Belgian GP Sprint: Verstappen defensive masterclass fends off McLarens

Verstappen started the 15-lap Sprint from second on the grid and as he had only one way of tryin to win it which is passing Piastri on the opening lap, that is exactly what the four-time Formula 1 champion did.

He stuck with the Australian on the opening lap and by the time the Kemmel straight was over, the #1 Red Bull cruised past the #81 McLaren.

Piastri spent the remainder the of the Sprint all over the gearbox of Verstappen but could not make a move stick as the RB21 clearly had more straight line speed than the MCL39.

Verstappen had a wide moment at the chicane on Lap 11 which gave Piastri a chance to attack but could not make the move stick. Other than that, the reigning F1 champion delivered a defensive masterclass on the day.

Lando Norris finished the race third in the sister McLaren. He lost out on Lap 1 to Charles Leclerc who passed him for third, but the Briton retook the position from the Monegasque on Lap 4 passing under DRS on the Kemmel straight.

Leclerc duly finished fourth in the Ferrari, ahead of Haas' Esteban Ocon who was fifth after a superb Sprint Qualifying on Friday.

Carlos Sainz, also solid in Sprint Qualifying, was sixth in the Williams ahead of the second Haas of Oliver Bearman who was seventh.

Isack Hadjar took the final point-scoring position, eighth which he inherited from Pierre Gasly who could not even take his position on the grid after a water leak on his Alpine.

Other than the position swap at the top and some few positions swaps in positions that do no award points, the Sprint Race ended with almost the same order that it started in.

It was a decent start for the new era of management at Red Bull Racing as Laurent Mekies took over the hot seat replacing the ousted Christian Horner.

Speaking in parc ferme after the Sprint Race, Verstappen said: "It worked out really well. The start was the only opportunity we had against them and we got it into Turn 5.

"Then I knew it would be very tough to keep them behind, so it was playing cat and mouse with DRS and battery usage.

"The whole race was within seven tenths, so I couldn't afford to make big mistakes. I had one tiny lockup in the last corner, but apart from that it was, for us, a great result to keep them behind.

"And to have a win here in Spa, yes it's a Sprint win, but it still counts and I'm very happy with what we did out there," he claimed.

Verstappen was asked about his error on Lap 11 and his radio message that he was struggling with peak braking, he explained: "You have to drive over the limit of what's possible.

"Tyre management goes out of the window. That's what makes it difficult. I did 15 qualifying laps to keep them behind on a track where tyre management is important.

"It wasn't easy but we managed to do it and I'm very happy with that," Verstappen concluded.

Piastri admitted he had no answer to Verstappen's straight line speed after Red Bull opting for a lower downforce setup.

He added: "I tried my best to snake my way through the straights and not give too much of a tow [at the start], but didn't have enough straight-line speed and then obviously didn't have enough speed for the next 15 laps either.

"Still a good result, still good points. It is only a Sprint, the main points are tomorrow, so pretty happy with it but a bit frustrated I couldn't get past."

Asked whether McLaren may change their setup approach ahead of qualifying now that the cars are out of parc ferme conditions; he responded: "It's a great question.

"The weather is looking pretty bad for tomorrow, which means you probably don't want to take off too much wing, but I don't want to repeat the Sprint we just had.

"So we will have a look and see what we can do," the championship leader concluded.

Third-placed Norris commented: "Not a lot going on! A bit of fun at the start. Maybe I could have positioned myself a bit better.

"Otherwise, a bit too difficult to get past Max. He drove a good race. I wasn't going to get past anyone unless Oscar got past Max. They drove good races.

"I was hoping for a bit of battling but the Red Bull was too quick in the straight for us to catch up. Maybe some tweaks for us to make in qualifying, I don't know. We will reassess and see what we can do," Norris concluded.