Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen cannot contain his joy after 'fifteen qualifying laps' in Belgium

13:12, 26 Jul

byTim Kraaij

Max Verstappen has won the sprint race in Belgium. After the sprint race, Verstappen was very pleased with his race.

Max Verstappen launched an attack on Oscar Piastri in the first round. The Dutchman passed on the straight, but then had to defend for another 14 laps. Piastri was constantly in his DRS, but ultimately could not get past due to Max Verstappen's impressive defensive work.

"It worked out really well. The start was the only opportunity we had against them, and we got it into Turn 5. Then I knew it would be very tough to keep them behind, so it was playing cat and mouse with DRS and batter usage."

"The whole race was within seven tenths, so I couldn't afford to make big mistakes. I had one tiny lockup in the last corner, but apart from that, it was, for us, a great result to keep them behind."

Max Verstappen's Mistake

Jolyon Palmer asked about the moment when Verstappen braked too late, to which Verstappen said: ''You have to drive over the limit of what's possible. Tyre management goes out of the window. That's what makes it difficult. I did 15 qualifying laps to keep them behind on a track where tyre management is important. It wasn't easy, but we managed to do it, and I'm very happy with that."

Verstappen was also asked about qualifying later on Saturday and said: ''I'm not sure if pole position is achievable, but we will do our best to set up the car as well as possible. After this race, we have some ideas about what we want to do to get as close as possible to them.''