Max Verstappen made up 13 positions in as many laps to romp to a ninth victory of the season at Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix. It was his 28th career win in F1 and it might just have been his most dominant to date.The entire weekend was a totally emphatic performance by Verstappen and Red Bull Racing.
From 14th on the grid, Verstappen moved up to eighth at the start, and swiftly picked off rivals, including two on one lap, to hit the front by lap 12. Verstappen seized control on merit, given respective pit stop cycles, on lap 18, which was still before the race reached mid-distance. He simply romped off into the distance. At times Verstappen was over a second faster than anyone else on track and ultimately cruised home 17 seconds clear of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
"Max was simply in a league of his own. He smashed it out of the park. Max has taken another step since winning the title, it’s in many ways released him, he’s driving at an incredible level.”Getty ImagesVerstappen’s ninth win of the year means he is now 93 points clear of Perez, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc 98 back in third place in the Drivers' Standings.
More realistic for a title clincher is the following race in Japan, where an advantage of 112 would be sufficient for Verstappen to be crowned a double champion on Honda’s home soil.“As far as the championship tables look, they look healthy, but things can change quickly,” he said. “Our prerogative is on each race one at a time and the championship will take care of itself.”In the grand scheme of the title race, Ferrari’s latest fumble did not enact huge damage.