Max Verstappen caught and passed McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to win the Belgian Grand Prix’s rainy sprint race.

Piastri, who started second behind Verstappen, took the lead after stopping for a change to intermediate tyres immediately after the race began after five laps behind the safety car.

Verstappen stayed on the obligatory complete wet tyres for a lap before changing, and had to wait for a safety car period before passing Piastri on the Kemmel straight to take the lead.

The Australian held on for second place, his highest F1 finish in his debut season, ahead of Pierre Gasly of Alpine.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton finished fourth on the road but was penalized five seconds after a collision with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, which forced the Mexican to retire, and slipped to seventh, just ahead of teammate George Russell.

through the two right-hand Stavelot corners, side by side with Perez.

Hamilton went a little wide and had to drop behind the Red Bull for the rest of the lap, under pressure from Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.

Hamilton then passed Perez around the outside of the first turn, the La Source hairpin, before Sainz followed Perez into Eau Rouge and came out ahead.

Charles Leclerc, Sainz’s teammate, took advantage of the Red Bull’s loss of momentum and passed Perez up the straight into the Les Combes chicane.

Perez subsequently lost control and went off the track at Stavelot under pressure from McLaren’s Lando Norris, forcing him to abandon his car.