Max Verstappen clinches Belgian Grand Prix to extend huge F1 lead

Verstappen clinches eighth successive race, extends Red Bull’s record this year to 15 victories in as many races; teammate Sergio Perez finishes second

Max Verstappen reeled off his eighth successive win of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday with his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez in second. Verstappen also won Saturday’s sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps to maintain his relentless charge to a third Formula One world title. “I knew we had a great car, it was just about surviving turn one,” said Verstappen, who started in sixth on the grid despite topping qualifying after a penalty for a new gearbox. “It is a new spot P6 [to win from]. We made all the right moves,” added Verstappen. 

Perez, who led for much of the early part of the race, said: “It was a good race for the team. We had a great start, to get through Charles [Leclerc], and I was doing my own race—but Max came through pretty fast on the second stint. There was nothing I could do.” Pole-sitter Leclerc took third with Lewis Hamilton in fourth. “It was pretty good for us in terms of pace, but looking at Red Bull we have a lot of work to do” said Leclerc. 

Sergio Perez

Verstappen’s latest demonstration of dominance extended Red Bull’s record this year to 15 wins from 15 races—12 grands prix and the three sprints. He can draw level with Sebastian Vettel’s 2013 record of nine straight Formula One wins in front of his home fans at the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August. In the drivers championship he moved on to 314 points, 125 clear of Perez. 

Also Read: Lando Norris apologises for breaking Max Verstappen's Hungarian GP trophy: 'If he did it...'

By lap 17 of 44 the Belgian-born Dutch driver was back in the place he has spent the majority of this season out in front, sweeping past Perez to his 45th career win. Two-time champion Fernando Alonso finished fifth for Aston Martin ahead of George Russell in the second Mercedes, McLaren’s Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon of Alpine and Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin. Yuki Tsunoda was 10th for Alpha Tauri.

Hyderabad must deliver, says Longo

Timely payments, proper planning and upholding the operational standards of Formula E are among the non-negotiables that Hyderabad promoters will have to deliver if the fully-electric racing championship is to return to India next year, series co-founder Alberto Longo told PTI. Longo hinted timely payments by promotors—Greenko—was an issue even as he praised the support provided by the Telangana state government. 

Asked to elaborate on the major issues Formula E had to deal with in the lead up to the race, Longo said there were some “economical sort of challenges” it faced with promoter Greenko. “Sometimes, the suppliers stopped working, some works were delayed. Some standards for Formula E were not respected,” he said.

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