Sprint Race Report - Verstappen holds off McLaren duo for Belgian sprint win

Max Verstappen, Belgian GP 2025
© Red Bull

Max Verstappen claimed victory in the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race, fending off both McLaren drivers to kick off Red Bull’s new era with a confidence-boosting result.

The Dutchman started second but passed polesitter Oscar Piastri into Les Combes on the opening lap, capitalizing on Red Bull’s superior straight-line speed—a concern Piastri had voiced before the race. Charles Leclerc also jumped Lando Norris for third, though Norris reclaimed the spot by lap four and quickly latched onto the lead battle.

Despite being on older medium tyres compared to McLaren’s new rubber, Verstappen remained just ahead, using his car’s top-end speed to deny Piastri a serious overtaking opportunity. The Australian’s best chance came on lap 11 at Turn 5, as Verstappen began reporting brake issues. But the championship leader couldn’t make it stick and had to settle for second, just 0.753s behind.

Lando Norris followed closely in third, unable to mount a challenge on his teammate but closing up in the final laps. With the result, Piastri marginally extends his championship lead over Norris to nine points.

Behind the podium trio, Leclerc was a distant fourth, unable to stay in touch with the front-runners. Esteban Ocon secured fifth in a strong showing for Haas, followed by Williams’ Carlos Sainz in sixth. Haas scored double points with Oliver Bearman in seventh, while Isack Hadjar took the final point in eighth for Racing Bulls.

Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto finished ninth for Sauber, while Hadjar’s teammate Liam Lawson completed the top ten. Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda was 11th.

Mercedes endured another disappointing sprint, with George Russell unable to climb higher than 12th and Andrea Kimi Antonelli down in 17th. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton moved up two places from his starting position to finish 15th.

Pierre Gasly missed the start due to a water leak and only joined the race two laps down, turning his afternoon into a data-gathering run for Alpine.

Sprint race points were awarded to the top eight finishers, with Verstappen collecting the full eight, Piastri seven, and Norris six. The result sets up an intriguing qualifying session at 16:00 local time, where Piastri will aim to strike back in preparation for Sunday’s main race.