Unstoppable Verstappen in a Formula One league of his own

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Another masterful display and triumph from Max Verstappen ensured Red Bull finished the first half of the season, before the European “summer” break, unbeaten after Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix. 

The defending double world champion’s victory was his eighth consecutive success, his 10th in 12 races this year, and completed not only a hat-trick of Belgian wins, but also meant he has won every race in the last three months since teammate Sergio Perez’s victory in Azerbaijan on April 30. 

AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from Sunday’s race:

Playful Verstappen toying with rivals

The 25-year-old Dutchman is so dominant that he can still win from sixth on the grid after taking a five-place penalty.

He is on a different plane to his rivals to such an extent seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton resorted to humour to highlight it. 

Referring to the 2002 Austin Powers film Goldmember, Hamilton accepted it all seemed too easy for Verstappen when he said that “he is having a smoke and a pancake. You know the film?” 

During the race, Verstappen playfully bickered with his race engineer about tyre degradation and making a pit-stop to give the team extra practice.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team-chief Toto Wolff said: “He has all reason to be a bit cheeky.... Just driving around. On merit. Nothing else to say — as much as it’s annoying.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said he was in awe of his star.

“What we are witnessing with Max is something you see once in a generation,” said Horner. 

Red Bull and Verstappen go next to his home Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

Another win on August 27 will draw him level with four-time champion Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine straight wins for Red Bull in 2013 and extend the team’s record to 13 consecutive season-opening wins and 14 overall. 

Rival teams battle for scraps 

Ferrari, Aston Martin, Mercedes and McLaren have taken turns in mounting a brief challenge to Red Bull in the opening 12 races, but none have been successful — on Sunday it was McLaren’s turn to find mounting optimism dashed after two podium finishes. 

Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, who led Saturday’s sprint race in the rain before being passed by Verstappen, was eliminated on the opening lap after tangling with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

It was left to Lando Norris, who had been impressive in finishing second in both Britain and Hungary, to bemoan their lost pace as he battled to finish seventh. 

“We got it wrong,” said Norris.

“We were way too high on down-force and it didn’t help us in any way.... I was barely making eighth gear — we were so slow on the straights.

“I couldn’t defend and I couldn’t attack. It was impossible to overtake.”

Alpine focus despite management chaos 

The Alpine garage team remained united with Esteban Ocon finishing eighth 24 hours after Pierre Gasly’s podium in the sprint — this despite shock announcements over management changes in the Renault-owned outfit. 

The departures of Otmar Szafnauer, the team chief, and sporting director Alan Permane, after 34 years, were announced. 

Permane, nick-named “bat” because of the long hours he worked, was part of the championship-winning years with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso and was hugely-respected by the paddock at large.

His exit was greeted with widespread disbelief. 

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said he expected to see Permane back. 

“It won’t be the last you’ll see of him in the pit lane,” he said in comments that added to the impression Renault had created a crisis of their own making.