This essentially gifted the pole position to the second fastest driver in Qualifying – Carlos Sainz. Ferrari had a good chance to bring home a victory through Sainz, however, it was Max Verstappen again who went on to clinch his second consecutive win from outside of top 9, which makes him only the second driver ever to do so.
Red Bull managed to secure an impressive 1-2 at the Belgian GP, meanwhile Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took the last podium spot. “We were just not strong enough compared to them (Red Bull); they were on another planet this weekend. They were just strong in quali, strong in the race, better in tyre management, stronger in the straights, strong in the corners, in some of them, and we were not quick enough, unfortunately,” said Sainz after the race.
The other Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc started just behind title rival Max Verstappen in P15 on the grid in Spa after taking penalties, but couldn’t keep up with the Dutchman. While Leclerc managed to finish P5, he was handed over a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, which resulted in the Monegasque being demoted to P6.
Ferrari decided to put Leclerc on Lap 42 of 44 in a bid to bring home the additional point for the fastest lap. However, the young Ferrari driver was released narrowly ahead of Alonso, who quickly passed him. While Leclerc accepted that only he was to blame for the pit lane mistake, he accepted that Ferrari does not have the pace to keep up with Red Bull. “We were just not quick enough this weekend and this is the big problem more than anything, so we need to work on that.”
Red Bull managed to extend its lead in the Constructor Standings at Spa, and now sits at 475 points – 118 points ahead of Scuderia Ferrari in second. While Max Verstappen (284) continues to lead the Driver Standings, his teammate Sergio Perez climbed to the second spot with 191 points to his name currently, 5 more than Charles Leclerc.