Max Verstappen came from 14th on the grid to sensationally win the Belgian Grand Prix on what proved a disastrous afternoon for Lewis Hamilton.
Despite taking a grid penalty for exceeding the permitted number of power unit changes, the Red Bull man showed the same searing pace he did in practice and qualifying as he quickly cut through the field to lead. Teammate Sergio Perez was second, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz only managing third after starting on pole.
But it was a nightmare afternoon for Lewis Hamilton, who started fourth on the grid as he benefitted from the six driver penalties handed out. That was one place behind old rival Fernando Alonso, and it was the British driver who came off worse when the two veterans collided on the opening lap.
The Mercedes man was forced out of the race, and then had to watch from the pits as partner George Russell crossed the line fourth. That was one place ahead of Alonso with Charles Leclerc sixth, on what proved another day of tactical blunders from the Scuderia.
Esteban Ocon, Sebastian Vettel, Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon made up the top-10. The day however, belonged to Verstappen, who had sped into second by the time he was called in for his first stop, and then duly overtook Sainz thereafter before eventually taking the chequered flag some 19 seconds ahead of Perez.
Leclerc had started the race just one place behind his title rival having also been sanctioned, but his progress through the field was noticeably slower. Within a few laps he was arguing with team members over the choice of tyres, with the Monegasque man forced into an early change.
He eventually crossed the line fifth, but his frustrating weekend was compounded when a time penalty saw him fall back behind Alpine driver Alonso. Not that the thousands of ecstatic Verstappen fans in Spa were worried about the plight of his fellow drivers.
Amid deafening cheers, he told Sky Sports afterwards: "It was quite a hectic first lap, with trouble and so many things happening in front of me. But once we settled after the safety car the car (Red Bull) was unreal.
"I picked the right places to pass people and we could look after our tyres and that's how we made our way forward. Once in the lead it was all about managing everything but this whole weekend has been incredible."
Verstappen also notched the fastest lap of the day, meaning a 26-point haul and an almost unassailable lead in the drivers standings'. And the 24-year-old admitted that things had gone better than he could have ever expected.
"A weekend I couldn't have imagined before, but we need a lot more of them," he added. "Let's see what we can do in Zandvoort next week."
Indeed, teams will now head straight to Holland for Verstappen's home Grand Prix. He'll start it with a 93-point lead over Perez in the standings, with Christian Horner's team also 107 points clear in the Constructors' race.
