Before the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix even began, several drivers had been sent to the back of the grid due to power unit penalties, including championship rivals Max Verstappen (Red Bull) in P14 and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) in P15.

This left Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) on pole with Sergio Perez (Red Bull) in P2 along with Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) in P3 and P4, respectively.

With 44 laps of racing, Sainz had a good start while Perez dropped to P5 after the first corner. Not long after, Hamilton squeezed Alonso too tight resulting in contact, which led to the former’s retirement.

Leclerc had to pit early on Lap 4 due to a visor tear-off blocking his brake duct. Meanwhile, Verstappen charged through the field, taking the lead by Lap 12.

Although Leclerc went as high as P4, his pace was no match for George Russell (Mercedes) who took the place from him on Lap 16. Similarly, Perez overtook Sainz for second on Lap 21.

Accepting that Leclerc would finish P5 at best, Ferrari pitted him on Lap 43 for soft tires to snatch the point for the fastest lap away from Verstappen.

However, things went downhill for Leclerc since not only did Alonso overtake him on the out lap, but he was unable to take the fastest lap and was also handed a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

In the end, Leclerc lost a place dropping from P5 to P6, while Red Bull had another 1-2 finish with a dominant victory for Verstappen.