Francorchamps (Reuters)
Formula One world championship leader Max Verstappen clinched his eighth successive victory, moving him one victory away from the record, by outpacing Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez in Belgium today.
With their 13th successive victory, Red Bull became the first team to win the first 12 rounds in the championship’s 73-year history, one victory better than McLaren’s record set in 1988 with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
Verstappen, who started from sixth place due to a penalty, strengthened his lead to 125 points in front of Perez, who crossed the finish line 22.3 seconds behind his Dutch colleague.
“I knew we had a great car, and it was about crossing the first corner safely, after that I made the right decisions when overtaking,” said Verstappen, twice world champion, who won his third consecutive victory in Belgium, including starting from 14th place last year.
Verstappen is walking confidently towards his third title in the championship, and the only question is the date of coronation.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton came fourth, and scored an extra point after achieving the fastest lap.
This is the fifth time that Red Bull has dominated the first two positions, and the victory was so comfortable that Verstappen’s angry talk with his racing engineer Gianpiero Lampazzi was the only exciting thing.
Red Bull leads the constructors’ championship, 256 points ahead of second-placed Mercedes.
#Verstappen #wins #eighth #row