In increasingly more predictable fashion, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has claimed his eighth consecutive victory with a win at the Belgian Grand Prix, on Sunday, July 30, at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The Dutchman did so despite a five place gearbox penalty at the start of the race.
To the delight of the Scuderia tifosi, Charles Leclerc began the race in pole position, ahead of Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull rocket ship. However, the Monegasque’s lead did not last long, as Perez managed to power past Leclerc on the opening lap.
Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz came close to spinning out of the race at the start, after a tiny tangle with McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri, which left the young Aussie with a damaged front wing.
Having been overtaken by Perez and eventually the inevitable Verstappen, Leclerc held off Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to complete the podium in third place. Verstappen was unstoppable even by his own teammate, who settled for second place by a matter of 22.305 seconds.
The drivers will now enjoy a four week long summer break before the next stop on this year’s Formula 1 calendar, which will be in Zandvoort for the Dutch GP, which will take place on August 27.
Featured image REUTERS/Johanna Geron
