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While Max Verstappen picked up another win for his trophy cabinet, the 2023 F1 Belgian GP Sprint yielded so much more in terms of action. We had rain spicing things up, we had a major crash that led to a safety car stoppage, and we had two unfancied drivers on the podium.
While the sprint does not tend to deliver often, it did this time around. As Max Verstappen enjoys another win to his name, what about others? Who were the biggest winners and losers from the 2023 F1 Belgian GP Sprint? Let's take a look.
2023 F1 Belgian GP Sprint
Winner
Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri took a beating of sorts in Hungary as he was completely outclassed in the race by Lando Norris. Somehow, the driver was ready for the 2023 F1 Belgian GP and looked amazing. A win would have been even better but a P2 is an impressive result that deserves all the accolades that he can get.
Loser
Sergio Perez
The bump with Lewis Hamilton was unfortunate, but Sergio Perez needs to start asking himself why he's fighting with cars that are supposed to be almost a second slower than Red Bull. More so, as all this while, Max Verstappen is streaking away at the front of the grid.
The result was unfortunate but Perez might need to ask himself why he ends up finding himself in these situations.
Winner
Pierre Gasly
This was a result that Alpine needed, but this was also a result that Pierre Gasly needed. After an early season lead established by teammate Esteban Ocon, Gasly has been chipping away at it in the last few races.
He made the most of being one of the drivers that were the first to pit for intermediate tires. A P3 result, even in a sprint, should give Alpine some confidence after the disastrous news early in the 2023 F1 Belgian GP weekend.
Loser
Esteban Ocon
While Esteban Ocon still holds the best result for his team this season, the result for Gasly is maybe not the best for the competitive Frenchman. The last few races have seen the momentum swing away from Esteban and the result in this particular race is not something that he would be too happy with.
Esteban Ocon has not had a good run recently and with him starting the 2023 F1 Belgian GP in P15, the race is going to prove to be a struggle once again.
Winner
Max Verstappen
It's hard not to put Max in the winner's column. Arguably, a less-than-optimal strategy of not pitting on the first lap for interest was nullified with a safe pass over Oscar Piastri. Unless something goes wrong, the Red Bull driver is very close to winning his 8th Grand Prix in a row and well-poised to equal Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull record of 9 consecutive wins.
Loser
Ferrari
Away from the spotlight, Ferrari once again messed up during pitstops and cost both their drivers positions in the race. In the melee, everyone almost forgot that the duo was in the second row at the start of the session.
However, during pitstops, it was once again the team's slow response time that hurt the two drivers. Ferrari continues to remain an inefficient unit and it almost makes one wonder what changes has Fred Vasseur brought to the team.
