Sergio Perez (P2, 18 pts): 8/10
Given the complete domination of qualifying and the race by his Red Bull team mate, Sergio Perez was good but not that good in Spa and had a bit of an up and down weekend. He lost time on Friday due to technical problems and ended both FP1 and FP2 down in tenth place - almost two seconds off the pace of Max Verstappen in the latter - but then bounced back on Saturday by pipping Max to the top spot by 0.137s. With Verstappen sidelined by a grid penalty, pole for Sunday was his for the taking - but he failed to pull it off with a scrappy final lap in qualifying and it went to Carlos Sainz instead. He then suffered a poor start on the mediums and lost three places, and was fortunate that the Fernando Alonso/Lewis Hamilton incident helped him get them back on the opening lap before the safety car was scrambled for a beached Alfa Romeo. After the restart he wasn't able to pass Sainz on track before the first pit stops, and then Verstappen flew past to take the lead. Perez was happier after the first pit stop and this time had no trouble breezing past the Ferrari, but by now Verstappen was well down the road and the result was effectively settled.
Max Verstappen (P1, Fastest lap, 26 pts): 10/10
We're always reluctant to hand out a perfect ten in the ratings as it's rare that any driver nears complete perfection. But For Max Verstappen, Belgium truly was one such occasion. He might not have topped all the practice sessions, but given that he knew he had a 'back of the grid' penalty coming into the weekend it's no surprise that his attention was elsewhere. When it mattered, though, he put the question beyond doubt: eight and a half tenths quicker than Charles Leclerc on Friday, over six tenths ahead of everyone in the final round of qualifying, it didn't take a genius to predict that he would storm back from P14 on the grid to take the lead of the race for the first time on lap 12. He was in a class of his own in Spa, out of reach even of his Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez, and once he was in front no one was able to catch him. It was a perfect drive in every respect, a solid gold ten out of ten, driver of the day winner for sure as he effectively decided the 2022 championship title in his favour along the way.
