The Belgian Grand Prix was won by Max Verstappen.
The world championship leader was in a class of his own as he fought from 14th to take a firm lead by lap 18 and then disappeared into the distance.
Even though Verstappen was quicker than Perez, the Red Bull driver was still able to finish second.
Mercedes' George Russell was in third place.
The championship lead was consolidated by Verstappen's ninth victory.
His only rival, Charles Leclerc, finished fifth, but was demoted to sixth by a penalty for speeding in the pit lane, and now has a 98-point deficit to Verstappen that is now surely inescapable.
Verstappen won in Hungary from 10th on the grid thanks to the latest in a series of strategy mistakes for Leclerc.
The Dutch driver began the run-in to the end of the season with an emphatic statement.
Even a grid penalty for using too many engine parts could not stop Verstappen from looking imperious from the start.
Verstappen, one of seven drivers who received penalties that put them to the back of the grid, took a stunning pole position by nearly 0.7 seconds from Sainz, and his pace led to predictions from many in the paddock, including Russell, that he would win despite his penalty.
So it was proven.
Verstappen was eighth by the end of the first lap after he chose the soft tire.
There was a safety car on lap one after Lewis Hamilton was ordered to park his Mercedes on track after it was damaged by him colliding with Fernando Alonso's Alpine trying to pass around the outside of Les Combes.
Verstappen was up to fifth by the end of the restart. He was on team-mate Perez's tail as Sainz was closing on him.
Verstappen overtook Perez on the 11th to take the lead after Sainz changed his soft tyres.
Despite being on worn soft tyres, Verstappen continued to set a fast pace, but was overtaken by Sainz on the 15th lap.
He emerged three seconds behind, and was on Sainz's tail a lap later, and in front by the end of the tour.
The battle for the lead was over when Verstappen crushed the field two seconds faster than Sainz.
Sainz had to spend the rest of the race worrying about Russell's Mercedes behind him because of the lack of pace shown by Ferrari.
Sainz took third place despite Russell closing in over the final stages.
Leclerc knew that he had to beat Verstappen to have a chance at the title, but the Red Bull pace left him and Ferrari bewildered.
Leclerc's race was damaged when he had to pit early because his front wheel was smoking and he went to the back.
He was able to fight back to fifth but was not able to catch Russell.
It was difficult for Leclerc to claim the fastest lap because he came out only just ahead of Alonso's Alpine and the Spaniard overtook into fifth place.
The attempt by Leclerc to get the fastest lap from Verstappen failed by 0.6 seconds.
Leclerc was given a five second penalty and dropped behind Alonso.
Alonso was rewarded with sixth on the road and fifth in the results after a great drive from third on the grid.
On his way to seventh, Ocon overtook his team-mate to take the lead.
Ocon drafted both of them after Gasly went to pass Vettel.
In a move reminiscent of Mika Hakkinen's famous pass of Michael Schumacher, Ocon went three-wide into Les Combes and snatched the lead.
Alex Albon claimed the final point for Williams after his ninth place in qualification, which made him sixth on the grid.
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