Verstappen Overcomes Penalty To Win Belgian Grand Prix, But What Else Is New?

It's going to take a whole hell of a lot more than a measly 5-place grid penalty for a new gearbox to keep Max Verstappen from winning a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

The Dutchman started P6 on the grid and was up to P4 before the first lap was even in the books en route to his 8th straight win this season.

Look, I'm getting tired of Verstappen winning all of these races too, but the level of dominance he and Red Bull have demonstrated this season is unbelievable.

While we got a taste of the rain that dominated the rest of the weekend, the Grand Prix was mostly dry. That helped Verstappen, his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton take off down the road from the start. A first-corner incident between Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and McLaren's Oscar Piastri didn't hurt either. That left Sainz's wounded Ferrari acting like a cork that bunched up the rest of the field.

After winning the sprint race on Saturday and taking the win in the Grand Prix, Verstappen added to his massive lead in the drivers' championship standing.

He nearly took a maximum-points haul, but Hamilton stole the point for the fastest lap on the final lap. Payback for Abu Dhabi 2021?

Probably not... although maybe.

Still, There's a case to be made that right now, there's no athlete more dominant than Verstappen. Nothing can stop this dude at the moment (except for Lewis Hamilton and a fresh set of medium tires on the final lap).

Joining Verstappen on the podium was Perez in P2 and Leclerc in P3.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri drives his damaged car through the run-off area at Radillion early in the Belgian Grand Prix. (Photo by Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images)

Tough Break For Piastri.

McLaren arrived in Belgium with stellar weekends at Silverstone and the Hungaroring. Could they keep that streak alive at Spa-Francorchamps?

Sort of.

Rookie Oscar Piastri was the star of the sprint race which was a rainy wet/intermediate tire affair.

Unfortunately, in the Grand Prix, Piastri — who started in P5 — didn't make it one corner before his race was donezo.

Carlos Sainz locked up into the first corner, Le Source. This completely closed off Piastri's line into the corner and caused him to clip the inside wall.

Before he had even made it to Eau Rouge, it was clear that Piastri had an issue because he dropped like a stone. The Australian trundled around the rest of the lap — the longest in Formula 1 — until he had to pull over and retire.

Huge disappointment for Piastri, but there was nothing he could do.

Other Thoughts I Typed Into My Phone

• Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase need to take some time away from each other during the summer break. The two got a little snippy with each other a few times over the weekend.

• McLaren salvaged what looked like it was going to be a terrible Grand Prix. With Piastri done, Lando Norris fell backward through the field due to the high-downforce setup in the dry conditions. However, a quick sprinkle made the car come to life while everyone else struggled and Norris managed to steal some points. This was far from the highs of Silverstone and Hungary, but I'm sure they'll take it given how things looked after the first few laps.

• Yuki Tsunoda snuck into the points with a P10 finish. AlphaTauri needs every single point it can get, and they seem to be performing a little better since swapping drivers.

...

We've got a few weeks off for the summer break. However, F1 will reconvene at the end of August for a weekend on the high banks of Zandvoort, the home race for one Max Verstappen.

Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle