Max Verstappen has conquered the sprint race at Formula 1's Belgian Grand Prix to start Red Bull's new era with a win. On the first lap of the 15-lap contest, Verstappen used his Red Bull's superior top speed to draft past polesitter Oscar Piastri at Les Combes, much like the championship leader had feared before the start.

Max Verstappen held off the faster Oscar Piastri to snatch victory in the Belgium sprint after pinching the lead on the first lap.Piastri got a good start and appeared to get a clean enough launch out of La Source to open a gap on the long flat-out blast through

Oscar Piastri was left to rue a lack of straight line speed on his McLaren after being pipped to victory by Red Bull rival Max Verstappen in the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race.