Verstappen dominates DRAMATIC sprint race after Piastri takes first EVER lead

Max Verstappen took all eight points from Saturday's sprint race, but not without some drama at Spa-Francorchamps.

The race start was delayed by more than half an hour thanks to some more heavy rainfall around the track, with a few laps cut off as drivers trundled around behind the safety car to clear some of the water.

Half the grid jumped into the pits immediately at the restart to change from full wets to intermediate tyres, including Oscar Piastri, who jumped Verstappen in the one extra lap the Dutchman stayed out.

The safety car was put to work once again after just a couple of laps when Fernando Alonso spun out into the gravel and had to have his Aston Martin removed – with Verstappen taking the lead back at the restart.

READ MORE: F1 expert explains how teams decide when to RISK slick tyres in rain

Piastri drove a strong race to move away from Pierre Gasly behind him, cementing a relatively comfortable second place ahead of the squabbling pair of Pierre Gasly and Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton, however, was given a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Sergio Perez, who ended up pulling into the pits and retiring from the event with sidepod damage.

The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had an uneventful afternoon after a promising shootout session, running fifth and sixth on the road before being promoted by one position each thanks to Hamilton's penalty.

Daniel Ricciardo was cruelly denied the first point of his F1 comeback by George Russell, who passed him with a couple of laps to go and relegate him to ninth – eventually finishing 10th.

READ MORE: Best F1 TV commentators and presenters: GPFans Broadcaster Power Rankings

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

F1 champion hits back at Lewis Hamilton age attacks

• 55 minutes ago

Toto Wolff keeps his cool after Mercedes F1 upset: 'AI could have told you that'

• 2 hours ago

Fernando Alonso 'ripped door off its hinges' and 'broke crash helmet' in F1 rage over slow pace

• 2 hours ago

FIA hits out at F1 manufacturers over 2026 rules after bombshell Lewis Hamilton comment

• 3 hours ago

F1 News Today: Verstappen to Aston Martin, Mercedes cost cap fears and Sky F1's uncertain future

• Today 07:15

Red Bull avoid Max Verstappen repeat as F1 star 'blocked' from GT racing

• Yesterday 23:15