LEWIS HAMILTON was slapped with a five-second time penalty for bashing into Sergio Perez, as Max Verstappen’s win increased his lead in the championship.
The Mercedes man battled with Sergio Perez for fourth place in the 30-minute sprint race.
"THEY TOUCH!"
It's all happening in the Sprint!
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— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 29, 2023
Lewis Hamilton was handed a five-second time penalty for his collision with Sergio Perez
Which saw him cascade down the order from P4 to P7
Max Verstappen took the Sprint race win with Oscar Piastri, left, and Pierre Gasly, right in P2 and P3
But was hit with a penalty by the stewards for causing damage to the Mexican’s Red Bull, which ultimately forced him to retire.
It was hard on the Brit given the wet track and marked the only real on-track excitement in the rain-delayed race.
It was frustrating to watch another shambles at Spa – for the second time in three years.
In the sprint shootout, which is used to determine the grid for the sprint race, the FIA failed to make any meaningful attempt to clear the rain.
It was not until 20 minutes after the rain stopped that they deployed two vehicles on track to clear the 7km circuit.
The rain delay saw them move the start of the sprint race back 30 minutes – but that only meant it coincided with another downpour – causing another setback.
When the short 30-minute race did get going after a break in the weather, we had FIVE laps behind the safety car to clear the standing water before a rolling start.
It denied the soggy fans hopes of an explosive start, as Verstappen led the pack.
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But at the end of the first lap, Oscar Piastri pitted for intermediate tyres while the Dutchman stayed out for another lap.
An unusually slow pitstop for Verstappen saw Piastri take the lead – but it was short-lived as the Red Bull soon powered past the McLaren.
On the sixth lap, Perez and Hamilton had a battle for fourth place where the two made contact.
While it looked as though Hamilton was blocked by the Mexican, the stewards decided otherwise and did not wait to issue the sanction.
Verstappen’s win means he now has a 118-point lead in the championship while Piastri was second and Pierre Gasly was third after a difficult week for Alpine.
Hamilton was demoted to seventh due to his time penalty, having finished in fourth. Lando Norris was sixth and George Russell eighth.
Regardless, Saturday’s Sprint does not impact tomorrow’s race.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc inherited pole after Verstappen’s five-spot grid penalty for using too many gearbox parts was applied.
He is joined on the front row by Perez, while Hamilton will be ready to duke it out with him again tomorrow from P3.
Carlos Sainz then completes the second row, with Piastri lining up alongside the demoted Verstappen at Spa.
Norris lines up in P7, with Russell, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll completing the top 10.
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