The F1 Sprint at Spa-Francorchamps kicked off under grey Belgian skies, with Max Verstappen launching from pole in his Red Bull. The Dutch driver held firm against Lando Norris’s McLaren at the first corner, but Oscar Piastri slotted in third, keeping the pressure on.
Lap 1: Chaos at La Source as rookie Kimi Antonelli tangled with Yuki Tsunoda’s VCARB, bringing out the safety car. Both cars out, no injuries reported.
Safety car in on lap 4. Verstappen pulls a gap, but Norris fights back, closing to within 0.8 seconds by lap 6. Piastri holds off Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari in fourth.
Lap 8: Drama for Mercedes. George Russell pits early with a suspected puncture after debris from the earlier incident. He drops to 15th, while teammate Oliver Bearman climbs to ninth.
Midway through the 11-lap dash: Verstappen leads Norris by 1.2 seconds. Piastri fends off Leclerc, with Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull up to fifth after a bold pass on Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.
Lap 10: Norris dives inside at Les Combes, but Verstappen defends hard. Contact avoided, but the McLaren loses time, allowing Piastri to close up.
Final lap: Verstappen takes the win by 0.9 seconds over Norris, with Piastri third. Leclerc fourth, Perez fifth, Sainz sixth, Bearman seventh for Mercedes, and Nico Hulkenberg scoring for Haas in eighth.
Points: Verstappen grabs 8, Norris 7, strengthening Red Bull’s constructors’ lead. Next up, qualifying for tomorrow’s main race.
