F1 chief Max Verstappen wins rain-hit Belgian GP dash race, Oscar Piastri is second

Two-time reigning Formula One champion Max Verstappen gained the rain-hit dash race on the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday to increase his large lead over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez to 118 factors.

It was Verstappen’s ninth straight win together with the 2 dash races he has gained this season. He collected eight factors for the victory and can look to increase his general lead additional in Sunday’s primary race as he continues his march to a 3rd straight world title.

“That was not bad,” Verstappen stated with informal understatement.

He completed a snug 6.7 seconds forward of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and 10.7 away from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

“I’m getting more and more comfortable with the car, which is much better than it was at the start of the year,” stated the 22-year-old Piastri. “It’s been amazing for me.”

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton crossed the road in fourth however dropped all the way down to seventh after being given a five-second time penalty for inflicting a collision when attempting to overhaul Perez, who scored no factors after retiring close to the tip.

Hamilton’s penalty moved Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. into fourth spot forward of his teammate Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Lando Norris sixth and Mercedes driver George Russell in eighth behind his teammate Hamilton

This was the third of six scheduled dash races this season, with Perez successful in Azerbaijan and Verstappen successful in Austria and right here. The high eight drivers all rating factors from eight down to at least one.

The dash race was delayed by multiple hour on account of heavy rain, getting underway with a rolling begin process after a number of laps behind a security automotive, as a way to clear extra water off the observe for the dash, which lasted 11 laps.

“I think the rolling start was the smart thing to do,” Verstappen stated. “(But) I think we could have a raced a little earlier, maybe two laps earlier.”

It was a welcome end result for Gasly, who crashed out of the Hungarian GP final weekend.

Earlier, Verstappen edged out Piastri by simply .011 seconds to take the dash pole.

The shortened qualifying format — generally known as the “sprint shootout” — was delayed by 35 minutes due to moist and wet circumstances, with air blowers used to clear water from the observe.

Piastri shot to the highest of the leaderboard on his final run, just for Verstappen to sometimes discover additional tempo.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll pushed too exhausting within the closing seconds of Q2, the second a part of qualifying, and slid off into the boundaries, mangling his proper tire and bringing out a crimson flag. His teammate Fernando Alonso was on his out lap when the crash occurred and couldn’t set a time, which means he additionally did not make it into Q3.

Heavy rain had additionally impacted Friday’s working on the 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) Spa-Francorchamps circuit, which is nestled in a forest amid the Ardennes countryside and is usually impacted by gloomy climate.

Verstappen additionally set the quickest time in qualifying for Sunday’s primary race, however Leclerc will begin from pole due to Verstappen’s five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. He begins Sunday’s race from sixth, however that won’t trouble Verstappen contemplating he gained right here final 12 months from 14th.