Verstappen has 'all the reason to be cheeky' - Wolff

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has insisted Max Verstappen has "all the reasons to be cheeky" after dominating for the eighth race in a row at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman secured victory over teammate Sergio Perez by 22.3 seconds despite starting sixth on the grid following a gearbox penalty.

Having assumed the lead on lap 17, Verstappen drew clear of the Mexican and after a blistering lap on his first attempt on his third set of tyres, race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase made multiple calls for the two-time champion to 'use his head'.

But Verstappen quipped that he could instead pull clear and allow for another pit stop to give his mechanics "practice".

"He has all the reasons to be cheeky," Wolff told media including RacingNews365.

"He is driving circles around everybody else on merit.

"You have got to watch that, on the one hand, as much as it is annoying."

Major step

Mercedes finished fourth and sixth courtesy of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell - the former unable to overhaul Ferrari's Charles Leclerc before pitting on the penultimate lap to secure a bonus point for fastest lap.

"When you compare to the rest of the world, Spa was an awful race and before the last stop, Perez, Leclerc and us were within six seconds," said Wolff.

"That was a major step for us because Spa was a disaster last year.

"We feel we have made that step but then you have the top guy who has also made a step - fact.

"We just need to turn around the fact."