F1 Belgian GP: Imperious Max Verstappen outclasses Sergio Perez with fightback win from sixth
Max Verstappen caught and passed Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez to pull off an impressive fightback victory from sixth on the grid at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion might light work of his recovery from a five-place grid drop for exceeding his season’s gearbox allowance to find himself in the familiar territory of the race lead by Lap 17.
After gaining two places on the opening lap, and having easily dispatched Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to move into second, Verstappen hunted down and cruised past teammate Perez.
Verstappen gained from a faster pit stop than Perez and rapidly caught his teammate, before breezing past with his DRS wide open along the Kemmel Straight after getting a great exit out of La Source and a great run through Eau Rouge.
A big snap through Eau Rouge during a mid-race rain shower was the only scare for Verstappen en route to what was another utterly dominant performance for his eighth win in a row and Red Bull's 13th successive victory.
Verstappen - who won from 14th on the grid at Spa-Francorchamps 12 months ago - now leads Perez by 125 points in the world championship after his 10th victory from 12 races this year.
Perez was left to settle with a distant runner-up spot, some 22.3s seconds behind Verstappen, while Leclerc sealed the final place on the podium behind the Red Bulls.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton made a successful late bid to snatch the fastest lap point away from Verstappen on the final tour as he finished fourth.
Fernando Alonso fended off the second Mercedes of George Russell to take a strong fifth for Aston Martin.
Lando Norris salvaged seventh place on a difficult day for McLaren, with teammate Oscar Piastri forced into retirement after picking up damage in a first-lap tangle that also ruined Carlos Sainz’s race.
Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda completed the rest of the top-10 for Alpine, Aston Martin and AlphaTauri respectively.
F1 now heads into a three-week summer break before resuming with the Dutch Grand Prix on August 27.
