The Sprint race at the Belgian GP was all you would hope for from Spa-Francorchamps. It had the rain, the Sun, a rainbow, ever-evolving track conditions, and a race with overtakes crashes, and penalties, but, like every race in 2023 so far, a Red Bull came out on top. And it was, you guessed it, Max Verstappen. But the win wasn’t as straightforward as most of his have been this season. This involved him losing the lead and then retaking it. And all said and done, it was another win for him, after which he took a subtle dig at Lewis Hamilton & Co. at Mercedes.

Five minutes before the race was set to start—in typical Spa fashion—it started to rain heavily, so much so that the drivers had to switch to full Wet tires. And because of the heavy rain, the start was set to be a rolling one behind the Safety Car. So when the rain finally let up and the Sun shone, drivers had to decide whether to pit behind the SC for Intermediate tires or wait for a lap or two to change tires. While Hamilton chose to pit with the SC, Verstappen continued for the first lap and pitted in the second.

After the entire field was back on track, Hamilton made it up to fifth after starting seventh. And Verstappen came out right behind Oscar Piastri in first. But following a Safety Car due to Alonso’s crash, it didn’t take Max long to pass Piastri and retake the lead. Unsurprisingly, Verstappen crossed the line almost seven seconds ahead of the field.

As soon as the race ended, Christian Horner said on the radio, “The strategy was definitely the safer one.” Max replied, “Yeah I think we did the right thing. The other one was too risky.” And just to assert his dominance over every other car, especially Hamilton and Mercedes—who opted for the other strategy to make up places rather than doing it conventionally on track—Max added, “It also makes it a bit more fun to pass on track!” But while Verstappen flexed his dominance over Hamilton and Mercedes, his teammate fell prey to Hamilton’s W14.

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Sergio Perez can’t seem to catch a break

After a disappointing Sprint Shootout where he could qualify in only eighth, Perez made most of the pit stops after the Sprint race start and made his way to fourth. With Lewis Hamilton hot on his tail, the two made contact on Lap 6—with Hamilton on the inside—around Turn 14 and 15, with Perez bearing the brunt of the collision. As soon as the incident happened, Perez started losing positions one after the other and informed his engineer that he’d lost all rear grip.

Not half a lap after he said that, he drifted off the track and dropped to 16th. And on Lap 9, he had no choice but to retire his car. Perez was the highest points-scorer in the Sprints this season, and he would’ve wanted to continue that form, but his bad run of form does not seem to have an end in sight.

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Can Sergio Perez squeeze out a win tomorrow, or will Max Verstappen make his way up from sixth on the grid to win his eighth race in a row?

WATCH THIS STORY | Lewis Hamilton remains unwavering in his determination to halt Max Verstappen’s dominance, despite enduring significant neglect from the FIA