The Belgian Grand Prix had given us hope, Verstappen starting from sixth position on the grid, due to the gearbox replacement, Leclerc in pole position and a forecast of 40% probability of rain, in short, all the ingredients were there for an explosive race...
Waltz for three
A regular start for the first two, with Sergio Perez already positioning himself with his RB19 facing the Monegasque's Ferrari, taking the slipstream at the start, already knowing that he would overtake him with ease later on. But behind them we have fun, In the fight with Lewis Hamilton, Sainz closes the door too much to the young Piastri who wanted to join the dance. Damage for both, the McLaren driver retires and a 5% loss of aerodynamic performance for the Spaniard who keeps his SF-23 on the track with a cheeky gash on his right belly. The retirement arrives for him on lap 23.
Lewis Hamilton wins, who between the two litigants... remains third, no damage to him, the only worry is Max Verstappen who slips away after a few laps from the start.
How to move pieces in Belgium?
There seems to be no fight, as we have well understood in these first 12 stages of the world championship, Red Bull flies. On the track therefore there is not much that the drivers can do, they study all the possible moves at the back, in fact many of the drivers are the ones who anticipate the stop. Pirelli forecasts indicated a first stop window around lap 11-15, but three stopped after just six laps, Norris, Ricciardo and Magnussen. Meanwhile, at the head of the race are the remnants of a spat between Max Verstappen and Lambias (his race engineer) seem to have completely disappeared. The hint of sarcasm in Verstappen's annoyed voice when Red Bull decides to stop his teammate first is immediately handled by his engineer and it's Max's choice, enter or wait for the rain? He chooses to enter.
It rains softly in Belgium a few minutes after his pit stop.
15 minutes of panic
The rain arrives, an infamous rain at Spa, it doesn't fall on the entire track and it only came to say hello, in fact no one stops to try the intermediate tyre. There are no conditions for wet tires, but it is difficult to keep the car on the track, Russell, who was hoping for rain, also returns for his first pit stop to put on the soft.
15 minutes and it's all over in Belgium, the rain goes away as it came and the fun begins again for the riders who no longer have to resist but push.
Hamilton takes the crumbs..
After the rain everything goes smoothly, the track dries quickly, and the race regains the appearance of a real 2023 race.
Verstappen regained the lead of the race on lap 17, starting from sixth position and with clean air he ran away 21 seconds behind Perez and closed the race alone. Behind him, the gaps between Perez, Leclerc and Hamilton are constant, leading the rest of the group led by Alonso in fifth place by 24 seconds.
Flat quiet ahead where everyone is grasping at points, in the rear, however, where there are no points, but passion and hunger for glory abounds, duels are not spared, especially Esteban Ocon who overtook one more beautifully than the other, finished in eighth place.
The endless dispute, the one that began in 2021, between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, seems to have no end, the Dutchman takes home his forty-fifth victory, but Sir, who is separated from Alonso, doesn't like it, he doesn't want to leave everything to him, and in the absence of a loaf of bread even crumbs are tempting. He enters the garage, puts on the yellow and takes away the fastest lap from Verstappen.
Belgium finishing list
1- Max Verstappen, 2- Sergio Perez, 3- Charles Leclerc, 4- Lewis Hamilton, 5- Fernando Alonso, 6- George Russell, 7- Lando Norris, 8- Esteban Ocon, 9- Lance Stroll, 10- Yuki Tsunoda, 11- Pierre Gasly, 12- Valtteri Bottas, 13- Guanyu Zhou, 14- Alexander Albon, 15- Kevin Magnussen, 16- Daniel Ricciardo, 17- Logan Sargeant, 18- Nico Hulkenberg, 19- Carlos Sainz, 20- Oscar Piastri.
