F1 to 10: Max Verstappen boosts world championship lead in Belgium

Max Verstappen pushed through from 11th on the grid after a penalty to extend his points advantage, while Sergio Pérez played his part in adding to Oracle Red Bull Racing’s championship tally

Oracle Red Bull Racing’s reigning world champion Max Verstappen extended his Formula One series lead to 78 points after finishing fourth in the Belgian Grand Prix. The Dutchman overcame a 10-place grid penalty to finish 9.226s behind race-winner George Russell of Mercedes, who was later disqualified for an 1.5kg underweight car, promoting his team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the top step of the podium. Team-mate Sergio Pérez finished in seventh place after starting on the front row of the grid and set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap to score an extra championship point.
* 2024 is the 75th season of the F1 world championship

After finishing fifth in Hungary a week earlier, Verstappen had his work cut out in Belgium, when new engine components introduced to his RB20 for the weekend came with the punishment of a 10-place grid penalty, but with confidence that he’d overcome setbacks at Spa in the past.
The Dutchman qualified fastest in Belgium in 2022 and 2023, and took grid penalties both years, winning from 14th two years ago and sixth last season. Starting 11th after qualifying fastest again, he was up to eighth within 10 laps and, crucially, was ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, his closest rival in the Drivers’ Standings.
The pair pushed forward late to finish right in the wheeltracks of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Verstappen denying Norris by half a second after 44 laps and taking two more points than the British driver into the mid-season break.