Max Verstappen did not expect the Belgian Grand Prix to turn out so well for him. The Formula 1 world champion had to start from fourteenth place due to a grid penalty, but was supreme at Spa-Francorchamps and took the full loot: victory in the GP and an extra World Cup point for the fastest race lap. He is now almost 100 points ahead of his competitors in the World Cup standings.
“The whole weekend was great. I could not have imagined this in advance,” said Verstappen. “Everything was just right. The first round was quite hectic, I mainly tried to stay out of trouble.” The Dutchman immediately moved up to eighth after the start. After the safety car had been on track for a while, after Nicholas Latifi and Valtteri Bottas had spun, Verstappen drove further forward at a high pace.
“I was able to overtake them one by one. We were incredibly fast here, you saw that in qualifying on Saturday. The tires also went very well in the race,” said Verstappen, who seems to be on his way to his second at a fast pace. world title in Formula 1.
A week before the Dutch GP at Zandvoort, the Red Bull driver himself remained cool. “We are going to enjoy this victory today. I am looking forward to Zandvoort, hopefully we can score good points there too. Although I cannot promise that we will perform as well as here in Belgium,” said Verstappen at Viaplay.