Belgian GP: Lewis Hamilton wins to stretch title lead, Ferrari no points

Lewis Hamilton dedicated his victory to Chadwick Boseman and performed the Wakanda salute, after the actor’s death.

Lewis Hamilton ended Mercedes’ three-year wait for another victory at Spa-Francorchamps with a supreme push towards his 89th career victory at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton led from start to finish to defeat Red Bull’s teammate Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen for second and third respectively.

The victory has extended his world championship lead to 47 points, almost the equivalent of two career victories.

The six-time champion is now just two more victories from Michael Schumacher’s all-time record, which could be equaled in two races at Mugello in the 1,000th anniversary race for Ferrari, the team with which the great German set the milestone. .

But Sunday’s race underscored that Ferrari has far greater concerns at the moment than simply losing a prestigious record.

The famous Scuderia had won the previous two Belgian GPs but, incredibly, this time there was not even the consolation of a point for them in a weekend of humility for the rapidly falling F1 giants.

0:34

The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel are close to connecting as they battle for 13th and 14th position at Spa

Sebastian Vettel was 13th and Charles Leclerc 14th, and the teammates even hit wheels at one point as they battled for position out of the points amid a chronic lack of straight line speed from their SF1000s.

But it was a great day, and a great result, for Renault.

Daniel Ricciardo finished a very comfortable fourth, with the Australian even taking the bonus point for the fastest lap with a fantastic loading effort on the 44th and final tour.

His teammate Esteban Ocon was fifth after a last-lap pass over Red Bull’s Alex Albon.

3:01

Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth at Spa and was pleased to have set the fastest lap at the end.

Fourth and fifth matched the best result of Renault’s return to team ownership so far and moved them back into contention with McLaren, Racing Point and Ferrari for third place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Although outscored by Renault, Lando Norris finished seventh in what turned out to be the only McLaren in the race after Carlos Sainz was ruled out before the start with an exhaust problem in his car.

The leading riders were forced to manage their tires to the finish after the only pit stops were activated earlier than planned following a major accident involving Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Williams’ George Russell on lap 10.

Giovinazzi crashed into the outer barriers at the fast Fagnes corner and, with the rear wheel of his car loose as he crossed the track, the unfortunate Russell couldn’t help himself and the tire also took his car out of the race.

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Antonio Giovinazzi hits the barrier on the right side of the track at Spa, with his wheel flying and heading into the path of George Russell’s car.

The timing of the safety car initially seemed awkward for Pierre Gasly, who had gotten off to a dizzying start to the race, including a breathless pass from Sergio Perez at the mighty Eau Rouge on lap two, despite starting on harder tires. slow

The AlphaTauri, along with Perez, stayed out of the safety car and inevitably lost a lot of ground when it was finally stopped for tires after the group closed. But the fit Frenchman recovered well from there, passing both Racing Points at the end to secure a good eighth place on a weekend he had raced in memory of his friend Anthoine Hubert.

The sport observed a minute’s silence on the grid before the race in memory of the Frenchman, who died in an F2 race at Spa last year.

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Pierre Gasly is close to Sergio Pérez on the first lap at Spa

Belgian GP Result: Top 10
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Renault
5. Esteban Ocon, Renault
6. Alexander Albon, Red Bull
7. Lando Norris, McLaren
8. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
9. Lance Stroll, Racing Point
10. Sergio Pérez, Racing Point

2:05

Lewis Hamilton achieves pole position on the first lap of the Belgian GP

Hamilton in a league of their own, again

“We’re running out of superlatives for him,” admitted Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok after the conclusion of the six-time champion’s final tour de force for a fourth win at the sport’s most legendary track.

Pole position has at times proven to be a poisoned goblet for the drivers at Spa due to the fact that it leaves them vulnerable when towing down the long Kemmel Straight to Les Combes on the first lap. However, Hamilton conclusively took advantage of his early lead over Bottas and never seemed really threatened as the field cut through the uphill run to Les Combes.

The truth is that the race leader did not look overly concerned all afternoon, despite a brief drop in power early in the race and after concerns about tire handling late in the race when the drivers they took their tires to the finish.

Indeed, after earlier than ideal first stops, Hamilton admitted that he experienced some nerves late in the race on his hard tires, several weeks after the late puncture that forced him to complete the final lap of the British GP over three. functional wheels.

“It was a bit difficult. I was nervous that we would have another situation like Silverstone!” Hamilton admitted.

“It’s not necessarily what everyone always wants to see in the Mercedes up front, but we just keep our heads down. It’s an incredible mentality to work with and we keep learning about the car.”

Bottas finished 8 seconds behind his teammate, although at least he had Verstappen’s measure this time after being beaten by Red Bull behind Hamilton two weeks ago in Spain.

“Lewis was flawless today,” admitted the Finn.

Ferrari investigation to start before Monza

As preparations for two consecutive races in their home country progress, Monza next week and Mugello the following week, Ferrari’s could hardly have been worse.

The thirteenth and fourteenth positions in qualifying did not improve in the race, despite the fact that McLaren’s Sainz, who had qualified seventh, did not participate, and Ferrari’s lack of straight-line speed left Vettel and Leclerc in near misses. desperate.

Leclerc made impressive progress early in the points standings, but quickly slid back thereafter, with his afternoon compounded by a second pit stop when the team had to do a pre-emptive recharge of its engine pneumatic pressure.

Vettel told Sky F1: “Hopefully the issues are specific to Spa. There are a lot of lessons from this weekend and we have two important races we need to focus on. The package is what it is. We have to stay optimistic and see the good things. , even if they are not many.

“I tried many things to fix these problems, but we were not fast enough. We cannot work miracles.”

Ferrari has dropped to fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship and is now just two points ahead of Renault, which will likely be strong again on the high-speed straights at Monza.

Ferrari’s big fear is that the situation could get even worse at their home track next Sunday.