Max Verstappen (Red Bull), leader in the Formula 1 world championship, won the sprint race of the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday, disturbed by the rain which came just before the start.
The Dutchman, who started in the lead, won on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit ahead of the Australian Oscar Piastri, impressive at the wheel of his McLaren.
Pierre Gasly finished 3rd after starting from 6th place. The Frenchman offers Alpine a breath of fresh air after the last two GPs that resulted in two double retirements for the French team. His other French driver, Esteban Ocon, is 9th.
The Ferraris of Spaniard Carlos Sainz and Monegasque Charles Leclerc complete the Top 5 of this 15-lap race – the first four of which were run under safety car conditions due to heavy downpours a few minutes from the start .
The drivers set off on the track half an hour behind the initial schedule, for five reconnaissance laps behind the safety car with, for all of them, maxi-wet tires imposed by the race management – before a flying start.
Once the safety car left, while half of the drivers – including Piastri – dived into the pit lane to put on the intermediate tires, more suited to the drying track, Verstappen decided to stay on track with his rain tires – less fast – before changing a lap later.
A strategy that could have cost the Dutchman dearly, emerging behind the Australian: “we lost a position but we knew we were fast,” assured the double defending champion. “It was a safer decision (not to return, editor’s note), so it didn’t bother me to stay on the track”.
Then, thanks to the intervention of a safety car after the Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) left the track, Verstappen was able to quickly catch up with Piastri, before easily regaining control when the race restarted. race.
“We did our best (…) we led a few laps but we were no match for Max,” said Piastri, however very satisfied with the pace of his car. He signs in Belgium his best result in race for his first season in F1.
