Despite a five-place grid penalty, 2023 championship leader Max Verstappen registered a convincing victory at the Belgian Grand Prix to mark his eighth successive win. The win also makes it the 13th back-to-back win for Red Bull in Formula 1. While Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez finished second, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc came third to round up the podium finishes. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth for Mercedes while Fernando Alonso fifth for Aston Martin but the night totally belonged to Verstappen who seems to be closing in on a third successive championship title.
Even though he had lost the pole to Lewis Hamilton in Hungary, this time around he made amends not only securing a pole but also going to dominate the final race. His performance means he is now 125 points ahead of his teammate Perez in the Championship leader who is his closest rival this year when it comes to the ultimate prize. Verstappen's performance also implies Red Bull's record-breaking 12th consecutive race wins in a single season and a 13th consecutive victory overall.
Other than the top 5, Hamilton's Mercedes teammate George Russell had to stay content with a P6 while McLaren's Lando Norris finished seventh. Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri was forced to retire from the race in the first lap. Alpine's Esteban Ocon secured a P8 with his teammate Pierre Gasly coming eleventh. Alonso's Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll came ninth with Alphatauri drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo finishing tenth and sixteenth.
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Twelfth and Thirteenth places were grabbed by the Alfa Romeo drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu. Williams duo Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant booked P14 and P17 at the Spa respectively. Kevin Magnussen of Haas Ferrari and his teammate Nico Hulkenberg came fifteenth and eighteenth. Leclerc who was on the podium saw his teammate Carlos Sainz fail to finish the race. Despite missing out on a podium, Hamilton got an extra point for clocking the fastest lap of the race.