As Max Verstappen slips to fourth place in qualifying, Red Bull says it has upped its downforce levels anticipating a wet Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium, July 26 (Reuters) - Formula One champion Max Verstappen won a "cat and mouse" Belgian Grand Prix sprint on Saturday in Red Bull's first race under the leadership of Laurent Mekies following Christian Horner's dismissal.

Oscar Piastri has beaten Max Verstappen to pole position for the sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix as Red Bull began its first Formula 1 race weekend since the firing of Christian Horner as team principal.

Red Bull have introduced a new front wing configuration at the Belgian Grand Prix, which features changes to the camber and incidence of the mainplane and secondary flap, with the most obvious visual changes to be found in the outboard section (green arrows), whereby there’s some small changes to the twist geometry.

A new Red Bull era begins under Mekies at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix. He was appointed after 18 months at Racing Bulls. He worked at Ferrari for five years, as deputy team principal and racing director, and at the F.I.A., which governs Formula 1, for four years, initially as safety director and then deputy race director.

Oscar Piastri convincingly secured pole position for the sprint race in Belgium, leaving Max Verstappen with no real answer. According to Olav Mol, McLaren’s performance gain may be down to them adopting a clever tactic previously used by Red Bull Racing.

Formula One's Spa weekend marks a new start for Red Bull and reigning world champion Max Verstappen as the team go racing for the first time without Christian Horner at the helm.

Laurent Mekies didn't get long to settle in as Red Bull team principal on his first Formula 1 race weekend leading his new team

McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown insists he was “not surprised” by the sudden departure of arch rival Christian Horner at Red Bull. Horner, 51, was relieved of his duties as team principal and F1 CEO at Red Bull Racing after 20 years in the role. Laurent Mekies, formerly of sister team Racing Bulls, has taken over ahead of this week’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen was left to rue what might have been after the Belgian Grand Prix was red flagged and then took place in mostly dry conditions.