Max Verstappen was able to maintain a strong straight line speed to keep Oscar Piastri at bay to take victory at the sprint in Belgium.
Before the race even started it appeared that it would only start with just 19 cars as a suspected water leak meant that Pierre Gasly wouldn’t be able to make the start. However, Alpine would appear to fix the issue and Gasly would get running a couple of laps into the sprint, though obviously with zero chance of making any impact.
Once the race began Piastri was able to cover off Verstappen in the short run up to turn 1. However, Verstappen, who has been running a lower downforce setup, was able to get a strong run down the straight and would be able to pass for the lead into the Les Combes chicane.
McLaren’s opening lap got worse as Lando Norris would also be overtaken at Les Combes by Charles Leclerc. With the points scored in the sprint race, it meant that he would currently be losing two points in his fight for the championship.
Piastri would remain close on Verstappen’s heels. The DRS in sector 1 and the higher wings meaning that he could follow closer in the twisty second sector meant he could consistently stay within one second of the Red Bull in the lead.
Norris would be able to overtake Leclerc on lap 4 heading into Les Combes, but would now be a couple seconds adrift of Piastri. however, since he was struggling to pass Verstappen in a car that was slower over the course of a whole lap, it allowed Norris to slowly but surely cut that gap down until he would also get within DRS range of his teammate.
The sprint became something akin to the Japanese Grand Prix earlier this season, where both McLarens were stuck behind an impassable Verstappen. Even Verstappen going deep into the bus stop chicane wasn’t enough to provide any opportunity for Piastri to pass, and while Piastri was still in Max’s DRS, it meant there was no chance of Norris getting close enough to take second.
In the end, Verstappen won the sprint with Piastri second and Norris rounding off the podium, showing that a similar result could be possible in tomorrow’s sprint should the conditions stay dry.
