Max Verstappen overcame his grid penalties to win the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix in a Red Bull one-two with Sergio Perez, while pole-sitter Carlos Sainz finished third for Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso collided on Lap 1 at Les Combes, knocking the Mercedes driver out of the race, before Valtteri Bottas spun out to avoid Nicholas Latifi, bringing out the Safety Car on Lap 2.
Verstappen started eighth, while Sainz led Perez – Leclerc had to pit for mediums due to a tear in his brake duct. Verstappen quickly dispatched the cars ahead of him, sweeping into P3 by Lap 8 with only Perez and Sainz to contend with.
On Lap 12, Sainz pitted from softs to mediums after Perez allowed Verstappen to pass and take the lead. The Dutchman extended his lead until Lap 15 and clawed back the deficit to Sainz, taking the lead on Lap 18 – taking another free pit stop on Lap 31 – before going on to win by over 18 seconds over Perez in a dominant display that included the fastest lap.
Sainz finished ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, who had previously passed Charles Leclerc but lost the final podium spot by less than two seconds.
