2023 Belgian GP Sprint Race: Full Report & Highlights

Max Verstappen overcame McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri in a wet-but-rapidly-evolving Belgian Sprint, recovering the lead after an early strategic split and powering clear to claim another commanding Sprint win in 2023. In an 11-lap dash shaped by weather delays, tyre gambles, Safety Cars and wheel-to-wheel clashes, Verstappen’s speed and race management again proved decisive, while Pierre Gasly delivered a surprise podium and Lewis Hamilton fell from fourth to seventh after a penalty.

Rain had dominated the weekend and intensified again shortly before the planned 17:05 start, prompting a 30-minute postponement as a fresh downpour rolled across the Ardennes. By the time the field formed up behind the Safety Car on full wet tyres, the sun punched through the clouds and lit up a track destined to dry quickly—making an early switch to intermediates inevitable and opening the door to drastically split strategies.

When racing finally began after several Safety Car laps, Verstappen led the rolling start from pole ahead of Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon and George Russell. Drivers immediately streamed into the pit lane for intermediates: Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Gasly, Hamilton, Sergio Pérez, Daniel Ricciardo, Alex Albon, Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hülkenberg all stopped instantly. Verstappen radioed “we need to box this lap,” struggling with the increasingly unsuitable wets, and he and the remaining front-runners did exactly that at the end of Lap 1.

Because Piastri had clean air on his out-lap, the McLaren swept into the lead when Verstappen rejoined after his stop—setting up a tantalising fight. Gasly slotted into an impressive third, with Pérez in fourth, Hamilton in fifth and Sainz sixth, followed by Leclerc and Norris after chaotic pit-lane traffic saw several cars jostling side-by-side.

Verstappen began hunting Piastri immediately, slicing the gap to under two seconds thanks to the RB19’s immense straight-line efficiency. But just as he loomed large in the Australian’s mirrors, the race was neutralised again. Fernando Alonso lost control in the dirty air behind a Haas at Pouhon and spun into the gravel—triggering a Safety Car on Lap 4. At that moment, Verstappen had been poised to attack.

Just before the restart, Red Bull passed Verstappen a key message: “Intel is Piastri left-hand tyre is already suffering.” Verstappen, noting Piastri “drifting everywhere,” sensed vulnerability. When the Safety Car peeled in at the end of Lap 5, Piastri faced his first restart from the front—but Verstappen needed only moments to reclaim P1, blasting past down the Kemmel Straight with DRS disabled but momentum on his side.

Gasly held third, but the fight behind became explosive. Hamilton and Pérez clashed at high speed through Blanchimont in a dramatic moment, with Hamilton completing the overtake around the outside of La Source shortly afterwards. But Pérez had sustained sidepod damage, becoming a sitting duck as Sainz and Leclerc slipped by. A trip through the gravel at Stavelot worsened the Mexican’s slide, dropping him behind Norris and elevating Ricciardo into the points.

With clear air ahead, Verstappen unleashed the RB19’s pace and vanished into the distance, pulling more than six seconds clear. Piastri drove a composed race to secure second and his best Saturday performance to date, while Gasly delivered a vital boost for Alpine by resisting pressure behind to seal a morale-lifting P3.

Hamilton crossed the line fourth but was handed a five-second penalty for causing the collision with Pérez, demoting him to seventh. Sainz inherited P4, Leclerc P5 and Norris P6. Russell made decisive late moves on Ocon and Ricciardo to claim the final point in eighth—Ricciardo missing out but continuing his positive return.

Stroll recovered from his Shootout crash to finish 11th, ahead of Albon and Bottas. Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu gained places thanks to a five-second pit-lane speeding penalty for Logan Sargeant, while Hülkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda were the final finishers. Pérez and Alonso retired after their respective incidents, leaving them to watch the conclusion from the sidelines.

2023 Belgian GP Sprint Race Results

2023 Belgian Grand Prix Sprint Race, 29 July 2023