We will have to start looking for new formulas to define the feats of Max Verstappen, because the boy surpasses himself every time he gets in the car and goes out for a run. At 24 years old, his learning curve has been as meteoric as the Red Bull he drove this Sunday at Spa, where he won his ninth victory of the course, one of the most spectacular in the eight years he has been in the World Cup. The single-seater he drove gave him a cable, there is no doubt about that, but the almost 18-second advantage he took over Checo Pérez, his neighbor in the workshop and the second to cross the finish line, are the most irrefutable proof of the overwhelming dominance of the current champion, who starred in one of the comebacks of his life, from the 14th position on the grid that he occupied at the start. Pérez signed the fourth double of the year for the red buffalo team, while Carlos Sainz completed the podium by being able to keep George Russell at bay.
This time, the Madrid native and Ferrari did everything right, and the margin that separated them from the winners is nothing more than the difference in Belgium, a track that highlighted the best attributes of the RB18, especially top speed. Fernando Alonso finished fifth despite the incident he had with Lewis Hamilton on the first lap, which forced the Mercedes rider to abandon. “What an idiot! [Hamilton] has closed the door [trayectoria] while passing on the outside. We did a mega start, but this guy only knows how to drive when the first one starts”, Alonso released, on the radio, immediately after the bump between the two that projected the British prototype into the air. “It’s good to know what you think of me,” replied the driver from Stevenage, who took responsibility for not having given his opponent the space that an overtaking maneuver of this nature requires. The Spaniard finally finished sixth, but a penalty on Charles Leclerc for exceeding the speed limit in the workshop lane made him gain a position.
On Saturday, both Sainz and the rest of the runners dared to predict that Verstappen would find the route that would lead him to fight for victory, despite having to start from the catacombs as a result of the penalty derived from the replacement of the engine of his bolide. They were right, although they surely did not expect the little animal to rear its head so soon. In the first lap, the Dutchman devoured six rivals and continued with that devilish progression until he achieved his goal of being at the front of the peloton. He did it in the 12th lap of the 44 total, just after passing the first third of the test. An atrocity. From then on, the idol of the stands, born in Hasselt, limited himself to making it clear that no one was going to be able to tie him short in a scenario as extraordinary as this one, where only a penalty snatched pole position from him and where He won overwhelmingly, also winning the fastest lap. As if that were not enough, the salad of results gave a shake to the statistics in favor of Red Bull, which now places Pérez as second in the general table, even though the Mexican is 93 points behind his partner, almost four grand prizes.
In the absence of eight stops for the championship to come down, the picture is clearer than ever for Verstappen, who not only can’t be stopped by rivals, but neither can sanctions.
You can follow EL PAÍS Sports in Facebook Y Twitteror sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
#Verstappen #easily #wins #Belgian #Sainz