Red Bull pulled off a 1-2 finish Sunday at the Belgian Grand Prix with points leader Max Verstappen earning his eighth straight victory on the season.
Sergio Perez finished second followed by the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in third.
Lewis Hamilton may have missed the podium in fourth, but the Mercedes driver had the last laugh as he made a late pit stop for fresh tires and swiped the fastest lap bonus point from Verstappen at the checkered flag.
Here’s what you need to know from the Belgian GP plus a mid-season review as Formula One now heads into its summer break.
RED BULL REMAIN UNMATCHED
We’re running out of hyperboles to describe Red Bull and Verstappen. The story throughout the first half of the season has been Red Bull’s sheer dominance — particularly Verstappen — and this week was yet another textbook example.
Verstappen delivered another practically perfect performance after starting sixth as not even a grid penalty for a gearbox change can hold him back. We say practically perfect as there was that one moment when Verstappen’s car came loose and he almost lost it on an unforced error.
The double-defending champion Verstappen picked off his competitors, and even Perez, with ease. Verstappen crossed the finish line a full 22 seconds ahead of his teammate ensuring that no one was even a speck in his rearview mirrors.
Only Hamilton’s heater of a lap at the end for the bonus point prevented Verstappen from scoring maximum points this weekend. It’s doubtful Verstappen cares though as he still holds a 125-point lead over Perez in the championship.
The history books continue to be rewritten. Verstappen’s victory was a record-extending 13th consecutive win for the Red Bull team. As for the individual driver’s record, Verstappen now looks to match Sebastian Vettel’s run of nine straight wins. Vettel pulled off that feat 10 years ago when he drove for Red Bull. Verstappen will have to wait four weeks though until his home event in the Netherlands for a chance to match that one.
As for Perez, he regrouped from an early retirement in the sprint race to deliver his best performance since the Miami GP back in early May. On top of his third place last week in Hungary, that should cool Perez’s hot-seat status during the summer break as silly season and driver rumours ramp up.
Red Bull’s run might be unbreakable. Their trophies on the other hand …
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE FERRARI
Those were some ominous words from a Ferrari fan during commentator Martin Brundle’s pre-race grid walk. Asked if he preferred Leclerc or Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, the fan replied, “To be honest I’ll be happy if they finish the race.”
Although Leclerc finished on the podium with a solid performance, Sainz’s race came undone on the first corner of the opening lap. After locking up his brakes and possibly feeling pressure from Hamilton, Sainz made contact with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. That punctured a hole in the side of Sainz’s car and his Ferrari plummetted down the field. Sainz remained in the race for 23 laps until he was told to shut it down — something that probably should have happened earlier considering it was a futile effort remaining near the back of the pack wasting engine power.
Sainz’s pain was Leclerc’s gain as he moved passed his teammate and Mercedes driver George Russell for fifth place in the championship. (Leclerc and Russell are tied with 99 points apiece, however, Leclerc holds the better individual finish with a P2 result.)
MCLAREN MISFIRE
The wet weather conditions seemed to suit McLaren during Saturday’s sprint with rookie Oscar Piastri earning his first-ever podium in second place.
The drier conditions on Sunday, not so much. Granted, it’s tough to gauge how Piastri would have performed considering he crashed out on the opening lap, but teammate Lando Norris, coming off back-to-back second place finishes, struggled out of the gate and was nowhere close to chasing a third straight podium. Correctly calling an audible on the tire strategy helped Norris finish where he started in seventh place.
This will be tough to dwell on over the break, but McLaren’s overall resurgence cannot be overstated. They’ve scored 86 of their 103 points over the past four races during this month alone and are firmly among the “best of the rest” group behind Red Bull.
ASTON MARTIN BACK ON TRACK
Speaking of Mercedes engine customers, Aston Martin had been trending in the wrong direction in recent weeks but had a nice recovery Sunday.
Fernando Alonso finished fifth and Canadian teammate Lance Stroll also came home with points in ninth place. Stroll even made a clean pass on Norris early in the race when the McLaren car was struggling.
Stroll now has 47 points and the magic number coming up for him is 52: the number of points he scored over the previous two seasons combined.
Alonso, who turned 42 on Saturday, has had a firm grip on third place in the championship through the first half of the season but thanks to that fastest lap bonus point though, Hamilton has closed within one point. It’ll be an intriguing fight for sure between the former world champions when the season resumes.
WHAT TO MAKE OF ALPINE
There will be a summer shakeup in the garage at Alpine with both team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane now heading out the door. Their departures were announced prior to the Belgian GP and might serve as a wakeup call. Esteban Ocon, coming off of back-to-back DNFs, finished eighth while Pierre Gasly, who was third in the sprint, just missed out on scoring more points Sunday by coming in unlucky 11th. That seems to be on par for Alpine this year.
Alpine are stuck in sixth place in the constructors’ championship — 46 points back of McLaren and also 46 points ahead of Williams and Haas. The new brass, whoever that may be, just need to look at McLaren to see that a renaissance is possible.
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