Max Verstappen described his Belgian Grand Prix weekend as one he “couldn’t imagine before” after winning from fourteenth on the grid.
Verstappen had been the fastest driver by more than six-tenths of a second during qualifying and Carlos Sainz‘s fears that his race pace would be just as strong were proven right as the Red Bull driver’s grid penalty did nothing to halt his victory at Spa-Francorchamps.Starting the race in fourteenth, Verstappen said he had tried to avoid contact during a frantic opening lap.
“It was quite a hectic first lap to try to stay out of trouble,” said Verstappen. “So many things were happening in front of me but once we settled in after the Safety Car, the car was really on rails.”
The Red Bull quickly moved up through the field as the race resumed, eventually catching up to team mate Sergio Perez in third.
“We picked the right places to pass people and we could look after our tyres and that’s how we made our way forward,” Verstappen explained. “After that, once we were in the lead it was all about managing everything. But this whole weekend has been incredible.”
Team mate Sergio Perez, who had started in second, was unable to match Verstappen’s pace.
“I really hoped for more today as it was a good opportunity but Max was just flying,” said Perez, who finished where he started but with the Red Bull rather than the Ferrari ahead of him. “He was on another planet and he was untouchable.”
Verstappen’s domination, taking fastest lap as well as the win, saw him finish 17.8 seconds ahead of Perez, and more than 26 seconds ahead of third-place Sainz, despite starting so far down the grid.
“It’s been a weekend I couldn’t imagine before,” Verstappen reflected. “But I think we want more of them so we keep on working hard.”
Perez admitted that his own race had not been as easy, despite the strength of the Red Bull package. “Especially the first stint was quite poor, rear temps and degradation but it still is a very strong result for the team and I think we managed to get a lot of points today, which is important.”
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2022 Belgian Grand Prix
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Jere (@jerejj)
28th August 2022, 16:14
The championship is literally his to lose if the situation weren’t like this already a few races back.
Jorge Garcia (@nikopol)
28th August 2022, 17:10
So… the dominant driver didn’t have a lighter chassis?.. about 5 kilos…due to the new construction of fibers on a diagonal way… let’s see when the new chassis will be on his teammate.
MattDS (@mattds)
28th August 2022, 17:17
@nikopol the lighter chassis isn’t in use yet.
CarWars (@maxv)
28th August 2022, 17:23
The redbull is now so good that even Perez can recover to 2nd when starting 2nd.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
28th August 2022, 17:54
Mmmm, might want to take a new engine every race and try to win from 20th? I mean, he did that from 10th, then 14th, need to try a new challenge! Tbh he would’ve won from ANY position here.
Johns
29th August 2022, 6:14
You are right, just to be far to the others, Max will have to start from the pit lane on all remaining races.
Better idea. The driver for each car for the weekend is selected by drawing a name from a hat; Max would still win, and whoever is driving the Red Bull will be second.
MattDS (@mattds)
29th August 2022, 7:41
@esploratore1 somehow it’s a pity he didn’t actually have to start from last, as a last to first win would’ve been even more awesome to see.
Joe McGuire (@treize131)
29th August 2022, 7:02
It helps to move through the field when every driver in front of you leaps out of the way…
Hamilton and even Schumacher never had it this easy.