In the Spa-Francorchamps Formula 1 sprint race, Max Verstappen mugged Oscar Piastri for victory, giving Laurent Mekies, the new team manager, the ideal start to his Red Bull reign. Since the race was mainly processional and many drivers were locked in a DRS train, the opening lap turned out to be the best chance to pass.
Verstappen took advantage of a fantastic drive down the Kemmel Straight to beat Piastri for the lead before arriving at Les Combes on the opening lap. Charles Leclerc then passed Lando Norris for third place by circling the outside of the first section of Les Combes to get the inside line for the left-hander.
Sprint race highlights
Most of the competitors on the first tour gained a position, or “overtake,” when Pierre Gasly had to give up his ninth place due to a water leak before the race began. Two laps down, Gasly finally entered the race before pitting before the finish. Even though Piastri was only a second behind Verstappen, the Australian driver was trapped in Verstappen’s turbulent air because Red Bull’s low-downforce specification was fast enough to pass the McLarens in a straight line and had just enough in the intermediate sector to hold Piastri at bay.
The margin to Norris, which had been more than two and a half seconds at the peak of his battle with Leclerc, whom he passed on lap four, narrowed to less than a second on lap nine of fifteen, making it a three-way battle for the lead. This made Piastri’s afternoon more challenging.
However, Piastri persisted, and on lap 11, he put Verstappen under serious pressure. Verstappen managed to weave on the Kemmel Straight and maintain his position. Piastri’s attack was only made possible by the Red Bull running wide into the Bus Stop chicane, and Verstappen was upset about his brake performance.
With the exception of Gasly sliding out of eighth place, the top seven remained unaltered behind Verstappen and Piastri.
Leclerc came in fourth place, ahead of Isack Hadjar, Carlos Sainz, Ollie Bearman, and Esteban Ocon. Early on, Lance Stroll passed teammate Fernando Alonso for 13th place, making one of the infrequent on-track improvements. It seems appropriate to bring that up here to illustrate how fascinating the Spa sprint race was. After starting 18th after spinning in qualifying, Lewis Hamilton complained of losing his rear after just seven laps. However, he had already passed Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber and made a last-ditch overtake to pass Alex Albon. Kimi Antonelli passed Hulkenberg and finished in 17th place after spinning during qualifying as well.
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