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(CNN)<\/cite>Max Verstappen won the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps from 14th place on the grid. <\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (CNN)Max Verstappen won the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps from 14th place on the grid. Despite being fastest in qualifying, the Red Bull driver started from the back due to a grid penalty for using too many engine parts. However, Verstappen showed excellent, offensive driving to weave through the field […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nDespite being fastest in qualifying, the Red Bull driver started from the back due to a grid penalty for using too many engine parts. <\/p>\nHowever, Verstappen showed excellent, offensive driving to weave through the field and showed the speed and quality of driving to win the race for the second straight year. <\/p>\nThe Dutch driver finished 17.8 seconds ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, while the Mexican driver finished comfortably second ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in third place. <\/p>\nThe win is Verstappen’s ninth Grand Prix win of the season, meaning the reigning champion extends his lead in the Formula 1 drivers’ standings to 92 points. Perez moved up to second in the table, overtaking Charles Leclerc, who could only finish fifth. <\/p>\nAfter the race, Verstappen praised the work of the entire Red Bull team and looked ahead to his home race, the Dutch Grand Prix, which takes place next week. <\/p>\n“It was a really hectic first lap to avoid trouble, but after the safety car the car was on rails,” explained Verstappen. <\/p>\n\u201cAfter that, when we were at the top, it was just about managing everything. The whole weekend was amazing. It’s been a weekend I couldn’t imagine – I’ll enjoy today and then next week, let’s see what we can do.”<\/p>\n\n\nNo loss of trust<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Starting position 14 was no problem for Verstappen. <\/p>\nEven before the race, the 24-year-old had never lost confidence in his podium chances, despite the many cars in front of him. “I think with the pace we have in the car I want to make progress and at least be on the podium,” he said before the race.<\/p>\nUnder the sunny Belgian sky, he showed from the first lap why his confidence wasn’t misplaced. From the seventh lap he was already in fifth place. <\/p>\nAnd after the first round of pit stops, Verstappen was in the lead and looked comfortable from there, all the while barely having to defend against a challenger. <\/p>\n“Amazing Sunday folks, the car has been a rocket all weekend,” said Verstappen over his team radio after crossing the finish line. <\/p>\nElsewhere, it was another afternoon of battles for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who crashed out of the race on the first lap after colliding with Fernando Alonso. <\/p>\nSpeaking to Sky Sports during the race, Hamilton said he took responsibility for the crash. <\/p>\n“Looking back, he was in my blind spot, I didn’t give him enough space. It’s my fault,” said the 37-year-old. <\/p>\n“I couldn’t see him. I feel sorry for the team and I need to recover and get back on the treadmill.\u201d<\/p>\n