Max Verstappen finished in fifth place, moving up to fourth after George Russell’s disqualification. Verstappen believes that Red Bull had the speed to win the Belgian Grand Prix, even without the grid penalty that forced him to start further back.
Despite starting from 11th place, McLaren considered Verstappen as the favorite. However, he was unable to replicate his previous comeback performances at Spa-Francorchamps.
Verstappen quickly overtook Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, and Lando Norris in the early stages of the race. However, he struggled to make further progress due to the difficulty of overtaking and ultimately finished in fifth place behind Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen is confident that he could have challenged for the win if he had started in his original position. When asked if using a different rear wing setup would have helped with overtaking, Verstappen didn’t think it would have made a significant difference.
Despite the challenges, Verstappen sees the race as a positive day for his championship campaign. He extended his lead and considers it a good outcome considering the circumstances.
Verstappen refuted the possibility of executing the one-stop race strategy that Russell successfully employed. However, he conceded that Red Bull’s performance was compromised due to the absence of two new sets of Hard tires.
“I believe that having a Hard tire today would have been beneficial,” Verstappen acknowledged. “Although George won the race with a one-stop strategy, I don’t think we had the tire wear or longevity to do the same.”
Verstappen emphasized the need for a thorough analysis of the race, while also commending his team for their strategic decisions and initial aggressiveness. However, he expressed frustration at being hindered by several cars during the race.
Despite facing challenges, Verstappen managed to extend his lead in the championship standings as his main rival Norris dropped three places due to a mistake at the start. While relieved to avoid any significant setbacks, Verstappen stressed the importance of unlocking more pace in the Red Bull car.
“I noticed that Norris didn’t have the best first lap, but my focus is primarily on my own performance,” Verstappen commented on Norris’s race. “Although other drivers have had impressive races, they are quite far behind in the championship standings.”
“For me, it’s about minimizing the damage and staying as close as possible in every race,” Verstappen continued. “We’ve been doing that consistently. However, I do hope that we can find some additional performance, as it would make our race a bit easier.”
