Max Verstappen’s invincible streak continued at the Belgian Grand Prix with another crushing win.
The double world champion started sixth but took the lead at Spa Francorchamps on lap 17 of 44 before taking the chequered flag 22.3 seconds clear of his forlorn Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
Verstappen’s triumph was his eighth in a row – one shy of Sebastian Vettel’s record – and 10th from the 12 rounds so far.
He leads Perez by a mammoth 125 points in the standings – the equivalent of five victories – heading into Formula One’s summer break.
Pole-sitter Charles Leclerc took the final spot on the podium with Lewis Hamilton, who denied Verstappen a bonus point by setting the fastest lap, fourth.
Fernando Alonso finished fifth for Aston Martin, one place ahead of George Russell with Lando Norris seventh.
Verstappen qualified fastest on Friday evening but was demoted five places following a gearbox change.
The Dutch driver was up from sixth to fourth at the end of the first lap while Perez blasted past Leclerc on the Kemmel Straight to take the lead.
Oscar Piastri finished runner-up in Saturday’s 11-lap sprint race, but the Australian rookie’s Grand Prix lasted less than a lap after he collided with Carlos Sainz at the opening corner. Sainz turned into Piastri at La Source leaving the McLaren man with race-ending damage.
Back up front and Verstappen was on the move. On lap six he breezed past Hamilton at 210mph along the Kemmel Straight. Three laps later, Leclerc became his next victim, after he outbraked the Monegasque man with a fine move around the outside of Les Combes.
Perez was now three seconds up the road. In came Perez for new rubber on lap 12 but Verstappen wanted Red Bull to double-stack in order not to lose any time to his team-mate on fresher tyres.
“So don’t forget Max, use your head please,” said Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
“Are we both doing it or what?” replied Verstappen.
“You just follow my instruction,” came Lambiase’s response.
“No, I want to know both cars do it,” Verstappen fired back.
“Max, please follow my instruction and trust it, thank you,” said Lambiase.
The following lap, Verstappen stopped for tyres and it only took a couple of laps before he was crawling all over the back of Perez’s Red Bull machine.
Verstappen tracked Perez through the fearsome Eau Rouge-Raidillon section before applying DRS and roaring round the outside of his team-mate along the Kemmel Straight on lap 17. By the end of the lap, he had already pulled out a 1.6 sec gap over his team-mate.
Verstappen was then on the radio, reporting rain, and the Dutchman endured a hairy moment through Eau Rouge as the back end of his Red Bull machine stepped out on him at 180mph.
“F***, I nearly lost it,” said the championship leader amid the light drizzle.
Lambiase was then back on the radio asking if Verstappen could make his tyres last with more rain due to arrive.
“I can’t see the weather radar,” came Verstappen’s spiky response.
On lap 29, Perez now trailing Verstappen by nine seconds, stopped for a second time with Verstappen following in on the same lap but it was not long before Lambiase was back on the radio lambasting his driver.
“You used a lot of the tyre on the out lap Max,” he said. “I am not sure if that was sensible.”
Verstappen responded by banging in the fastest lap of the race.
Such is Verstappen’s stranglehold of Formula One, he was back on the radio joking if he should stop for a third time.
“Should we push on and do another stop?” he said. “A little bit of pit-stop training?”
“Not this time,” replied Lambiase, having previously calling on his driver “to use your head a bit more.”
But Verstappen showed no sign of slowing down, delivering Red Bull’s 22nd win from the last 23 races and retaining the team’s unbeaten streak this season.
Piastri aiming for win in Las Vegas with Norris title chances looking slim
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is targeting victory in Las Vegas on Sunday following the implosion of team-mate Lando Norris' Championship bid.
While it is still mathematically possible that Norris could catch Max Verstappen – who will secure a fourth successive title by bettering the Brit this weekend – his chances are slim.
As a result of Norris' title bid, Piastri had been under orders to prioritise his team-mate above himself. But with McLaren leading Ferrari in the constructors' championship by 36 points, it is likely focus will shift there.
"There's still some, let's say, very specific scenarios where I might be needed to help out. But for the very large majority of situations, it's back to how it was," Piastri told reporters in Las Vegas.
"The drivers' championship picture is very slim, and the constructors' championship is certainly not over for us.
"So, it's a very specific few scenarios that maybe I'll still help out if that's what I'm asked to do, but I'm going into the weekend trying to win."
Ahead of his potential coronation, Verstappen struggled on the first day of practice in Las Vegas, finishing in 17th.
Norris, meanwhile, was second-fastest behind Lewis Hamilton. Piastri finished in eighth, although bizarrely reported that his car would not turn off after reaching the pit lane, although the issue was eventually resolved.
Separately from Piastri, Norris had told reporters that – despite previous orders for Piastri to let him pass in races – the team had always come first and that would not change.
"Everything we've done, we've just swapped a position," he said.
"It benefited me because I was in the fight for the championship and that's the game we also have to play, just as I've helped Oscar in a few occasions and helped him win in Baku, you know. I did my job there.
"I think Andrea [Stella] made it very clear from the beginning that we would never do something that would make the team result worse. So no, nothing is going to change."
Norris believes he has 'what it takes’ for future world title after Verstappen battle
Lando Norris believes he has what it takes to challenge for a world title in the future after his battle with Max Verstappen during the 2024 season.
Norris arrives at the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend 62 points behind Verstappen, knowing a win is a must if he is to keep his faint world championship hopes alive.
Verstappen and Red Bull started the campaign as they left off last year, only for Norris and McLaren to emerge as genuine contenders after a series of car developments.
On a dramatic weekend in Brazil, Norris reduced the Dutchman's advantage to 44 points by winning in the Sprint race, but that victory proved to be in vain.
Despite starting 17th on the grid, Verstappen regained his sizeable margin with a stunning wet weather performance, and can clinch a fourth world title in Sin City this weekend.
When asked what he had learned from this season, Norris said: “That I have what it takes. It’s the first time in the last six years of F1 that we’ve had a chance to fight at the front.
"This is our, and my, first opportunity to do so, and my first opportunity to see where I stand.
“I definitely was not at the level I needed to be at the beginning of the year, even [after beating Verstappen to a maiden win] in Miami.
"Since the summer break I feel like I’ve done a very good job and performed very, very well – by far some of my best performances that I’ve done.
“I’ve been very happy with how the last few months have gone, honestly. I wouldn’t change many things that have happened.
"I still need to make tweaks and I still need to improve on things, that’s clear. I’m not completely satisfied with how I’ve done and I definitely know I need to make improvements.
“But, for the first time, I’m confident to say I have what I think I need to fight for a championship. It doesn’t mean I’m complete, it doesn’t mean I’m perfect.
"When you’re competing against drivers who are close to that, like Max, you have to be close to perfect if you want to challenge him.”
Despite Norris' disappointment, this weekend marks an opportunity for McLaren to edge closer to a first constructors' championship since 1998.
The British-based team are currently 36 points ahead of Ferrari at the top of the standings with two races and a sprint remaining this season.
McLaren have 19 podiums in 2024, their best record in a campaign since 2007 (24). In only four years have they achieved more (20 in 1998, 22 in 2000, 24 in 2007 and 25 in 1988), though Norris insisted the battle was far from over.
“Ferrari have been strong for a long time,” said Norris. “They have two very good drivers, they’re a very good team, they’ve clearly improved their car a good amount and found a better direction to head down.
“They probably will be with us. Some races are a bit better, some races a little bit behind, some races the same as a competition. Maybe [the momentum is] a little bit with them, but we’re close. Red Bull are close at the same time.
“It’s more about who can do a better performance on a weekend. We do know that Vegas is probably a track that will suit the Ferraris a bit more.
"It suited them well last year, but we know Qatar will be more favourable to us.”
Hamilton 'still loves' Mercedes and will give everything in final races
Lewis Hamilton has pledged to give everything in his final three races for Mercedes, despite admitting he had thoughts of an early exit after struggling at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished 10th in the grand prix and 11th in the sprint race in Brazil three weeks ago, then described the weekend as a "disaster" and suggested he was not averse to an early exit.
The seven-time world champion – who will join Ferrari ahead of next season – said over team radio: "If this is the last time I get to perform, it was a shame it wasn't great."
However, with just three races remaining before his 12-year stint with the Silver Arrows comes to an end, Hamilton has put those troubles behind him and is determined to finish 2024 on a high.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix, Hamilton said: "In the moment, that's how I felt. I didn't really want to come back after that weekend but that's only natural.
"In the heat of the moment, for sure I'd much rather be on the beach and chilling. I don't need to do this.
"It wasn't a great feeling in that moment but I'm here, I'm standing strong and I'm going to give it absolutely everything for these last few races.
"Nothing can take me down. I've got a team that I genuinely still love and even though I'm leaving, I want to give them the best that I can in these next races.
"If they provide a car that wants to stay on track, then hopefully we'll have a better result."
Sunday's race will take place exactly 10 years since Hamilton won the second of his seven drivers' championships, sealing his 2014 title triumph at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
He is currently seventh in the drivers' championship standings, just two points adrift of Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Russell has won 50.26% of Mercedes' points this year to Hamilton's 49.74%. That is the smallest percentage split between any pair of team-mates in F1, with Red Bull pair Max Verstappen (72.24%) and Sergio Perez (27.76%) having the largest split.
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