Belgian GP: 2 winners and 2 losers at Spa-Francorchamps

Formula 1 returned at the weekend as the Belgian Grand Prix played out at Spa-Francorchamps, with Max Verstappen dominating.

The Dutchman and his Red Bull were in a league of their own all weekend, with him able to take the hit of several grid penalties and still roar to a commanding victory, with team-mate Sergio Perez coming home in a comfortable second.

It would be easy to label them the big winners from the weekend, then, and so we’ve taken a look at two other parties who had great Sundays, as well as two losers who might have wished the summer break could have continued a little longer…

Winner – Alex Albon

It was a brilliant weekend for Albon.

The Thai/British driver drove superbly over the course of the event, with him getting his Williams into Q3 on merit and achieving ninth in qualifying, before that was then P6 on the grid thanks to penalties applied to drivers in front of him.

He obviously had the tough task of keeping quicker cars behind him but he stuck to said task well and brought home a point for the team – a great performance from start to finish.

Loser – McLaren

Whilst Alpine scored double points in the battle for fourth place in the Constructors’, McLaren left Spa without a single one to show for their efforts.

Both Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo were unable to finish inside the top ten and both will be eager to head to Zandvoort and try and do better.

The battle for fourth will twist and turn more, though, and McLaren can take heart from that.

Winner – Esteban Ocon

Whilst Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were climbing up the order, Esteban Ocon was doing exactly the same with him pulling off some thrilling overtakes along the way.

The Frenchman was clearly enjoying himself out on track and was