Verstappen too quick for Piastri in Belgium sprint

Verstappen surged past McLaren's pole sitter Piastri on the straight on the first lap, the Aussie sticking close for the rest of the 15-lap race but unable to find a way past the four-time champion.

Lando Norris, in the other McLaren, was third after retaking the place from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

"You're keeping faster cars behind, so you have to drive over the limit of what you think is possible," Verstappen said.

"Tyre management is out of the window, so that's what's making it really difficult.

"I'm just doing 15 qualifying laps to try and keep them behind on a track where tyre management is important."

It was Verstappen's first race win of any sort since the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in May, and his first in a sprint since the United States Grand Prix last October.

Piastri's second place extended his lead over Norris in the championship standings to nine points. Verstappen remained third, 68 points off the lead.

Qualifying takes place later Saturday for Sunday's Grand Prix race, and McLaren has a decision to make after losing out to Verstappen and Red Bull in the sprint.

Verstappen couldn't match the McLarens for overall pace but was fastest where it mattered. He opted for a lower-downforce rear wing to maximise top speed at the cost of grip.

That helped Verstappen with his first-lap pass for the lead and then helped ensure Piastri was too far back on the straights to line up an overtake of his own.

"I didn't have enough straight-line speed," Piastri admitted, but said the risk of rain on Sunday would make it a gamble to follow Verstappen's example.

"The weather is looking pretty bad for tomorrow, which obviously means you probably don't want to take off too much wing, but I don't really want to repeat the sprint we've just had.

"We'll have a look, see what we can do."

Australian Associated Press