Max Verstappen rose five places to claim his eighth consecutive win in Formula 1 with a customary vintage performance across the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
But which other drivers on the grid had reason to head to their holidays jubilant off the back of a starring performance at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit?
Max Verstappen – 10
Sprint: Qualified: P1, Race: P1
Grand Prix: Qualified: P1 (Started: P6), Race: P1
Verstappen romped to his eighth consecutive F1 win in some style. Having survived a near-miss to advance to Q3, the reigning World Champion then proceeded to inflict an emphatic eight-tenth defeat on the opposition in drying conditions.
While a five-place grid drop for a gearbox change pushed him back to sixth, Verstappen quickly rose to second before swiftly passing Sergio Perez early in the second stint to assume charge at the front.
Despite only leading for 27 laps, the Dutchman won by an emphatic 22s come the chequered flag, with pole position and victory in Saturday’s Sprint sessions capping yet another phenomenal weekend.
Sergio Perez – 6.5
Sprint: Qualified: P8, Race: DNF
Grand Prix: Qualified: P3 (Started: P2), Race: P2
Perez could count himself relatively unfortunate to encounter traffic in both qualifying sessions – but even still, Red Bull’s supreme dominance meant he was able to claim a front-row starting berth for Sunday once Verstappen’s penalty was applied.
The Mexican made an excellent getaway to be in a position to blast past Leclerc down the Kemmel Straight on the first lap. Although he kept Verstappen at bay through the closing stages of the first stint, Perez had no answer to his team-mate on the Medium compound and was rapidly overhauled.
His Sprint went less than ideal, however, as contact with Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps put a hole in the side of his RB19 and forced him into retirement.
Charles Leclerc – 9
Sprint: Qualified: P4, Race: P5
Grand Prix: Qualified: P2 (Started: P1), Race: P3
Verstappen’s closest rival in qualifying, yet still a vast 0.8 seconds adrift. That gap fell down to under 0.2 seconds in the Sprint Shootout, but Leclerc undoubtedly should have taken top spot after an error at Turn 9 reportedly lost him four-tenths. The Monegasque driver would slip from P4 to P5 in the Sprint after losing out in the pits.
Nonetheless, Leclerc maximised Ferrari’s weekend, with Red Bull an unmatchable target and he managed to keep Hamilton at bay to hold onto the final podium position. A well-managed and efficient drive to claim some important points and a morale-boosting podium for the Scuderia.
Carlos Sainz – 5.5
Sprint: Qualified: P3, Race: P4
Grand Prix: Qualified: P5 (Started: P4), Race: DNF
What was looking to be a stable and consistent weekend for Sainz in the sister Ferrari was sullied by an incident at Turn 1 on the first lap with Piastri. As the Spaniard made a dart to the inside to attack Hamilton, Piastri was left with nowhere to go but the inside wall, resulting in contact for both.
Perhaps the damage sustained in the contact with Piastri provided him with enough of a penalty as he missed a chunk from his sidepod, which Ferrari estimated cost Sainz 5% in terms of aerodynamic performance.
With the rest of the field queued up waiting to pass, it was bordering on embarrassing to see Ferrari hoping for a red flag which never came as Sainz continued to fall down the order. Certainly not his strongest weekend, but Sainz leaves Belgium with some positive signs and homework for the summer break.
Lewis Hamilton – 8.5
Sprint: Qualified: P7, Race: P7
Grand Prix: Qualified: P4 (Started: P3), Race: P4
Having sat on provisional pole in SQ3, Hamilton was understandably frustrated when an incident with his team-mate curtailed his chances of pole in the Shootout.
The Brit was even more incensed when a contentious five-second time penalty for a collision with Perez demoted him three places to seventh in the Sprint.
Starting third in the main event, Hamilton was expectedly overtaken by Verstappen, and he was unable to haul in the Ferrari of Leclerc to bookend a return to the podium.
George Russell – 7
Sprint: Qualified: P10, Race: P8
Grand Prix: Qualified: P8, Race: P6
Russell’s struggles continued in qualifying as he was only able to manage eighth fastest in the session, placing him in the position of having his opening lap compromised by the collision between Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz.
To his credit, Russell embarked on a solid recovery drive to sixth but he fell short of being able to challenge higher.
The Sprint didn’t go much better for Russell. Another poor qualifying display meant the Brit again had to claw his way back through, eventually stealing the final point.
Fernando Alonso – 7.5
Sprint: Qualified: P15, Race: DNF
Grand Prix: Qualified: P9, Race: P5
Amid Aston Martin’s sudden slump, Alonso would have been quietly delighted with turning ninth on the grid to fifth. The two-time champion made the most of the chaos on the first lap to gain a handful of places that ultimately made his race.
However, even accounting for his qualifying position for the Sprint being hampered by his own team-mate, Alonso didn’t cover himself in any glory when he spun off the outside kerb at Pouhon chasing Nico Hulkenberg.
Lance Stroll – 6
Sprint: Qualified: P14, Race: P11
Grand Prix: Qualified: P10, Race: P9
Stroll’s gamble to be the first onto slicks in the Sprint Shootout yielded a one-way trip to the barrier at Turn 9, a sizeable repair job for his mechanics and hindered the other car’s chances of progressing to SQ3.
Nevertheless, Stroll bounced back well to claim a couple of points in Sunday’s race – although he would have been slightly disappointed to lose out to Esteban Ocon.
Lando Norris – 7.5
Sprint: Qualified: P5, Race: P4
Grand Prix: Qualified: P7, Race: P7
Norris was surprisingly the slower of the two McLarens through the weekend, only wounding up seventh in qualifying on Friday evening after damaging his floor in Q1.
With Piastri out and Norris’ high-downforce set-up making him a sitting duck in the dry, McLaren looked destined for a pointless Sunday. However, the arrival of rain and an inspired switch to the Soft compound saw him make up considerable ground.
Even when the rain subsided, Norris strung together a mightily impressive 27-lap stint on the Soft compound to add six points to the four he had scored in the Sprint.
Oscar Piastri – 8.5
Sprint: Qualified: P2, Race: P2
Grand Prix: Qualified: P6 (Started: P5), Race: DNF
Piastri’s most promising weekend had an unfortunate ending as contact at Turn 1 with Sainz brought his race to an early end.
However, that doesn’t take away from the stellar job Piastri did prior to that. The Australian rookie wound up fifth in qualifying on Friday evening and then went even better in the Shootout on Sunday to come within only 0.011s of topping Verstappen for pole.
The deluge that proceeded the Sprint meant that once the racing finally got underway conditions were right for the Intermediate tyre, and McLaren nailed the call to gain Piastri track position over Verstappen. But it was to be short-lived as the Red Bull expectedly surged past upon a Safety Car restart.
Still, Piastri managed to coast his McLaren home to take a maiden F1 top-three race finish and demonstrated precisely why he is so highly rated in the F1 paddock.
Pierre Gasly – 7.5
Sprint: Qualified: P6, Race: P3
Grand Prix: Qualified: P12, Race: P11
A polarising weekend for Alpine in many ways. After announcing the departure of three senior staff members – including Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer on Friday – Gasly’s third-place finish in Saturday’s Sprint certainly removed some of the pressure away from the Enstone-based squad.
Gasly drove fantastically in the Sprint, mastering the conditions. But Sunday was a different story with Alpine opting to stick with the one-stop strategy most others had deviated from. Having battled in the top ten, an 11th-place finish marked a disappointing end to an otherwise fruitful weekend.
Esteban Ocon – 7.5
Sprint: Qualified: P9, Race: P9
Grand Prix: Qualified: P15, Race: P8
Ocon struggled to match Gasly early in the weekend, and the gaps became apparent again in one lap pace. However, Ocon was strong on Sunday and an impressive stint on the Soft saw him overtake his team-mate, Alex Albon and Stroll on his way to eighth.
A very good recovery and welcome points for Alpine after a shaky start to the weekend.
Yuki Tsunoda – 8.5
Sprint: Qualified: P16, Race: P18
Grand Prix: Qualified: P11), Race: P10
After being eclipsed by Daniel Ricciardo in the pair’s first race weekend as team-mates in Hungary, Tsunoda needed to string together a big performance in the final round before the summer break.
Although he was beaten in both Sprint sessions by Ricciardo, Tsunoda delivered when it mattered most to line up eight places ahead of his more experienced partner on Sunday. A storming opening lap witnessed the Japanese representative rise as high as seventh during his opening stint.
While he inevitably dropped back as the AlphaTauri’s lack of speed became apparent, Tsunoda clung onto 10th place, earning AlphaTauri a vital point.
Daniel Ricciardo – 5.5
Sprint: Qualified: P11, Race: P10
Grand Prix: Qualified: P1 (Started: P6), Race: P1
Ricciardo was made to rue exceeding track limits at Eau Rouge on his best qualifying run which cost him a place in Q2.
While the Australian enjoyed a good Sprint display to end up only two places shy of his first point of the year, he was unable to make the same progress as Tsunoda on Sunday from the back row of the grid.
Valtteri Bottas – 6.5
Sprint: Qualified: P17, Race: P13
Grand Prix: Qualified: P14, Race: P12
Bottas added to an impressive weekend in Hungary last time out. The Finn flirted with a top-ten finish on Sunday but had to settle for 12th when all was said and done.
Despite leaving Spa without points, a third consecutive P12 is a promising result for an Alfa Romeo side that continues to truly lack the car performance to challenge the top 10. With a slightly more polished weekend, surely Bottas and the C43 will return to the points soon.
Zhou Guanyu – 5.5
Sprint: Qualified: P19, Race: P17
Grand Prix: Qualified: P17, Race: P13
Zhou’s results may indicate strong recovery drives on both Saturday and Sunday. Arguably, they instead point towards difficulties hooking up a lap in qualifying.
Regardless, Zhou’s race pace was relatively strong and he was much more comfortable in the dry conditions on Sunday. A return to the points will be the target come Zandvoort.
Alex Albon – 6.5
Sprint: Qualified: P12, Race: P12
Grand Prix: Qualified: P16, Race: P14
The adverse weather conditions didn’t play favourably into Williams and its slippery FW45 car’s hands on Friday, resulting in both drivers being eliminated in Q1 on a track configuration the British outfit hoped would present opportunities.
In the dry on Sunday, however, Albon looked a good bet for a points finish after a promising start. But tyre degradation proved a sticking point that forced both drivers onto a three-stop, squandering any hopes Albon upheld of adding to his tally. Unfortunately for Albon and Williams, a trip to Zandvoort comes next, which could be an equally difficult proposition for the team.
Logan Sargeant – 5
Sprint: Qualified: P13, Race: P14
Grand Prix: Qualified: P18, Race: P17
13th place on the road in the Sprint isn’t enough to mask another disappointing weekend for Sargeant, especially considering that was lost after receiving a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. The summer break brings up the halfway point in his rookie season, and his performance at the Belgian GP won’t boost his mid-term report.
A bizarre crash in FP1 set the tone for the weekend: the pace was never really there, but he did maximise the Sprint. However, the same degradation issues that hampered Albon affected the American on his way to an uneventful 17th place.
By no means a disaster, but Sargeant must be aware that his second half of the year needs to be a statement in itself if he wants to make his mark at Williams.
Kevin Magnussen – 6
Sprint: Qualified: P18, Race: P15
Grand Prix: Qualified: P13, Race: P15
Kevin Magnussen was able to really get the most out of the Haas package on what was expected to be a long weekend for the team. While the tyre degradation problems persisted, a rejuvenated Magnussen sought to break a spell of poor form.
The Dane’s only real mistake was impeding Leclerc during Q2. Otherwise, a promising weekend amid Haas’ continued struggles.
Nico Hulkenberg – 5
Sprint: Qualified: P20, Race: P16
Grand Prix: Qualified: P20 (Started: Pit lane), Race: P18
Simply a weekend to forget for Hulkenberg. Technical issues hampered his Q1 while a team mistake cost him the chance of posting a time in the Sprint Shootout.
Hulkenberg made good progress at the start of the Sprint but he fell down the order after sustaining floor damage. The difficult weekend continued into Sunday as Haas’ tyre degradation issues continued to rear its head. Some great racing by the German was again held back by an underperforming car.
