Max Verstappen was ‘over the limit’ to take Belgian GP Sprint win

Max Verstappen has admitted that he was forced to drive over the limit throughout the Belgian GP Sprint as he came under intense pressure from Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen won the 15-lap encounter by just seven tenths after jumping Piastri on the opening lap to then head the race to the flag.

Max Verstappen drove ‘over the limit’ to win Belgian GP Sprint

The Red Bull driver did so despite never escaping DRS range of the chasing McLaren, who had only one small opportunity to regain top spot.

That came after Verstappen went deep into the final chicane midway through the race, affording Piastri a stronger slipstream out of La Source and along the Kemmel Straight.

Even still, the Dutchman had the move easily covered.

Red Bull elected for a lower downforce configuration for Verstappen’s car, a decision which left him marginally slower through the middle third of the lap but rapid in a straight line – especially on the run from Eau Rouge to Les Combes.

To make the approach work, after starting on the front row, it was imperative that Verstappen was able to surge by Piastri. He did so into the chicane at the end of the straight and swept into the lead.

“Worked out really well,” Verstappen said of his opening lap. “That’s the only real opportunity, of course, that you’re going to get against them that we got it into Turn 5.

“Then I knew, of course, it was going to be very tough to keep them behind. So it was just playing like cat and mouse, DRS, battery usage. It was basically, the whole race, was within, what, seven-tenths, so I couldn’t really afford to make big mistakes.

“I had one tiny lock up in the last corner. But apart from that, yeah, it was, for us, of course, a great result to get from behind and to have a win here, and Spa for me, of course, it’s a Sprint win, but still accounts. And I’m, of course, very happy what we did out there.”

Key information after the Sprint at Spa

👉 2025 Belgian Grand Prix – Sprint Race F1 results (Spa-Francorchamps)

👉 The updated Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship standings

The threat posed by Piastri was doubled midway through the Sprint when Lando Norris joined the leading pair.

Starting third on the grid, Norris slipped behind Charles Leclerc on the opening lap in a repeat of the move that saw Piastri lose out to Verstappen.

The Brit was able to fight back, and recovered the place on Lap 4 before closing up on the battle for the lead.

It meant that, for much of the race, even a small mistake had the potential to drop Verstappen from the lead to third, with the top three running within two seconds.

“Basically you’re keeping faster cars behind, so you have to drive over the limit of what you think is possible,” the four-time world championship, noting the minor mistake that saw him run deep at the final chicane and afforded Piastri half a chance at Les Combes on the next lap.

“Tyre management is out of the window, so that is what’s really difficult. I’m just doing 15 qualifying laps try and keep them behind on the track where tyre management is important. It wasn’t easy, but we managed to do it.”

While Verstappen was able to benefit from a low downforce configuration, the threat of rain throughout Sunday suggests conditions will favour a car carrying more wing.

It creates a difficult choice as, while noteworthy, the rain is also far from guaranteed.

“We’ll try our best and set up the car how we want. Well, after this race we’ll have a few more ideas of what we want to do and then try to be as close as possible to [McLaren].”

Verstappen’s victory came in the first competitive outing for the team since Christian Horner was axed from the operation in the days following the British Grand Prix.

It comes as his own future has been questioned, amid links to Mercedes. However, it’s now understood that the Brackley operation is poised to confirm both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli at the squad, locking Verstappen to Red Bull for at least F1 2026.

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