F1 was very much ‘The Max Verstappen show’ during this year’s Belgian GP, with his 19 peers relegating to supporting role status.
But you can still impress – or disappoint – in a support role.
Here’s the verdict on each driver’s weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
After each grand prix, The Race will rate each driver’s weekend with a mark out of 10.
An average mark is 5 out of 10, so that score is indicative of a decent drive given the high standard of drivers in F1.
For a more in-depth explanation, read our outline of the system.
Started: 14th Finished: 1st
Qualifying
Utterly dominated qualifying, which ensured he would start at the front of the group of penalised drivers at the back of the grid. He didn’t even need a second run in Q3 to secure top spot and lapped a massive eight tenths quicker than Perez.
Race
Winning a grand prix from 14th on the grid shouldn’t be easy, but Verstappen made serene and efficient progress through the field to take control of the race by passing Sainz on lap 18. Yes, he had a pace advantage, but Verstappen blended that with a calculating, low-risk approach that meant there could not be any other winner.
Verdict
Combined crushing dominance with superb execution to make light of his hefty grid penalty.
Started: 2nd Finished: 2nd
Qualifying
Described his final Q3 lap, which was slower than his first, as “a mess” thanks to traffic compromising his tyre preparation. But he was never able to live with Verstappen’s pace, primarily in the middle sector from Turns 10-13, although he also complained of some minor floor damage and also lacked a tow on his crucial first Q3 run.
Race
Perez had a terrible start and suffered from significant wheelspin as he built speed, relegating him to fifth by La Source. He passed Russell on the run to Les Combes, then reclaimed second when Hamilton and Alonso clashed. Although he inevitably fell behind Verstappen, he passed Sainz in the second stint to secure second.
Verdict
Perfectly decent, but blown out of the water by Verstappen’s pace.
Started: 4th Finished: DNF
Qualifying
Hamilton was the faster of the Mercedes drivers by almost three tenths, although with Mercedes struggling to get the tyres switched on, a lack of stability and carrying too much drag, the team-mates’ underlying pace was much the same.
Race
Held third and was attempting to pass Alonso around the outside at Les Combes when he turned in on the Alpine. The resulting contact launched the Mercedes, which sustained damage that put him out of the race.
Verdict
Quick, but his rating is ruined by the first-lap blunder.
Started: 5th Finished: 4th
Qualifying
His underlying pace was similar to Hamilton’s as both battled the same problems, although he struggled more for grip on his final Q3 lap, which cost him off la Source and with a moment at Turn 11. He ended up three tenths slower.
Race
Was always destined for fourth place given the inevitability of Verstappen catching and passing him. But he showed good race pace to menace Sainz, although he was never quite in a position to challenge for a podium.
Verdict
A good weekend’s work in adversity.
Started: 15th Finished: 6th
Qualifying
Carried a back-of-the-grid penalty into qualifying, and given the pace advantage of Verstappen and Red Bull securing 16th on the grid by being second-fastest of the penalised drivers was as good as it was going to get. But he was compromised by Ferrari’s tyre mishap, the team accidentally sending him out for his first Q3 run on fresh rubber.
Race
Leclerc’s race was made more difficult by picking up a tear-off in a front brake duct that forced an early pitstop under the safety car. But he recovered well from 17th to fifth, only to make an ill-starred third pitstop that dropped him behind Alonso.
He repassed Alonso, but was given a five-second penalty for speeding in the pits by what the FIA said was 1km/h, in what Ferrari said was a legacy of the earlier overheating, which dropped him back to sixth. And he missed the fastest lap that the pitstop was conceived to make possible.
Verdict
Probably the quicker Ferrari driver, but circumstances were against him.
Started: 1st Finished: 3rd
Qualifying
Did the job he needed to do in qualifying, setting second-fastest time to secure pole position ahead of Perez in a quicker Red Bull. His first Q3 run was the quicker, helped by a tow from Leclerc – although he did feel he lost a little time under braking for Les Combes. But bridging the 0.632s gap to Verstappen was an impossibility.
Race
On paper, leading the first part of the race then fading to third would be a bad day at the office. But given the pace advantage of the Red Bull, Sainz did the maximum he could have done and dealt with the tyre degradation problems well to keep Russell at arm’s length.
Verdict
Got the best possible result in qualifying and the race but Leclerc’s grid penalty assisted him.
Started: 7th Finished: 15th
Qualifying
Had to switch from the low-downforce Spa rear wing to a more conventional one when his original wing – one of only two McLaren had available – developed a fault. Survived a trip through the gravel in Q1 but then missed out on Q2, lapping 0.164s slower than his team-mate despite Norris sacrificing his second run in order to provide a tow before getting out of the way.
Race
Finished the first lap in sixth after Vettel was able to pass him thanks to the ailing Hamilton getting in the way, but he was soon shuffled back to eighth when Verstappen and Albon overtook him.
Ricciardo was stuck behind Albon in the second stint, with Ocon overtaking both, then when Williams covered his attempt to pit to undercut on lap 26, McLaren extended his stint in the hope of letting him attack late on. That ultimately didn’t work, turning what would have been 11th place and a shot at passing Albon into 15th.
Verdict
Wing and strategic misfortunes made this a slightly better weekend than it seemed.
Started: 17th Finished: 12th
Qualifying
Norris ended up fourth-fastest of the drivers who carried a back-of-the-grid penalty into qualifying, reaching Q3 thanks to his first-run pace in Q2. He then effectively sacrificed Q3 by running used softs in order to carry a fresh set into the race. Without that, he reckoned seventh was possible.
Race
Norris was 13th by the time the early safety car was deployed, but he made little meaningful progress beyond that thanks to spending much of the race stuck in traffic. He did at least pass Magnussen in the first stint, then undercut his way past team-mate Ricciardo at the final stops.
Verdict
Potential contained by grid penalties and traffic.
Started: 16th Finished: 7th
Qualifying
One of the back-of-the-grid six heading into qualifying, Ocon set what stood as the fifth-fastest time with a good first-run lap before offering a tow to Alonso on his second run. He beat Alonso by a couple of tenths, having been given a tow by his team-mate on the first runs and having looked to enjoy a fractional edge on qualifying pace.
Race
Ocon was, along with Verstappen, one of only two drivers to pass the Albon rolling roadblock on track – and even then he needed an Albon error to do so – and also pulled off a great double pass on Gasly and Vettel on his way to seventh. He might also have been able to challenge Alonso in the final stint but for a team order preventing it.
Verdict
Did a superb job to recover from grid penalties and was the quicker Alpine driver.
Started: 3rd Finished: 5th
Qualifying
Having towed Ocon on the first Q3 runs, he had his one serious attempt on fresh rubber on the second run. Ran deep at La Source, which cost him a little on exit, and had a few moments of turn-in instability, but put together the sixth-fastest lap – enough to secure third on the grid thanks to penalties.
Race
Survived being hit by Hamilton at Les Combes on the opening lap, but inevitably slipped behind the far quicker Russell, Verstappen and Leclerc as the race progressed. That added up to sixth on the road, but Leclerc’s time penalty for speeding in the pits promoted him to fifth.
Verdict
Didn’t put a foot wrong in the race, although arguably wasn’t as fast as Ocon.
Started: 8th (pits) Finished: 9th
Qualifying
With the AlphaTauri all over the place in the middle sector and struggling as understeer turned to oversteer mid-corner, Gasly did a good job to set the 12th-fastest time and was one of only four drivers to string together his theoretical best lap. That gave him eighth on the grid.
Race
Gasly had to start from the pits thanks to a late electrical problem, but executed his offset strategy – a two-stopper but with earlier stops than most – superbly to recover to ninth. He made some key passes along the way, with the timing of his second stop crucially allowing him to jump Albon, who he maintained a healthy advantage over in a long final stint.
Verdict
Extracted plenty from the tricky AlphaTauri in qualifying and the race.
Started: 20th (pits) Finished: 13th
Qualifying
Tsunoda’s second-run Q1 lap started well, but things started to get away with him in the middle sector with a big rear-end snap coming through Fagnes, then another smaller moment in Stavelot. But his lap was completely ruined by a lock-up and off at the chicane.
His first-run time didn’t get him into Q2 but should have put him 13th on the grid, but the team changed some power unit components without permission and he was condemned to a pitlane start.
Race
Started from the pits and ahead of Gasly, slipping behind him quickly then repassing him on the run to Blanchimont later that lap. On a different strategy to Gasly, he ran long on hards in the first stint but was not able to find the clear air needed to make more progress. He ended up 13th in the train behind Albon, passing Zhou on the Kemmel Straight on the last lap.
Verdict
Untidy in qualifying, but his race was better than it looked on a strategy that didn’t pay off.
Started: 10th Finished: 8th
Qualifying
Missed out on a place in Q2 by just 0.002s, losing time early in the lap thanks to the tyres not being in the window. That was the part of the lap that ultimately made the difference, but he also lost time over the rest of the lap with too much sliding, possibly the consequence of overdriving.
Race
Held fifth early on after making a great start, but was always going to slip behind Verstappen and Leclerc. He was also passed by the recovering Ocon in the final stint, having just passed Gasly, who had undercut his way past.
Verdict
Qualifying was disappointing but the race was superbly executed.
Started: 9th Finished: 11th
Qualifying
Did a good job to outpace Vettel by two tenths to advance to Q1, but had a difficult time in the second stage of qualifying. He lost pace in Q2 and complained of a lack of grip, which showed on his final Q2 lap with a moment at La Source and some other untidy corners caused by the unexpected grip struggles.
Race
Complained of being forced off by Vettel at Les Combes after running out of room while trying to re-pass his team-mate. That allowed Albon to get back past, which was defining for Stroll’s race as he spent the rest of the grand prix stuck behind the Wiliams driver, meaning he finished 11th.
Verdict
Would have scored had he been more circumspect at Les Combes on the first lap.
Started: 11th Finished: 18th
Qualifying
Latifi felt he had the pace to join Albon in Q2, but struggled from the start of the lap with a moment at La Source prefacing a solid, but unspectacular, run through the rest of the lap. The result was a seven-tenths deficit to Albon.
Race
Struggled for grip and described it as like slicks in the wet when he understeered off at Les Combes on lap two and spun, collecting Bottas. That set the tone for a long afternoon at the back as he was firmly last after the incident and needed a pitstop for a new nose.
Verdict
Showed glimpses of pace but didn’t string it together and made a costly in-race error.
Started: 6th Finished: 10th
Qualifying
Albon reaching Q3 – the first time Williams has made it there in dry conditions this year after Latifi’s wet heroics at Silverstone – was one of the stories of qualifying. But despite doing a good job, he probably left time on the table both in Q2 and Q3. However, given the slippery Williams was a tricky car to drive, it was an excellent performance that also netted him the quickest first-sector time of anyone.
Race
Didn’t get a great launch, but settled in for a long afternoon keeping quicker cars at bay while completing a tricky tyre management assignment. He executed that superbly, although his big lock-up that let Ocon past was the one moment when he let his defences slip.
Verdict
Quick, if a little rough round the edges at times in a tricky Williams, and resolute in defence to take a great point.
Started: 18th Finished: 14th
Qualifying
Had the assistance of a Bottas tow to ensure he made it into Q2, ending up 11th in the first part of qualifying. But in Q2 he struggled to put together a decent lap, with a big lock-up at La Source on his final attempt. That was enough for 13th and ensured he would start ahead of Schumacher, but he didn’t extract the maximum from the car thanks to an untidy lap.
Race
Got up to 13th early on behind Norris and ahead of Tsunoda. But his race was ultimately contained by him getting into the queue behind the Albon rolling roadblock. Unable to pass Norris, Zhou became embroiled in a battle with Tsunoda in the closing laps, with the pair swapping positions before the Alfa driver lost out to a pass approaching Les Combes on the last lap.
Verdict
Penalties ruined his points chances, although he wasn’t at his team-mate’s level pace-wise.
Started: 13th Finished: DNF
Qualifying
As he was always going to start ahead of the six drivers with a back-of-the-grid penalty, his own substantial grid penalty was not a major concern. The original plan was to try and make it to Q2, but Zhou’s first-run struggles meant he was deployed to tow his team-mate on the second Q1 runs rather than producing the pace he could have done.
Race
Finished the first lap in 14th place and did everything he could to avoid the spinning Latifi exiting Les Combes, but couldn’t avoid contact and was beached in the gravel after spinning.
Verdict
On a hiding to nothing in qualifying and not at fault for his early retirement.
Started: 12th Finished: 16th
Qualifying
Magnussen had a solid first run in Q1 with a decent tow from Russell, but didn’t make a big enough step on the second lap. He only made marginal improvements in the first two sectors, then went deep at the chicane, which ensured he couldn’t escape Q1 .
Race
Spent the early part of the race around the points positions, but the Haas never had the pace to stay there. Gradually faded as a result, with even Albon’s roadblock not allowing him to stay in the midfield fight.
Verdict
Couldn’t be expected to do much more with the Haas, but despite finishing ahead was the slower Haas driver.
Started: 19th Finished: 17th
Qualifying
Had a slow start to Q1, but put together a good lap on his second run to ensure he advanced to Q2. There was little to gain from there on as he was in the slowest car of the group that had back-of-the grid penalties, but Q2 didn’t go well anyway as he had to rely on his used-tyre pace – given he went wide, then had a big moment at the exit of La Source, at the start of his key lap, which he then abandoned.
Race
Started at the back and stayed there, getting ahead of Latifi after his pitstop with a pass at Eau Rouge and then finishing just over three seconds behind his team-mate. With the pace of the Haas, there was little more he could do.
Verdict
Pace in qualifying and the race relative to Magnussen was good, but the car was nowhere.
