Verstappen achieves one of his most dominant wins in F1 despite P14 start

Max Verstappen dominated the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps despite starting from 14th on the grid. Red Bull Racing ensured they scored a one-two as Sergio Perez finished in second place. Verstappen had an 80-point lead going into the summer break and now has one hand firmly on the 2022 World Championship trophy with his closest rival Charles Leclerc finishing this race in fifth place. Pole-sitter Carlos Sainz claimed third place. 

It took Verstappen just eight laps to move into the podium places and a further four laps to take the lead. His pace was so strong that he still had an eight-second advantage on second place after the Dutchman's second pitstop. Leclerc started one place behind Verstappen on the grid but failed to make his way through the pack. The man from Monaco was forced into an early stop with a tear-off stuck in his car. 

Alpine distracted themselves from all the off-track drama with a strong performance in Belgium. Even with a first-lap collision with Lewis Hamilton Alonso finished in sixth, one place ahead of his teammate Esteban Ocon. Their rivals in the championship failed to score points with Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris not progressing through the field. 

Hamilton made a mistake on the opening lap. At the end of the long straight, he had a duel with his former teammate Alonso. After nearly flipping his own car, Mercedes mechanics told him to stop on the track and retire from the race. His British teammate Russell proved that Mercedes still have strong race pace in 2022 by finishing in fourth and pulled away from Leclerc in the closing stages. He was on for a podium finish, but he made a mistake on lap 40 to give Sainz breathing space. 

Sebastian Vettel, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon were the final points finishers. Valtteri Bottas joined his former teammate Hamilton as the only two retirements. 

Starting Grid

Qualifying became very complicated due to the number of penalties getting applied. No less than eight driver had new engine parts and had to start at the back of the grid. As Verstappen finished fastest in qualifying, he could start from P14 behind Valtteri Bottas who picked up a 25-place grid penalty but not a 'start at the back' penalty. Verstappen was one place ahead of Leclerc. At the front of the grid, Carlos Sainz started from pole position, alongside Sergio Perez. 

Sainz had a brilliant start on the soft tyre and was clear going into the first corner. Perez dropped behind Fernando Alonso and both Mercedes drivers. Hamilton and Alonso renewed their age-old rivalry and crashed together at the end of the long straight. Hamilton's car broke and was told to stop by the Mercedes mechanics. Nicholas Latifi and Valtteri Bottas then crashed on lap two to cause a safety car. 

During the safety car period, Leclerc was forced to pit due to a tear-off getting stuck inside the brakes, but Verstappen had already made it to eighth place. Despite a lock-up, Sainz beat Perez at the safety car restart. On lap seven, Verstappen was up to fourth on the soft tyre whereas Leclerc sat in 16th. On lap eight, Verstappen moved into the podium places. 

High degradation 

Ferrari put new tyres on Sainz on lap 12 after a lot of drivers reported high deg on the radio. Verstappen then overtook Perez to take the lead. Red Bull Racing didn't react until lap 14 but only with Perez. The Mexican came out in front of Leclerc. Verstappen pitted one lap later and returned in P2. The day got worse for Leclerc who next saw Russell going by for P4. And again when Verstappen blasted past Sainz on lap 18. 

Russell started to lap quicker than Sainz and therefore Ferrari pitted their Spanish driver for a set of hards. Leclerc also came in on the same lap for a set of mediums and avoided a queue of cars coming into turn one. Verstappen's strong pace allowed him to open up a gap of eight seconds even after his second pitstop on lap 30 and he cruised to victory from there.

At one point, it looked like Russell would catch Sainz to deny both Ferrari cars of a podium. But the young Brit made a mistake on lap 40 to give Sainz some breathing room.