Magazine: Verstappen's Belgian GP charge, Silverstone Classic review

The Red Bull ace is ticking more and more of the boxes to be one of Formula 1’s greats and did so again at Spa last weekend. His sublime performance made him the 22nd driver to win a world championship GP (excluding the anomalous Indianapolis 500s of the 1950s) from outside the top 10 on the grid.

As Matt Kew shows in our in-depth report, Verstappen was on another level and had charged from 13th into victory contention before one-quarter distance. The ease with which he then nailed his ninth win of 2022, followed (at a distance) by team-mate Sergio Perez must be serious concern for Ferrari. The more-stringent floor tests don’t seem to have hurt Red Bull one bit…

It was a sobering weekend for Mercedes, too. The W13 was further off the pace than expected and Lewis Hamilton’s misjudgement while attacking Fernando Alonso’s Alpine ended his impressive recent podium run.

Alonso’s radio rant was predictably over the top, so Alex Kalinauckas looks at the myths and merits of the two-time champion’s comments about his former McLaren team-mate, while we also assess the challenges facing Audi’s F1 assault and the pros and cons of MotoGP’s decision to introduce sprint races for 2023.

It was a big Bank Holiday weekend of motorsport in the UK. As ever, Marcus Simmons brings you all the best of the action from the British Touring Car Championship bouts at Thruxton and Marcus Pye was at the Silverstone Classic historic extravaganza that provided action across single-seater, touring car and sportscar categories spanning nearly a century of motorsport.

There was plenty of drama and controversy across the weekend’s club events, which we cover in our 17-page National section. Plus, Stefan Mackley shares his experiences as Autosport joined a karting event to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

For the best motorsport coverage, from F1 to Britain’s club-racing scene, why not get Autosport magazine delivered to your door each week? Subscribe today and never miss your weekly fix of motorsport: www.autosportmedia.com/offer/article