Formula 1 sprint in Belgium: Max Verstappen wins ahead of Oscar Piastri

(dpa) Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen has gained at least a little new hope in the World Championship battle with a victory in the sprint race in Belgium. The Dutchman narrowly beat Australian World Championship leader Oscar Piastri after a close battle at the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Saturday in his Red Bull. Piastri's McLaren teammate Lando Norris of Great Britain took third place.

"I knew it would be difficult to keep them behind me, but luckily it worked out. I'm very happy with what we achieved today," said Verstappen. Piastri, beaten by 0.7 seconds, said: "It's good points and it's a good result. Still, I'm a bit frustrated that I couldn't get past them in the end."

In the overall standings, however, the 27-year-old Verstappen only gained one point and remains third behind Piastri with 68 points. Verstappen delivered his new team boss, Laurent Mekies, his first win at the very first opportunity. Mekies replaced his predecessor Christian Horner as the new boss just over two weeks ago after more than 20 years in the job and will be in charge of the racing team for the first time in Belgium.

Piastri only briefly defended his starting position before Verstappen took the lead on the first lap. The challenging circuit in the Ardennes is Verstappen's favorite track. He was born in Belgium but has always driven with a Dutch license. In the race, just over 100 kilometers long, he quickly had to fend off Piastri, who was pressing from behind and consistently kept the gap under a second.

Verstappen had won the Belgian Grand Prix three times in the past, but he struggled against the stronger McLaren. Piastri also made minor driving errors and was unable to overtake. Norris also failed to move up from third place.

After his sensational third place at Silverstone, Nico Hülkenberg had no reason to celebrate in the sprint race. Beyond the World Championship points, the 37-year-old finished only 18th in his Sauber. The Rhinelander has a chance to do better in Sunday's Grand Prix (3:00 p.m./Sky).