Max Verstappen stormed to another Formula 1 Sprint Race victory, seeing off a challenge from Oscar Piastri in the wet conditions at Spa.
With the race starting behind the Safety Car, Piastri was the first to gamble for Intermediate tyres. Verstappen responded by following suit one lap later, but Red Bull’s hesitation afforded Piastri and McLaren the race lead.
READ MORE: F1 2023 Belgian GP – Sprint Report
A crash at Pouhon for Fernando Alonso brought out the Safety Car and Verstappen wasted no time in passing Piastri for the race lead along the Kemmel Straight.
Lewis Hamilton was handed a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Sergio Perez. The rivals had been battling over P4, with Hamilton the eventual victor in that tussle after the pair made slight contact.
Perez plummeted from P4 to P17 before Red Bull opted to retire the car two laps from the end.
Pierre Gasly picked up the final podium place while Hamilton dropped from 4th to 7th. The two Ferraris claimed 4th and 5th while George Russell picked up the final point in 8th.
Position
Driver
Team
Gap
1
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
2
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
6.677
3
Pierre Gasly
Alpine
10.733
4
Carlos Sainz Jr
Ferrari
12.648
5
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
15.016
6
Lando Norris
McLaren
16.052
7
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
16.757
8
George Russell
Mercedes
16.822
9
Esteban Ocon
Alpine
22.410
10
Daniel Ricciardo
AlphaTauri
22.806
11
Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
25.007
12
Alex Albon
Williams
26.303
13
Valtteri Bottas
Alfa Romeo
27.006
14
Logan Sargeant
Williams
32.986
15
Kevin Magnussen
Haas
36.342
16
Nico Hulkenberg
Haas
37.571
17
Guanyu Zhou
Alfa Romeo
37.827
18
Yuki Tsunoda
AlphaTauri
39.267
19
Sergio Perez
Red Bull
DNF
20
Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
DNF
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