The Dutchman, who started on the front row alongside polesitter Piastri, swept past the Australian on the Kemmel Straight into Les Combes on the opening lap and never looked back, claiming his 12th career sprint victory and his first win of any kind since the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May.

It marked a symbolic start to Red Bull’s new era without Christian Horner, delivering the team its first-ever win with someone other than their former Team Principal in control.

Verstappen said he was pleased with the result and knew the best chance to overtake would come early.

“It worked out really well,” Verstappen said. “That’s the only opportunity we’re going to get against them and we took it.

“I couldn’t afford to make many mistakes. I’m very happy with what we did there.”

He added that once he hit the front, it was all about staying there under pressure.

“I’m just doing 15 qualifying laps to keep them behind,” Verstappen added. “It wasn’t easy but I managed to do it.”

Piastri kept the pressure on throughout the sprint, staying within DRS range the entire race but unable to find a way past. Red Bull’s lower-downforce rear wing gave Verstappen a crucial straight-line speed advantage that helped him defend.

The Australian admitted he was frustrated not to reclaim the lead but content to bank valuable championship points.

“I tried my best to snake my way through the straights and not give him a tow but I just didn’t have enough straight line speed or for the next 15 laps either,” Piastri said. “It’s only the sprint, the main points are tomorrow. Pretty happy with it but frustrated I couldn’t get past.”

With rain expected for the main race, Piastri said setup choices would be key in preventing a repeat result.

“The weather is looking pretty bad for tomorrow which means you don’t want to take off too much wing,” he said. “We’ll have a look and see what we can do.”

Lando Norris completed the sprint podium in third, staying close to his McLaren teammate after recovering from an early drop behind Charles Leclerc.

Norris passed Leclerc on lap four and eyed a move on Piastri in the closing stages, but ultimately settled for third.

“The Red Bull is just too quick in the straight for us to catch up,” Norris said after the race. “Maybe some tweaks for us to make into qualifying. We’ll see what we can do.

“I’m not too fussed about sprint races, obviously main races I prefer to win.”

By finishing behind Piastri, Norris ceded a point to his teammate, with Piastri’s lead in the drivers’ championship extending slightly to nine points.

Leclerc held on for fourth, ahead of Esteban Ocon, who impressed in fifth, matching his best-ever result for Haas after a strong sprint qualifying performance.

Carlos Sainz delivered his best finish for Williams with sixth, a much-needed result after a difficult run of form since joining the team this season.

Oliver Bearman made it a double points finish for Haas in seventh, just ahead of the Racing Bull of Isack Hadjar.

There was very little position change throughout the 15-lap sprint race, with most of the field finishing where they started.

The only significant movement came from the two Alpines, with Franco Colapinto finishing 19th after starting from the pit lane, following a rear wing change after sprint qualifying.

His teammate, Pierre Gasly, initially retired from the race with a water leak but later rejoined to gain some mileage, eventually finishing last and classified two laps down.

With dry conditions so far, all eyes will be on qualifying this afternoon to see how the expected rain tomorrow could shape the grid for the main race.