Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium: Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez were both in excellent form to secure a victorious weekend in Belgium. If you ever doubted Max Verstappen from sixth on the grid, then Spa-Francorchamps is the track to prove you wrong. He made it his eighth consecutive win of the 2023 season and his third straight win at the circuit.
Similar to 2022, Max defied a grid penalty to power to victory, the Dutchman almost took no notice of the a five-place drop for a new gearbox to rise from sixth to the top of the podium with an impressive drive that, on lap 17, saw him take a lead before cruising to the chequered flag.
Sergio Pérez had a good start from the front row, and after batting away an attempt from fast-starting Lewis Hamilton, slotted into second place behind polesitter Charles Leclerc.
From sixth on the grid, Max took a wide line heading into Turn 1 and stayed out of trouble as Carlos Sainz locked up and nudged Oscar Piastri into the wall on the inside. The contact meant that Max was able to tuck into P5 on the run through Eau Rouge.
The Bulls then made a double move on the long Kemmel straight, with Checo powering past Leclerc to take the lead, while Max breezed past the wounded Ferrari of Sainz to take fourth behind Hamilton.
Max made his move on Hamilton on lap 6, closing in on the Kemmel straight under DRS and he eased past the Briton under braking on the inside into Les Combes. The Champion was now just a second behind Leclerc, while Checo led the Ferrari driver by 2.4 seconds.
Only three laps later Max passed the Ferrari of Leclerc, this time choosing to go round the outside on the approach to Les Combes as he swept past Leclerc. Checo now led his team-mate by 2.8 seconds.
Checo came into the pits on lap 12, and opted for a set of medium tyres. A slightly slow stop for Red Bulls standards, but rejoined in second place ahead of Leclerc. Max then pitted at the end of lap 14 switching to medium tyres like his teammate in a 2.5 second stop that put him back on track 2.2 seconds behind Checo.
On lap 16, Max managed to close in on his team-mate, cutting the gap to just half a second. The following lap, Max shot past Checo under DRS on the 1.2km long Kemmel straight to take the lead. Immediately afterwards the Champion posted a new fastest lap of 1:50.108 to bolt out of DRS range.
Rain began to fall on the circuit and on lap 21 Max reported that it was “quite a lot”. On lap 22 the Dutchman had a nervous moment on the way through Eau Rouge.
Despite the tricky conditions The Bulls and the rest of the field hung on to slick tyres. The forecast proved to be correct and soon after half distance in the races, the rain passed and the lap times began to drop once again.
On lap 25 Max led Checo by six seconds and with the Mexican seven seconds clear of Leclerc. Hamilton was fourth with Alonso in P5. Checo came into the pits for his second stop at the end of lap 29. A smooth 2.2 second stop in which he moved to soft-compound tyres.
Max made his second stop at the end of the following lap, switching to soft tyres just a tenth of a second slower than his team-mate. Immediately he used the better grip to fly round the circuit for the fastest lap of the race with a lap of 1:48.922 on lap 32.
By the end of lap 44 Max had stretched his advantage to 22.3 seconds clear of Checo. The victory meant Max took his eight consecutive victory, while Checo scored his seventh podium of the season.
With yet another victory in the bag this season, Max Verstappen said, “I knew that the car was going to be quick today, and this is one of the best tracks to drive when you have a good car.
“GP and I were just having a laugh today, we’re honest with each other and that’s how we operate, there’s no need to worry. The first half of the season has been much better than anyone would have ever dreamt of, how we are performing as a Team and winning so many races in a row is incredible.
“We’re definitely enjoying the moment, but we also want to keep this momentum and level for a long time, so hopefully after the summer break we’re strong again in Zandvoort.”
“Today was a good day for the team,” Sergio Pérez said after claiming his seventh podium this season. “The race started really well and then Max came through strong, especially on the second stint where he pulled away. After he overtook, it was all about bringing it home for the Team and managing the pace until the end, that was the main objective.
“I ended up slipping on turn 11 due to the tricky conditions so we wanted to then look after the car, manage the tyres and keep the position. Two podiums in a row now and our main objective is to continue to stay on the podium.
“We have the summer break to make sure we stay on top of things and have some time to reset. Max did a tremendous job and it overall was a great team result. I am looking forward to the summer break and going into the second half of the season to come back even stronger.”
After the race in Belgium, Christian Horner said, “We could never have dreamt of getting to summer break unbeaten, that’s never been achieved before. It’s all about teamwork and everybody doing their bit and that’s what has happened through the first 12 races of the year.
“For Max it’s another masterful win. He managed the race after making his way from P6 to take the lead in the second stint. Checo also had a brilliant first lap, taking the lead of the race and in the end bringing home our fifth 1-2 of the season.
“All credit to everybody back in Milton Keynes, this result is their result and the way they’re applying themselves is the reason that we’re making the history we’re currently making. We need to keep the intensity but for now, everyone deserves the break and then we come back hard in Zandvoort.”