Belgian GP: Ferrari had very contrasting races on the two sides of their garage. While Charles Leclerc finished on the podium, Carlos Sainz endured a very difficult race after the first lap contact with Oscar Piastri. The Spaniard carried on for a long time before eventually retiring at the end of lap 24.
Charles Leclerc’s impressive podium
It has been a coincidence this year that Leclerc has scored a podium only on sprint weekends. And once again, he delivered. Leclerc inherited the pole position after Max Verstappen got a 5-place grid penalty for a new gearbox. He got a really good start off the line, but as is so often the case, he got passed on the Kemmel straight by Sergio Perez, the man who started second.
Also Read: McLaren endures torrid start at Belgian GP, Oscar Piastri crashes out
Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were able to keep the rapid Red Bull of Max Verstappen behind for a few laps longer than expected by forming a DRS train. But the current championship leader was sure to get past. Once he got past both of them, Leclerc held his own against Hamilton throughout the race. He thwarted two undercut attempts by the Brit and only managed to relax a bit after Hamilton pitted for getting the fastest lap.
Also Read: Belgian GP sees chaos at Sprint Start, 4 racing laps lost under Safety Car
Carlos Sainz suffers yet another tortuous Grand Prix
In what is rapidly becoming a theme this year, Carlos Sainz’s race unraveled because of things happening outside the cockpit. While it has mostly been bad strategy, this time it was the McLaren of Oscar Piastri who slammed into the side of him at La Source on the first lap.
Spa is notorious for having incidents in the first corner on the first lap, and the Spaniard found himself on the wrong side of one of them. While Piastri had to retire immediately, Sainz carried on, being passed by cars left, right, and center. He ultimately retired from the back of the grid at the end of lap 24.
Having led his teammate in the standings for most of the season, Sainz has now been overtaken by Leclerc. While Leclerc goes into the summer break on a high, the Spaniard will hopefully use this time to regroup and come back stronger in the second part.
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