Verstappen comfortably wins Belgian Grand Prix, Perez holds P2
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Max Verstappen has won the Belgian Grand Prix meaning Red Bull Racing maintain their 100% win record in 2023 as Formula 1 enters the traditional summer break period. Verstappen, who started from sixth due to a grid penalty, only experienced trouble in the form of some sharp reminders from his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. Sergio Perez led the race early on but couldn't offer up much defence to Verstappen. The Mexican did his job and secured P2 22 seconds later for the first time since early May.
The weekend in Belgium was the making of Oscar Piastri. His potential was never doubted, but he proved his skillset and came alive. After very impressive performances in qualifying, the shootout and the sprint race, it wasn't to be in the main event. He fell victim to a first-corner bottleneck and had to retire on the first lap. But McLaren didn't have the dry race pace anyway, as Lando Norris dropped backwards rapidly. Norris did end up earning good points with P7. They pinned their set-up hopes on a wet race with high downforce, but they didn't get their wish.
Carlos Sainz also fell victim to the same turn-one bottleneck and retired at the halfway stage. Ferrari demonstrated decent pace this weekend in comparison to recent races, and Charles Leclerc showed their car worked well at Spa. He achieved his third podium of the year. Mercedes also had a good race car, with Lewis Hamilton securing P4 and pinching the fastest lap point from Verstappen on the final lap. Fernando Alonso somewhat surprised by returning to the top five, sandwiched between the Mercedes drivers.
It has been a wet few days at Circuit Spa-Franchorchamps. Rain fell around the halfway mark in the Grand Prix, but it wasn't intense enough for intermediates. The lap times dropped by a few seconds, but the shower passed without issue or significant effect on the race. The race saw plenty of overtakes and plenty of pitstops which ensured an action-packed event for the midfield.
Verstappen advances
Verstappen had to forfeit his fastest lap time in qualifying because of the five-place grid penalty for a new gearbox. This promoted Leclerc to pole position alongside Perez. Hamilton had a P3 start. All drivers in the top six opted to start on the soft tyre, apart from Piastri in P5.
Leclerc got off the line better, but Perez was able to use Red Bull's straight-line advantage along the Kemmel straight to make the overtake for the lead. Piastri's brilliant weekend ended prematurely at turn one when his space was eliminated by Carlos Sainz. The Australian picked up race-ending damage. By lap three, Perez opened up a two-second lead, and Verstappen was attacking Hamilton for P3. The Mercedes driver used Leclerc's slipstream and the DRS window to keep Verstappen behind. But the two-time World Champion made the move on lap six.
Into the pits
Verstappen moved into P2 on lap nine and only had a 2.7-second gap to Perez. On lap 13, Hamilton was the first of the front soft tyre runners to pit for mediums, and the gap was enough to keep him in fourth. Verstappen once again had a bit of 'needle' over the team radio with Lambiase as Perez pitted at the start of lap 14. Even with the threat of light rain, Verstappen pitted for his mediums to start lap 15.
The Dutchman got his head down and pushed hard to close the gap. On lap 17, Perez couldn't offer any resistance and lost the lead to his teammate. By the time Verstappen got to the start line, he had a gap of over 1.5 seconds. Verstappen continued to open the gap until he was told to activate his usual race management. Lambiase criticised Verstappen for his tyre management publically over the radio, as they experienced another fallout. But ultimately, the now 45-time Grand Prix winner had it all under control.