Max Verstappen wins the sprint race at Spa: 'A great result for us'
Published on 26 July 2025 by Kees-Jan Koster
Max Verstappen has won the sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps. Starting from second on the grid, Max got off to a strong start. The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver got into the slipstream behind race leader Oscar Piastri and passed the McLaren driver at the end of the Kemmel Straight. From that point on, Max was under constant pressure from Piastri, and later also from Lando Norris, but neither McLaren driver ever had a real opportunity to launch an attack. Max secured his first sprint race win of the year in front of the sea of orange-clad fans. Piastri finished just 0.7 seconds behind Verstappen in second place, with Norris right behind in third.
After the race, Max said that the start was crucial: “It worked out really well. It was the only real opportunity we would get during the race. We took the lead into Turn 5 and from then on, I knew it would be tough to keep them behind. It was like a game of cat and mouse, with DRS and battery usage. Piastri was about seven-tenths behind me for most of the race, so I could not afford to make any big mistakes. I did lock up slightly once into the last corner, but aside from that, it is a great result for us to keep them behind and take the win here at Spa. It is only a sprint race, but it still counts, and I am very happy with what we achieved today.”
Verstappen had to give it everything to claim the victory: “You are keeping faster cars behind, so you have to push beyond what you think is possible. Tyre management goes out the window, which makes it very difficult. I was basically doing fifteen qualifying laps trying to keep the McLarens behind on a track where tyre management is important. It was not easy, but we managed it, and I am very happy with that.”
Later in the afternoon, qualifying for the Grand Prix is on the schedule, and Max hopes to impress once again: “I do not know if pole is possible, but we will do our best to set the car up as well as we can. After this race, we got a few more ideas of what we want to do, and we will try to stay as close to the McLarens as possible.”
Even before the sprint race began, it was announced that Pierre Gasly would not start from his eighth-place grid slot due to a water leak on his Alpine. The Frenchman did not line up on the grid, and his teammate Franco Colapinto had to start from the pit lane. The entire field, except for Colapinto, began the 15-lap sprint race on medium compound tyres at the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Max got off the line well from second and slotted in behind Oscar Piastri exiting the La Source hairpin. He was fully in the McLaren’s slipstream and took the lead from the Australian at the end of the Kemmel Straight. Behind them, Charles Leclerc moved up to third, with Lando Norris in fourth and Esteban Ocon in fifth. Alpine's mechanics had worked flat-out, and Gasly was able to join the race two laps down.
Norris overtook Leclerc for third place on lap four. Piastri stayed close behind Verstappen but was never able to get close enough to launch an attack. Lap after lap, Piastri was within DRS range, but Verstappen always maintained at least a six-tenth gap coming out of La Source, too far ahead for Piastri to make a move by the end of the Kemmel Straight. Norris also joined the chase behind Piastri but could not make a pass either.
And so, Verstappen won the sprint race at Spa, his first sprint victory of the year and his twelfth career sprint win. Piastri finished second, seven-tenths behind Verstappen, and gained a single point on his teammate Lando Norris, who finished third. Leclerc took a lonely fourth, while Esteban Ocon put in an impressive performance to finish fifth for Haas. Carlos Sainz finished sixth, with Oliver Bearman in seventh. Isack Hadjar claimed the final point in eighth.
Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix is set to start at 4:00 PM.
Contest Belgian GP: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing 2025 cap!
pos | driver | team | laps | time | points | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | VER | Red Bull Racing | 15 | 26:37.997 | |
2 | Oscar Piastri | PIA | McLaren | 15 | +0.753s | |
3 | Lando Norris | NOR | McLaren | 15 | +1.414s | |
4 | Charles Leclerc | LEC | Ferrari | 15 | +10.176s | |
5 | Esteban Ocon | OCO | Haas | 15 | +13.789s | |
6 | Carlos Sainz | SAI | Williams | 15 | +14.964s | |
7 | Oliver Bearman | BEA | Haas | 15 | +18.610s | |
8 | Isack Hadjar | HAD | Racing Bulls | 15 | +19.119s | |
9 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BOR | Kick Sauber | 15 | +22.183s | |
10 | Liam Lawson | LAW | Racing Bulls | 15 | +22.897s | |
11 | Yuki Tsunoda | TSU | Red Bull Racing | 15 | +24.551s | |
12 | George Russell | RUS | Mercedes | 15 | +25.969s | |
13 | Lance Stroll | STR | Aston Martin | 15 | +26.595s | |
14 | Fernando Alonso | ALO | Aston Martin | 15 | +29.046s | |
15 | Lewis Hamilton | HAM | Ferrari | 15 | +30.175s | |
16 | Alexander Albon | ALB | Williams | 15 | +30.941s | |
17 | Kimi Antonelli | ANT | Mercedes | 15 | +31.981s | |
18 | Nico Hulkenberg | HUL | Kick Sauber | 15 | +32.867s | |
19 | Franco Colapinto | COL | Alpine | 15 | +38.072s | |
0 | Pierre Gasly | GAS | Alpine | 12 | +2 laps |