analysis:

What to make of the results

Another race, another Verstappen victory — but that was a sprint that looked like it could produce a surprise winner at one stage when Piastri moved into the lead.

Following the rain delay and the first laps behind the safety car, the track was dry enough for intermediate tires as soon as the race went to green, prompting cars to come straight into the pits. Red Bull opted to keep Verstappen out an extra lap, fearing he could lose time in the pit lane while everyone else pitted, but Piastri’s decision to come in was the right one. By the time Verstappen came out of the pits one lap later, Piastri had already moved into the lead.

It was never going to last. Verstappen was already putting pressure on Piastri before the two-lap safety car period after Fernando Alonso’s spin into the gravel, and as soon as the race returned to green, he stayed glued to the rear of the McLaren uphill through Eau Rouge and Raidillon before passing along the Kemmel straight. An easy, inevitable move, given the pace advantage of the Red Bull car.

Despite struggling to get his brakes up to temperature in the damp conditions, Verstappen easily pulled clear of Piastri through the remaining laps. With Red Bull teammate and nearest title rival Sergio Pérez retiring after picking up damage in a clash with Lewis Hamilton — for which Hamilton received a five-second time penalty — the result also saw Verstappen extend his points lead by a further eight points to 118.

Second was really the maximum result for Piastri, who also got the experience of leading an F1 race for the first time, even in a sprint. The rookie’s performance only further confirmed the hype around his potential, as well as showing the McLaren car has taken a huge step forward in recent weeks thanks to its raft of upgrades.

Pierre Gasly’s third-place finish was a meaningful result for many reasons. Not only did it come after consecutive races without any points for Alpine, but it also came at the track where Gasly’s close friend, Anthoine Hubert, was killed in an F2 race four years ago. Gasly was quick to pay tribute to Hubert on the radio after crossing the line.

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What Verstappen said

“The car was quick,” said Verstappen. “We knew already over one lap, we were not bad, but it also seemed like in the race, we were quite good on keeping the tires alive. So hopefully we can do the same tomorrow if it’s dry.

“But tomorrow, of course, I’m starting a bit further back. I need to be careful to not have any damage on the car, and as soon as I just have a clean lap one, I think from there onwards we can just move forward.”

What Piastri said

“I was just trying to focus on doing the best job I could, knowing that it was probably going to be a when Max came past, rather than an if,” said Piastri. “I tried my best, and I think second was all we had.”