Formula 1 – Belgian Grand Prix

Formula 1: Grand Prix calendar for the 2022 season
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The reigning world champion has thus consolidated his advantage in the overall standings: he has a 93 point advantage over Perez, second. Verstappen started from 14th place for the penalty for engine and gearbox changes, but made an excellent pursuit and conquered his 29th career triumph.

The Mexican overtook Charles Leclerc in the overall standings, who was Verstappen’s main rival in the title fight even before the summer break. He was also penalized, but due to tire problems at the beginning he had to pit and his team did not choose the most suitable strategy to charge forward. Moreover, at the very end, the Italians did not risk trying to win the fastest lap: the Monegasque mounted the soft tires, but after the pit stop Fernando Alonso overtook him and even if Leclerc regained his position, it was penalized at the finish line for the high speed in the pit lane at this stop.

Sainz started from pole position, but with Red Bull’s speed he was not suitable. In the end he also had to fight for the podium with George Russell in a Mercedes. He continues to perform more consistently throughout the season among all the riders: he has finished thirteen of the fourteen races and has never been less than fifth.

At the start Sainz made the best shot on Ferrari and in the first two laps he accumulated an advantage above all thanks to the confusion behind him and the error of Perez. The latter slipped after a few meters when he tried to cover Alonso and fell to fourth place behind Hamilton. However, the seven-time world champion soon had to retire after a collision with Alonso at the entrance to Les Combes: he left no room for the Spanish rival and irreversibly damaged his Mercedes. It was only the second time in the previous four years that he had been knocked out by a collision. In the next round he made a mistake in the same section as Latifi. He took his right rear wheel into the gravel area and lost control of his Williams, knocking Bottas off the track. This meant the departure of the safety car.

The race resumed at the end of the fourth lap and Sainz’s restart didn’t work at all. However, the second Perez hesitated again and instead of fighting for the lead, Russell pushed him. The group has already stabilized in that order and Verstappen, who took the lead for the first time on lap 12, started his run. Team-mate Perez left him the top spot after Sainz pitted and there were 4.5 seconds between the two after the Dutchman’s pit stop. However, the reigning world champion subsequently demonstrated the speed of his car by overtaking the Spaniard within two laps. A few moments later, even Perez overtook him.

Nothing has changed in the order of the best four in the rest of the race. On lap 35, at the end of the Kemmel straight, Gasly, Vettel and Ocon started an exciting three-way battle for seventh place. He came out of the battle in the best possible way and completed an excellent performance after starting from the rear. Eighth place was a good result for Vettel, who equaled his best seasonal result in the Emilia Romagna GP. Ninth position occupied by Gasly, who scored points for the first time since the Baku race, and Albon closed the top ten. After a winning qualification, he took advantage of his opponents’ penalties and scored the fourth point for himself and his team this year.

Votes (source: Sport 2):

Max Verstappen, winner: “The first round was hectic, it was difficult to avoid problems. After the safety concerns subsided, we were able to overtake the others and keep the tires in good condition. I couldn’t imagine a weekend so full of satisfactions. home race in Zandvoort is waiting for me, I’ll do my best ”.

Sergio Perez, 2. miesto: “I was hoping for something more today, but Max really flew. The turning point was mainly a bad start, I lost positions in the first lap. But we got a good result for the team.”

Carlos Sainz, 3rd place: “Unfortunately it was worse than we expected. The start was good, but for some reason our package didn’t work out this weekend. Zandvoort should suit us better, we’ll see.”

Belgian Grand Prix – results: