SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) Max Verstappen overtook Oscar Piastri and drove 15 qualifying laps to win the Formula 1 sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday as Red Bull begins a new era without fired team principal Christian Horner .
Verstappen surged past Piastri on the straight on the first lap. The Australian was close behind Verstappen for the rest of the 15-lap sprint race but couldnt find a way past the four-time champion.
Lando Norris, in the other McLaren, was third after retaking the place from Ferraris Charles Leclerc and catching up to Piastri.
Verstappen races over the limit
Youre keeping faster cars behind, so you have to drive over the limit of what you think is possible, Verstappen said.
Tire management is out of the window, so thats whats making it really difficult. Im just doing 15 qualifying laps to try and keep them behind on a track where tire management is important.
It was Verstappens first race win of any sort since the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in May, and his first in a sprint since the United States Grand Prix last October.
Piastri extends his lead over Norris in the standings to nine points from eight. Verstappen is third, 68 points off the lead.
Leclerc held on to fourth and it was an impressive result for Haas, with Esteban Ocon fifth and Oliver Bearman seventh. Carlos Sainz, Jr. was sixth for Williams and Isack Hadjar took the final point for Racing Bulls in eighth.
McLarens dilemma
Qualifying takes place later Saturday for Sundays Grand Prix race, and McLaren has a decision to make after losing out to Verstappen and Red Bull in the sprint.
Verstappen couldnt match the McLarens for overall pace but he was fastest where it mattered. He opted for a lower-downforce rear wing to maximize top speed at the cost of grip.
That helped Verstappen with his first-lap pass for the lead and then helped ensure Piastri was too far back on the straights to line up an overtake of his own into the following corners.
I didnt have enough straight-line speed, Piastri admitted, but said the risk of rain on Sunday would make it a gamble to follow Verstappens example.
The weather is looking pretty bad for tomorrow, which obviously means you probably dont want to take off too much wing, but I dont really want to repeat the sprint weve just had, he said. Well have a look, see what we can do.
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AP auto racing:
比利时斯帕-弗朗科尔尚（美联社）——马克斯·维斯塔潘在周六的比利时大奖赛一级方程式冲刺赛中超越奥斯卡·皮亚斯特里，并以15圈排位赛式的强势表现夺冠。与此同时，红牛车队在解雇领队克里斯蒂安·霍纳后开启了新时代。
维斯塔潘在首圈直道上超越皮亚斯特里。这位澳大利亚车手在剩余15圈的短程赛中始终紧咬维斯塔潘，但始终无法超越这位四届冠军得主。
驾驶另一辆迈凯伦赛车的兰多·诺里斯从法拉利车队的夏尔·勒克莱尔手中夺回位置后位列第三，并逐渐追近皮亚斯特里。
维斯塔潘比赛“超越极限”
维斯塔潘表示：“你必须挡住后方更快的赛车，因此不得不突破自己认为的极限去驾驶。”
“轮胎管理策略已完全失效，这令比赛变得异常艰难。在一条注重轮胎管理的赛道上，我只能连续跑15圈排位赛节奏，试图阻挡后方车手。”
这是维斯塔潘自5月艾米利亚-罗马涅大奖赛以来的首场胜利，也是他自去年10月美国大奖赛后首次在冲刺赛中夺冠。
皮亚斯特里将积分榜上对诺里斯的领先优势从8分扩大到9分。维斯塔潘位列第三，落后榜首68分。
勒克莱尔守住第四名的位置，这对哈斯车队而言是令人印象深刻的表现——埃斯特班·奥康位列第五，奥利弗·贝尔曼获得第七。小卡洛斯·塞恩斯代表威廉姆斯车队排名第六，而伊萨克·哈贾尔为Racing Bulls车队拿下最后一个积分，位居第八。
迈凯伦的困境
周六晚些时候将举行周日大奖赛的排位赛，迈凯伦车队在冲刺赛中败给维斯塔潘和红牛车队后，需要做出决策。
维斯塔潘（Verstappen）在整体速度上虽不及迈凯伦赛车，但在关键路段展现了最快实力。他选择采用低下压力的尾翼设计，以牺牲抓地力为代价换取极速提升。
这帮助维斯塔潘在第一圈完成领跑超越，随后又确保皮亚斯特里在直道上被甩开足够距离，使其无法在接下来的弯道前组织起自己的超车攻势。
皮亚斯特里坦言："我的直线速度不足，"但他表示周日可能降雨的风险会让效仿维斯塔潘的战术成为一场赌博。
“明天的天气看起来相当糟糕，显然这意味着你可能不想太过冒险，但我也不太想重复我们刚刚经历的那种冲刺，”他说道，“我们会看看情况，再决定能做些什么。”
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