SummaryCompanies Verstappen wins sprint from pole, Piastri secondChampion now 118 points clear of team mate PerezPerez retires after clash with HamiltonGasly third for AlpineSPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium, July 29 (Reuters) - Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a rain-delayed and shortened sprint race from pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday to stretch his Formula One lead to 118 points.
Australian rookie Oscar Piastri started and finished second for McLaren, after leading briefly during a safety car period, with Frenchman Pierre Gasly a morale-boosting third for misfiring Alpine.
Half the field followed Piastri straight into the pits at the start to change to intermediate tyres while Verstappen stayed out on full wets.
I could come in first but then I might be blocked by other cars, there might be a safety car and then you lose out massively.
"This is a sprint race, we want to see them racing," he said.
Persons:
Perez Perez, Hamilton Gasly, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, Frenchman Pierre Gasly, Sergio Perez, Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, McLaren's Lando Norris, George Russell, Mercedes, Gasly, Anthoine Hubert, Verstappen, Bull, Aston Martin's, Fernando Alonso, Max, we've, Perez, Hamilton, Ferraris, Norris, Red, Christian Horner, Toto Wolff, Leclerc, Alan Baldwin, Hugh Lawson, Clare Fallon
Organizations:
Belgian, Prix, McLaren, Spa, Briton, Red Bull, Thomson
Locations:
Belgium, Verstappen's, Pouhon, Eau Rouge, Stavelot