Verstappen wins Belgian Grand Prix for 8th consecutive win, beating teammate Perez

Defending Formula One champion Max Verstappen enters the mid-season break in unstoppable form, after emphatically winning the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday for an eighth straight win and 10th overall of a crushingly dominant season.

Despite starting from sixth place, he finished 22.3 seconds ahead of teammate Sergio Perez to give Red Bull an easy one-two finish.

It moved Verstappen ominously closer to a third straight world title and his own F1 record of 15 wins from last year.

Verstappen is 125 points ahead of Perez after just 12 races, and his next target is matching Sebastian Vettel's F1 record of nine straight wins with a victory at the Dutch GP when the lopsided season resumes Aug. 27.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc finished in third spot for a third podium of the season, with Lewis Hamilton in fourth for Mercedes ahead of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

George Russell was sixth for Mercedes, with Lando Norris (McLaren), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Montreal's Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), and Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) completing the top 10.

Leclerc started on pole ahead of Perez, with Hamilton and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. behind them. McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri was on the next row alongside Verstappen, who was fastest in Friday's qualifying but took a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.

McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri was on the next row alongside Verstappen, who was fastest in Friday's qualifying but took a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change and had to avoid early traffic.

"It was just about surviving turn one. I could see it was all getting really tight," Verstappen said. "I've been in that position before myself so I am just going to stay out of that and it worked out. From there onwards I made the