F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Imperious Max Verstappen outclasses Sergio Perez with fightback win from sixth
The reigning world champion might light work of his recovery fr𓆏om 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 ไ17.
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. ꦯ;
Ve🌼rstappen gained from a faster pit stop than Perez and rapidly caught hi꧒s 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 succ෴essive victor💛y.
Verstappe꧟n - who won from 14th on the grid at Spa-Francorchamps 12 monthඣs 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 aౠ successful late bid to snatch the fastest lap point away from Verstappen on the final touꦺr as he finished fourth.
Fernando Alonso fended off the second Mercedes of George📖 Russel𒈔l to take a strong fifth for Aston Martin.
Lando Norris salvaged seventh place on a difficult day for McLaren, with teamm📖ate Osc🤡ar 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 theꦕ top-10 for Alpine♔, Aston Martin and AlphaTauri respectively.
F1 now heads into a three-week summer break before resuming with the Duꦯtch Grand Prix on August 27.
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