Max Verstappen of Red Bull made another significant advancement toward a second straight Formula One championship with a commanding victory in the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday after qualifying from position 14.
The Dutch driver outperformed Mexican teammate Sergio Perez by 17.8 seconds and recorded the best lap. He had been fastest in qualifying but had slid down the field owing to engine and gearbox-related penalties.
This win completes a perfect weekend for us @redbullracing. The car was unreal today, it felt like a rocketship 🚀
We’ll keep pushing as we want more of these, starting next week in Zandvoort pic.twitter.com/D3uQAZm3lE
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) August 28, 2022
Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, who started from pole position, came in a distant third.
“The car was really on rails,” said Verstappen, who swept into the lead on the 12th of 44 laps and took his ninth win from 14 races this season. Once we were in the lead, it was all about managing everything.”
“It’s been a weekend I couldn’t imagine before,” added the 24-year-old after his second successive win at Spa, although last year’s victory came after a farcical three laps splashing through the rain behind the safety car.
Verstappen entered the weekend knowing he wouldn’t need to win again this year, but his 29th career victory on Sunday gave him a huge 93-point lead over Perez, who jumped into second place overall.
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