Unstoppable Verstappen cruises to victory at Belgium Grand Prix

Max Verstappen stormed to victory at the Belgium Grand Prix, having suffered a 5-place grid penalty and being forced to start from P6 on the grid.

However, the grid drop didn’t seem to bother the Dutchman, who dispatched the cars in front of him in no time and on lap 8 found himself P2 behind his teammate Sergio Perez.

MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 🇧🇪🏆👏

A perfect Spa day for the Dutchman who finishes ahead of team mate Sergio Perez. Charles Leclerc takes the final podium place 👍#BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/5jJI01BE07

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 30, 2023

After the first round of pitstops, the reigning champion found blistering pace and Perez had no option, but to yield and surrender the lead.

From there on, Verstappen cruised to yet another comfortable victory, finishing some 20 seconds in front of second-placed Perez.

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Charles Leclerc rounded up the top 3 with a solid performance for Ferrari, fending off Lewis Hamilton, who with a late pitstop snatched the fastest lap at the end.

🏁 LAP 44/44 🏁

Hamilton just misses the podium but takes the fastest lap 👏#BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/8c4ZBvJA4I

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 30, 2023

It was a bitter day for yesterday’s hero Oscar Piastri, who collided with Carlos Sainz at the start, forcing him to retire on lap 1. Sainz continued with a broken sidepod, but the lack of downforce was too severe and the Scuderia decided it was best to pull him into the pits on lap 23.

Formula 1 now heads into the summer break and the next race is in 4 weeks time at Zandvoort, the Netherlands, where local hero Verstappen will seek his 9th consecutive victory, which will equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of straight wins.