Verstappen cruises to 2022 Belgian GP win ahead of Perez, Sainz

MANILA: In a one-two for Red Bull with Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen overcame his grid penalties to win the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix from P14 on the grid. Pole-sitter Carlos Sainz finished P3 for Ferrari.

At Les Combes of Spa-Francorchamps on lap one, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton collided with Alpine's Fernando Alonso, knocking him out of the race. On lap two, a Safety Car was brought out when Alfa-Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas spun out while attempting to evade Williams' Nicholas Latifi.

Verstappen lined up eighth for the restart, while Sainz took the lead from Perez. Leclerc had to pit for medium tires due to a tear-off in his brake duct. Verstappen quickly dispatched the cars in front, moving into P3 by lap 8 and leaving only Perez and Sainz for him to overtake.

On Lap 12, Sainz changed his pit strategy from softs to mediums after Perez let Verstappen through and took the lead. The Dutchman increased his lead until lap 15 and then overcame Sainz's deficit, taking the lead on lap 18, making another free pit stop on lap 31, and then defeating Perez by more than 18 seconds in a commanding performance that included the fastest lap.

 

George Russell of Mercedes, who had previously overtook Charles Leclerc but missed out on the final podium spot by less than two seconds, was followed by Sainz on the podium.

Leclerc attempted to take the fastest lap by making a late pit stop for soft tires, but he was unable to earn the bonus point and could only just hold on to P5 in front of Fernando Alonso. He was penalized five seconds for speeding in the pit lane, which dropped him to P6 for the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix.

Despite being overtaken by the Ferrari on the last lap, the two-time champion finished ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon, who late in the race passed Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (P8) and Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly (P9). The final point was won by Williams' Alex Albon, who finished in the top 10, defeating Aston Martin's Lance Stroll.

McLaren’s Lando Norris caught up to a battling Albon and Stroll by the end of the race, but the driver missed out and finished 12th, ahead of Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, who won a late-race battle against Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu.

In P15, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo finished ahead of the Haas pair – Kevin Magnussen 16th and Mick Schumacher 17th – while William’s Nicholas Latifi finished 18th after taking three pit stops.

"It was quite a hectic first lap to try and stay out of trouble," said Verstappen. "So many things were happening in front of me. But once we settled in after the Safety Car, the car was really on rails, we picked the right places to pass people and we could look after our tires and that is how we made our way forward.

"After that, once we were in the lead it was all about managing everything – but this whole weekend has been incredible. It’s been a weekend I couldn’t imagine before, but I think we want more of them, so keep working hard,” the Red Bull driver recalled the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix.

The 2022 Belgian Grand Prix saw Verstappen setting notable racing statistics. He won from 10th on the grid last time out in Hungary. In the 2022 Belgium GP, he went even better and won from 14th on the grid.

According to F1 history, consecutive races won by a driver who started from 10th place or lower on the grid has only happened once before. The last race of 1959 and the first race of 1960 by Bruce McLaren first made this achievement.

Verstappen's second home race of the 2022 F1 season is up next weekend on September 2 to 4 at Zandvoort, Netherlands. The Dutchman is now 93 points ahead of teammate Perez – who, in turn, has overtaken Leclerc in the drivers' standings.

The 2022 Belgian Grand Prix was held following the announcement that the Spa-Francorchamps race will be part of the 2023 Formula 1 calendar, following an agreement to extend the race’s partnership. However, full details of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship calendar are yet to be revealed.

Spa originally appeared on the Formula 1 schedule in 1950, and the race in 2022, in which Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz qualified for pole position, is the 55th to take place on the circuit.

Photos from Formula 1

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