Now I am off. Peace and love!
Driver standings
Verstappen (Red Bull) 314
Pérez (Red Bull) 189
Alonso (Aston Martin) 149
Hamilton (Mercedes) 148
Leclerc (Ferrari) 99
Russell (Mercedes) 99
Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 92
Norris (McLaren) 69
Stroll (Aston Martin) 47
Ocon (Alpine) 35
Ignore that, driver standings coming…
Otherwise, though, here’s Giles Richards’ race report; thanks for your company, and enjoy what’s left of the weekend. Ta-ra!
Verstappen – or Verstappz as I like to think he’s known in the paddock – raises yet another trophy, and who can possibly beat him when we return just under a month from now for his home race at Circuit Zandvoort? I’ll leave that one to sit with you, no need for an immediate answer.
Anthem time, Verstappen enjoying the moment. It doesn’t seem like he’s getting bored of trouncing the field every week.
Other fun:
Verstappen says P6 was a new spot, but knew he had a great car and it was just about surviving turn one. He made sure to stay out of trouble then, once he was out of a DRS train, could do his thing.
Final placings
Verstappen (Red Bull)
Pérez (Red Bull)
Leclerc (Ferrari)
Hamilton (Mercedes)
Alonso (Aston Martin)
Russell (Mercedes)
Norris (McLaren)
Ocon (Alpine)
Stroll (Aston Martin)
Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
Gasly (Alpine)
Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
Albon (Williams)
Magnussen (Haas)
Ricciardo (AlphaTauri)
Sargeant (Williams)
-
Hulkenberg (Haas)
DNF Sainz Jr (Ferrari) and Piastri (McLaren)
Updated
Red Bull extend their record to 13 straight wins and counting, also setting a new mark, 12, from the start of a season. Oh, but Hamilton nicks a point off Verstappen, setting the fastest lap on his new rims, so not quite the perfect weekend for the champ.
Max Verstappen wins the Belgian Grand Prix, his eighth and Red Bull's 13th win in a row!
It’s a hat-trick of wins for Verstappen; Perez gives Red Bull the one-two, and Leclerc is third.
Updated
Lap 44/44 1:48.09 is the time Hamilton needs to beat as Tsunoda attacks Stroll looking to pinch P9. Verstappen, meanwhile, cruises inexorably on.
Lap 43/44 No further inroads from Hamilton, who accepts defeat in that aspect and pits, using his big cushion over Alonso in fifth, to try and skank the fastest lap time point off Verstappen on the final go-around.
Lap 42/44 Leclerc lost a second to Hamilton on the last lap, the gap between them 2.5s or so. We don’t yet know if the Ferrari has a problem or if there was just a traffic issue but this would be a colossal podium for both driver ands team.
Lap 41/44 We see Albon go past Hulkenberg into 15th and Ocon send Stroll to ninth; Verstappen’s lead is almost 20s now.
Lap 40/44 Verstappen has won this race the last two years, once from pole and once from way back; today he’s winning it from sixth, and with disquieting ease. Dominant champions are often beneficial for sport, individual sports especially, but the problem with F1 is that it’s not just about getting as good as a particular driver but having a car good enough to challenge him. And right now, that looks a long way away.
Lap 39/44 Leclerc extends his lead over Hamilton to almost over three seconds, and will feel fairly safe in third, I think; at the other end, Zhou does well to take out Ricciardo to make 15th.
Updated
Lap 38/44 Hamilton closes the gap a little, then Ocon ducks inside Tsunoda and goes by! Tsunoda was getting ready to attack Stroll in eighth, but now look!
Verstappen
Perez
Leclerc
Hamilton
Alonso
Russell
Norris
Stroll
Ocon
Tsunoda
Gasly
Bottas
Lap 37/44 Verstappen leads by 14.061s and it just doesn’t seem to matter where he begins a race; he knows he’ll win and so does everyone else. Hamilton is now 2.765s behind Leclerc, and I’ll be surprised if he finds the pace to podium.
Lap 36/44 Albon makes his third stop and comes out 17th; Hamilton is warned not to be too careful and drop more than 2.5s behind Leclerc, so he can have a hack at him on the final lap.
Lap 35/44 Who do we think is the better now, Hamilton or Verstappen? Forget the cars for a second, has the younger man overtaking the old master as a pure driver? He’s got all the chutzpah Hamilton has and his control of his vehicle is impeccable.
Lap 34/44 Verstappen is “asked” by Christian Horner to look after tyres that are showing signs of degradation; he’ll make it to the end on them if he’s careful, whereas a stop with hand Perez a sniff. OK, a snifflet. Verstappen, of course, has his own ideas, suggesting he push on them come in for some “pit-stop training”; “not this time” comes back the response.
Lap 33/44 Albon attacks Gasly, Gasly repels him … briefly, Albon going again, then Gasly goes back in front, holds Albon off by the chicane, and he’s looking good in 11th now.
Lap 32/44 The top four look immovable now, but in fifth, Russell might have a hack at Alonso – if his tyres hold out. In front, Verstappen might fancy attacking Hulkenberg’s fastest lap time, because of course he badly needs the extra point it yields … ahahahaha, and there it is! He is quite good!
Lap 31/44 Russell is 1.1202s behind Alonso, though he might need to pit again; Verstappen comes in, takes his new softs, and emerges 9.275s ahead. Leclerc, meanwhile, looks good to preserve his podium, extending his lead over Hamilton to 2.703s.
Lap 30/44 Perez comes in and Verstappen forges on; the extent of his superiority is quite something. He leads by 27.644s and will be in next time round.
Updated
Lap 29/44 Reacting to Hamilton’s stop, Leclerc does likewise; Hamilton takes out Alonso, and is just 0.864s behind the Ferrari now.
Lap 28/44 Hulkenberg, in 15th, sets a fastest lap, as Hamilton, struggling with his tyres, comes in and exits 2.865s behind Alonso, having dropped from fourth to fifth. He’s on softs now, and will need to make the most of any advantage they give him before the lads in front pit themselves.
Lap 27/44 Verstappen is told to deploy his usual race management, preserving his tyres to well he might get away with stopping just once. The extent of his superiority is quite something, and I’d love to see him and Hamilton in the same car, no team orders. Hamilton, though, has more pressing worries, losing time to Leclerc on every lap now.
Lap 26/44 Leclerc is now pulling away from Hamilton, extending his lead to 3.008s while, at the front, Verstappen leads Perez by 7.096s. For the second race in a row we’re barely thinking about him, so complete is his dominance.
Lap 25/44 It’s been coming – I guess he was hiping for a downpour, a red flag, and the chance to have work done on his car – but with no such luck, Sainz retires. In sixth, Tsunoda makes his second stop and, given how far these still have to drive, I wonder if we see some coming in thrice. Back on the track, Russell blazes by Norris into eighth, and I imagine he’ll soon be at Hulkenberg in seventh.
Lap 24/44 Norris, having pitted, is back up to 13th having passed Zhou, while the rain dribbles to a near-halt, blue sky moving it along. Gasly, meanwhile, pits – the last in the field so to do – and Hamilton os closing in on Leclrec, the difference between them now 2.412s.
Lap 23/44 Russell comes in and changes to softs, emerging in 15th place, while Tsunoda nails Gasly to assume sixth place. There’s a lot going on behind Alonso in fifth, but the top four looks pretty settled.
Lap 22/44 Verstappen stretches his lead over Perez to over four seconds as the skies brighten. I don’t think anyone will want to pit for the rain now, as it looks like it’s going though is still pretty heavy.
Lap 21/44 Hamilton isn’t making much impression on Leclerc, 3.158 behind him, and Verstappen tells his team it’s raining “a lot”. Stroll finally pits and a poor job means he emerges in 18th, but on fresh softs, he’s a fighting chance of moving up the field quickly.
Lap 20/44 It’s raining now, and if it’s a heavy shower, we might get a red flag and a free tyre-change for everyone. Meantime, though, Stroll’s struggles continue, Tsunoda moving by him into eighth before attacking Gasly in seventh!
Verstappen
Perez
Leclerc
Hamilton
Alonso
Russell
Gasly
Tsunoda
Stroll
Ocon
Lap 19/44 The rain is almost with us and it might be heavy; Stroll, Russell and Gasly will like the sound of that, having not yet pitted. The shower shoild last about 10 minutes. Oh, and Stroll, struggling on the tyres he’s not yet changed, is passed by Gasly and now has Tsunoda on his tail.
Lap 18/44 And, of course, a record that’s already gone is most wins in a row for a team, Red Bull making it 12 last weekend. I’ve not a clue where they’ll end up, but 13 is pretty much in the bag. And, to underline the point, Verstappen sets a fastest lap, his lead over Perez already 2.116.s.
Lap 17/44 Verstappen feints to go outside, lines up to pass inside, and he grooves past his teammate like it’s the easiest thing in the world. Something wild will have to happen for this not to be eight wins straight for the champ; the record is Vettel’s nine in 2013.
Lap 16/44 Alonso, already past Gasly, takes out Russell, as Verstappen closes the cap on Perez to 0.303s, and the Mexican will be fearing the worst. How can he hold off a better driver in a similar car? Well, he’s going to try, putting as many miles as he can into Verstappen’s tyres and hoping to run the speed out of them.
Lap 15/44 Phew, lot going on there, but Verstappen is out just 2.464s behind Perez, whose stop was a poor one; there’ll be no action taken against Hamilton who sets the fastest lap of the race so far.
Lap 14/44 Perez leads Verstappen by 2.452s and Hamilton is now on mediums; I wonder what the others will do. Perez then stops, Verstappen is ordered by his team to do what he’s told, which I think is essentially to stay patient, and he now leads. Hamilton, meanwhile, may have wiggled on the straight – more on that later – and the rain is 10 minutes ago. Red Bull might fancy waiting till after the rain to bring Verstappen in but, as I type that, he pits.
Lap 13/44 Those on softs – so the front four – are making their tyres last pretty well, but with rain likely in 15 minutes or so, might have a decision to make shortly.
Perez
Verstappen
Leclerc
Hamilton
Stroll
Russell
Gasly
Alonso
Hulkenberg
Tsunoda
Oh, and as I type that, Hamilton pits, emerging still in fourth but now 22.714s behind Leclerc, yet to stop.
Lap 12/44 Perez is doing well to maintain his lead over Verstappen – it’s 2.690s now – then Alonso has a go at Hulkenberg, in eighth, but has to pull out as the door is closed. In fourth, meanwhile, Hamilton trails Leclerc by 4.243s.
Lap 11/44 Oscar Piastri has made a great start to his F1 career, so won’t be too gutted with his day – once he’s calmed down and deployed some perspective. Meantime, Stroll in fifth and Russell in sixth pit, both emerging ahead of Gasly in seventh.
Lap 10/44 Perez is told Verstappen is behind him now and also to look after his tyres; the champ and championship leader is lapping around 0.6s faster than his teammate, the gap between them 2.694s.
Lap 9/44 Hamilton is told there’s potential rain on the radar, 20 minutes ago; that’ll encourage the McLarens. Verstappen now trails Leclerc by less than half a second and, as I type that, he takes the slipstream, engages DRS, and as the Ferrari takes the middle of the track, shoots past on the inside, braking at the last possible split-second, and can he get up past teammate Perez?
Lap 8/44 Hamilton is 8.106s ahead of Alonso, so he should be OK for P4. But once Verstappen takes out Leclerc, as looks inevitable, he and his Mercedes will have a decent chance of forcing a podium.
Updated
Lap 7/44 Russell eases past Sainz, whose car looks a bit like a shark, if you imagine those gills down the side of it. Verstappen, meanwhile, sets a fastest lap, closing the gap on Leclerc to 0.898s, while Perez leads by 2.698s.
Lap 6/44 Norris is hating his tyres and pits, then Verstappen pounces before the chicane to take out Hamilton like it’s nothing! Slipstream, DRS and goodbye; I don’t fancy Leclerc’s chances of keeping him out, the gap between them currently 1.071s.
Lap 5/44 Sainz is going backwards, losing a place to Tsunoda, and Verstappen is all over Haimlton, just 0.452s behind.
Perez
Leclerc
Hamilton
Verstappen
Alonso
Tsunoda
Sainz
Albon
Stroll
Russell
Norris
Ocon
Sargeant
Bottas
Gasly
Zhou
Hulkenberg
Magnussen
Ricciardo
Lap 4/44 Verstappen has closed the gap on Hamilton to 0.318s but he’s not yet threatened the overtake, while Hamilton is still close to Leclerc and, at the front, Perez stretches clear by 2.244s. Meantime, Alonso goes by Sainz, who has a hole in the side of his car from the Pisatri collision.
Lap 3/44 Looking again at that Piastri collision, we see Sainz cutting across, cutting off his racing line, and forcing him to scrape the wall. Piastri is now officially out, the green flag shows us the track is clear, and we’re all good. It’s worth noting that is the longest circuit we have, which might’ve saved us a yellow flag, the McLaren removed before the rest of the field got back around to it.
Lap 2/44 Perez is bousting away now, extending his lead over Leclerc to 1.409s. Hamilton is third, 1.789s more behind, Verstappen down another 2.345s, and then it does Sainz, Alonso, Norris, Tsunoda, Albon, Stroll. Piastri has gone from fifth to last, but then he turns off the track and might we need a safety car now?
Lap 1/44 Leclerc gets away well and Hamilton hangs onto third; Piastri has a broken front wing after colliding with Sainz – he looks jiggered already! – but look at Perez, burning past Leclerc into first, and Verstappen is already fourth! What a start for Red Bull!
Updated
Remember that Verstappen absorbed a five-place starting penalty for his new gearbox so starts sixth on the grid, and it’s nearly time…
The formation lap is away, led by Charles Leclerc.
Pierre Gasly always pays tribute to Anthoine Hubert by placing a bouquet of flowers trackside at Spa ❤️💐 pic.twitter.com/QZthGClbMz
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 27, 2023
Thanks Yara and hi everyone. Can anyone stop Max Verstappen and Red Bull? Ever?
Updated
Just before we begin, I’m handing it off to Daniel Harris, the real reason you are all here.
Thanks for joining me, and enjoy Daniel’s elite coverage.
The Belgian national anthem has been sung by an Elton John look-alike and the excitement is building. We’re a few minutes away from the Belgian Grand Prix!
More from Russell who says that is hasn’t been easy accepting where Mercedes are now.
“It’s difficult for all of us. You go through this period, everybody is so used to winning – so many days of glory – and suddenly on the back foot. Everybody has put so much effort into this, it is a little bit demoralising sometimes.”
Verstappen spotted making his way to the grid.
How will P6 affect his finish?
Does the FIA prioritise the safety of their drivers?
George Russell believes that the F1 governing body shouldn’t second guess cancelling races in the interest of safety.
“Following recent events, the FIA have to be bold with their decisions when it comes to safety, when it comes to visibility,” he said.
“Everybody wants to race but when you are going down that straight at over 200 miles an hour and you can’t see 50 metres in front of you, there will be huge incidents.”
Read more below.
Not a great start for Nico Hulkenberg…
It's not a good Sunday for Nico Hulkenberg so far...
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 30, 2023
He's already starting from the pit lane after his Haas team changed car parts in parc ferme conditions
And now he's back in the garage after reporting smoke coming from the car during his out lap#BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/U2Com1Pvdd
What happened in yesterday’s sprint race? Verstappen converted pole position into victory taking the lead back from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
The two drivers opted for pretty different strategies in wet conditions.
Catch up on how it all went down with Giles Richards’ report from Spa-Francorchamps.
Preamble
A new Grand Prix, a new winner?
Probably not.
It’s the Belgian Grand Prix, where we’ll get to watch 44 laps at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
The question on everyone’s mind before today’s race (and seemingly every other race this year) is if anyone can stop Max Verstappen’s winning streak.
The Dutchman is hoping to become the second driver in Formula One history to win eight races in a row.
The current leader of the F1 championship is sixth on the grid after a gearbox change, but last year he managed to win this race from 14th.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc sits in pole position alongside Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in third for Mercedes.
The conditions at the track haven’t been consistent all weekend, which may make today a bit more exciting.
Currently, it’s quite dry out in Stavelot, but we’ll see if that changes.
Lights out: 2pm UK time
