Life after Christian Horner begins with sprint win for Max Verstappen

By Philip Duncan, PA F1 Correspondent, Francorchamps

Max Verstappen won the first Formula One race staged following Christian Horner’s dismissal as Red Bull team principal in Saturday’s sprint race in Belgium.

Eighteen days after Horner was told his two-decade reign was over, Verstappen claimed the Red Bull’s first win of any sort since he raced to victory in Imola on May 18th.

Verstappen started second, but batted aside pole-sitter Oscar Piastri on the opening lap before keeping the world championship leader at bay.

Verstappen crossed the line in Spa-Francorchamps just 0.753 seconds clear of Piastri. Lando Norris started third and finished in the same position to allow Piastri to extend his title lead from eight points to nine ahead of qualifying later today for Sunday’s main event.

Horner’s dramatic exit from Red Bull after 20 years in charge stunned the sporting world, and the Belgian Grand Prix marks the first F1 event in 406 races where he has been watching on from his sofa rather than from the Red Bull pit wall.

Verstappen split the McLaren drivers in qualifying to join Piastri on the front row. Piastri started well to keep Verstappen behind on the short run to La Source only for the Dutchman – armed with a low-downforce rear wing to provide greater speed up through Eau Rouge and on to the Kemmel Straight – to jink to his left and sail past Piastri under braking for Les Combes.

Further back and Norris – a distant six tenths behind Piastri in qualifying – was perhaps too timid on his brakes into the same corner, and lost out to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, relegating him to fourth.

On lap four, Norris cleared Leclerc to regain third spot, and by lap 10 he was within half-a-second of team-mate Piastri – the top three covered by a little more than a second.

With four laps to go, Piastri was closer than he had ever been and Verstappen was forced to cover off the racing line under braking for Les Combes.

However, that would be the closest Piastri would get to the Red Bull as the four-time world champion delivered Laurent Mekies’ first win in charge of Red Bull with Norris only six tenths back from his McLaren team-mate.

“Well done Max,” said Mekies. “Very, very impressive defence, and very well controlled. You didn’t leave anything on the table there.”

Verstappen said: “It worked out really well. The only opportunity was the first lap and we got them. We were playing cat and mouse and I could not afford to make a mistake.

“You are keeping faster cars behind so you have to drive beyond your limit and replicate 15 qualifying laps. It was not easy but we managed to do it.

“The team can count on me that I will give my very best whoever is in charge. They know that. And that is what they pay me for. It is positive. We need positive energy, and this is a great start for us.”

Norris said: “I was not going to pass anyone unless Oscar got past Max. There was not a lot we could do today.

“It was tough. I hoped to have a battle, but the Red Bull was too quick in the straight for us to catch up. Maybe we need to make some tweaks to qualifying. I am not too fussed about sprint races and the plan is to win the Grand Prix.”

Leclerc took fourth spot, one place ahead of Haas’ Esteban Ocon with Williams driver Carlos Sainz sixth and British rookie Ollie Bearman an impressive seventh.

George Russell started a lowly 13th and improved one place to 12th, while Lewis Hamilton finished 15th of the 19 who took the flag – making up just three positions after he spun in qualifying.