Max wins sprint race Spa: 'We know that we are quick'

Published on 29 July 2023 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen won the sprint race in Belgium. Oscar Piastri briefly took the lead after Verstappen went into the pits, but the speed of the world champion proved to be too big. Max eventually won the sprint with a gap of over six seconds to the McLaren driver. Pierre Gasly took third place, with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc completing the top five.

After a rolling start, Verstappen came into the pits in lap two, to change his full wet tyres for intermediates. Oscar Piastri had pitted already the lap before and took the lead. When asked if this was the right choice, Max answers: “I think it was the safer call. I might have come in first, but then I might have been blocked by other cars. There might be a safety car, and then you lose out massively. I did not mind staying out, we lost one position, we know that we are quick. When we put the intermediate tyres on, we were flying.”

Max thought the rolling start was a sensible choice by race control: “I think the rolling start was the smart thing to do in these kinds of conditions. Nobody could really see what was happening in front of them. Otherwise, it would have been quite dangerous out of turn one. I do not think that you want that. I think that was a good choice. I think we could have raced a little bit earlier. It is okay.”

Max spoke very highly about Piastri, who finished second: “I have been in that position as well, that the younger guy comes in. It is nice. Oscar is having a very strong season in general. And also this weekend he has been really on it.”

Today, Verstappen started from pole position, but because of a grid penalty it will be different tomorrow. Then the Dutchman will have to start from P6. But he has nothing to worry about. Max: “I need to pass a few cars. The biggest risks are turn one and two. It is always very tricky there. If we stay out of trouble, I think we have a quick car.”

Just ahead of the sprint it starts to rain hard. The drainage at several places cannot handle the amount of water. And the start of the sprint is delayed. Verstappen starts the sprint race from pole position, with next to him Oscar Piastri. Carlos Sainz starts from third on the grid, with his teammate at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, starting from fourth. Around 17:20 the umbrellas in the grandstands are put away and the sun comes out. Half an hour late, the formation lap is started behind the safety car. Eventually the whole field does multiple laps behind the safety car, followed by a rolling start on full wet tyres. Which means that there are only eleven laps left to race on Spa-Francorchamps.

When Max increases his speed for the start of the race, half of the field behind him go into the pits to change their full wets for intermediate tyres. Verstappen continues. He sees Piastri and Sainz disappearing behind him, while Norris and Leclerc also continue. One lap later the Dutchman also comes into the pits and changes to green intermediates. His stop of 3.2 seconds was not great. He comes back out on track behind Piastri. The Australian takes the lead of the race. Behind Verstappen drives Pierre Gasly, who is followed by Sergio Perez.

The birthday boy Fernando Alonso causes a safety car in lap four. He spins at Pouhon and gets stuck in the gravel. Two laps later the field is released again, with Piastri in the lead. He is immediately pressured by Verstappen, who overtakes him well before Les Combes and is in the lead again. Then we have a familiar sight, a Mercedes fighting a Red Bull. This time Perez and Hamilton fighting for P4. The two make contact, causing a hole in the sidepod of the RB19. The Mexican is losing big time, as he is also overtaken by Sainz, Leclerc and Norris. Then he goes straight ahead through the gravel, losing even more places. He comes back on track in fifteenth position. The team calls him in, and he is the second to retire from the race.

Hamilton is given a five second time penalty for causing a collision. He is in fourth position, but this will cause him to lose a couple of places. Verstappen has increased the gap to Piastri, and he finishes the sprint six second ahead. Piastri finishes in second position, with behind him Gasly. Hamilton comes over the finish line in fourth position but ends up in P7 because of the time penalty. Sainz and Leclerc complete the top five.

Results sprint race Belgium: