Photo: Red Bull Racing
Due to the weather conditions, it was a difficult weekend at Spa-Francorchamps for everyone involved in the F1 Belgian Grand Prix. Still, more than rain alone would be needed to stop the event's progress, but everyone hoped it could at least mix things up in the battle for the podium. But if you had placed your bets on Max Verstappen crossing the finish line in P1, you would have won too.
Red Bull Racing's Ace driver was the fastest in the qualifying session on Friday and only lost his lead position on the grid due to his team having to fiddle with the gearbox on the RB19. Then, he was on top of the leaderboard for the Sprint Shootout session, but it did seem that Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz could pose a real threat in the Sprint race. They did, but it wasn't enough to stop the Flying Dutchman from winning that too.
The reigning champion had to start the main event from P6, but we've seen him scoring a podium at an event even from further back the grid. On Sunday, we immediately lost all hope of seeing Oscar Piastri fighting Max Verstappen again as the young Australian driver made contact with Carlos Sainz going into turn one. He had to retire from the race several minutes later. Carlos Sainz tried his best to stay in the race but ultimately suffered the same fate.
Meanwhile, Sergio Perez overtook Charles Leclerc on the first lap, which must have been a brutal blow for Ferrari fans everywhere. Verstappen had already climbed up to P4 and was going to overtake Lewis Hamilton on lap six. Seeing the Red Bull Racing car in action feels surreal; it's like everyone else is driving F2 cars on the track. By lap nine, Verstappen overtook Charles Leclerc as well, and it was only a matter of time before Sergio Perez would suffer the same fate.
Max made his move on Lap 17, and we all knew the battle for P1 was over at that time. As Red Bull scored a 1-2 at Spa, it was good to see Charles Leclerc back on the podium too. Lewis Hamilton finished the race in P4, with Fernando Alonso just a few seconds behind. The duel between the two World Champions is heating up, as they're only one point apart in the rankings, with ten more races to go before the end of the season.
Russell, Norris, and Ocon followed suit, with Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda being the last drivers to score points at the Belgian Grand Prix. The next race is scheduled for August 27 in the Netherlands at Zandvoort. The following week marks the Italian Grand Prix, the last European leg for the 2023 season, as drivers will be ready to take on more tracks in Asia and North America. Red Bull Racing has proven unbeatable this year, with two wins for Sergio Perez and ten for Max Verstappen.
What's more alarming is that the Dutchman scored his eighth consecutive victory this season and is just one win away from Vettel's result in 2013. He took his 13th consecutive podium result at Spa, the fourth-longest streak in F1 history. If he can keep driving at this pace, we'll write about him breaking this record soon enough.
At the other end of the spectrum, Charles Leclerc is facing a rather unpleasant "record." He has failed to win his last nine starts from P1 on the grid, which is somewhat concerning. Even though we're looking at a one-month-long break from racing in August, the silly season will surely provide some interesting information for the rest of the year.
The reigning champion had to start the main event from P6, but we've seen him scoring a podium at an event even from further back the grid. On Sunday, we immediately lost all hope of seeing Oscar Piastri fighting Max Verstappen again as the young Australian driver made contact with Carlos Sainz going into turn one. He had to retire from the race several minutes later. Carlos Sainz tried his best to stay in the race but ultimately suffered the same fate.
Meanwhile, Sergio Perez overtook Charles Leclerc on the first lap, which must have been a brutal blow for Ferrari fans everywhere. Verstappen had already climbed up to P4 and was going to overtake Lewis Hamilton on lap six. Seeing the Red Bull Racing car in action feels surreal; it's like everyone else is driving F2 cars on the track. By lap nine, Verstappen overtook Charles Leclerc as well, and it was only a matter of time before Sergio Perez would suffer the same fate.
Max made his move on Lap 17, and we all knew the battle for P1 was over at that time. As Red Bull scored a 1-2 at Spa, it was good to see Charles Leclerc back on the podium too. Lewis Hamilton finished the race in P4, with Fernando Alonso just a few seconds behind. The duel between the two World Champions is heating up, as they're only one point apart in the rankings, with ten more races to go before the end of the season.
Russell, Norris, and Ocon followed suit, with Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda being the last drivers to score points at the Belgian Grand Prix. The next race is scheduled for August 27 in the Netherlands at Zandvoort. The following week marks the Italian Grand Prix, the last European leg for the 2023 season, as drivers will be ready to take on more tracks in Asia and North America. Red Bull Racing has proven unbeatable this year, with two wins for Sergio Perez and ten for Max Verstappen.
What's more alarming is that the Dutchman scored his eighth consecutive victory this season and is just one win away from Vettel's result in 2013. He took his 13th consecutive podium result at Spa, the fourth-longest streak in F1 history. If he can keep driving at this pace, we'll write about him breaking this record soon enough.
At the other end of the spectrum, Charles Leclerc is facing a rather unpleasant "record." He has failed to win his last nine starts from P1 on the grid, which is somewhat concerning. Even though we're looking at a one-month-long break from racing in August, the silly season will surely provide some interesting information for the rest of the year.
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