Max Verstappen has revealed the moment he knew victory was possible in the Belgian Grand Prix.
Starting 14th, the Dutchman simply flew through the field at Spa Francorchamps, reaching the lead as early as Lap 12 before taking full control by passing Carlos Sainz shortly after his first pit-stop.
Such was Verstappen’s dominance that he eventually finished the race almost 18 seconds clear of teammate Sergio Perez, as Red Bull claimed their fourth one-two of the year.
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But such margins were not available when Max was picking his way around the various incidents in the early stages.
“It was quite a hectic first lap to try and stay out of trouble, there were so many things happening in front of me,” he said reflecting on the race in Parc Ferme.
“Once we settled in after the Safety Car, the car was really on rails. I picked the right places to pass people, and we could look after our tyres. That’s how we made our way forward.
“After that – once we were in the lead – it was all about managing everything.”
Verstappen had initially only targeted a podium at Spa, believing he would need “a little bit of luck” to win from so far down the grid.
But he revealed the moment he knew victory was a realistic possibility.
“I was overtaking cars every lap and once I realised I was in P3 on the soft compound and we were still very quick, at that point, I knew we had a chance of winning the race here,” he said.
And overall, Spa was the perfect way to restart the season after the summer break.
“It’s been a weekend that I could not have imagined before,” the reigning champion stated. “But I think we want more of them so we need to keep on working hard.”
P14 ⇢ P1 ? pic.twitter.com/CwOGNfkoQ2
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) August 28, 2022
His ninth win of 2022 sees Verstappen extend his championship lead to 93 points with just eight races to go.