Belgian Victory for Hamilton
By: Dave of Setanta Sports
Lewis Hamilton controlled Sunday’s race from pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix, securing victory in relative comfort.
Nico Rosberg recovered from a poor start to ensure a one-two result for Mercedes, but the German is now 28 points behind teammate Hamilton in the battle to win the Drivers’ Championship.
Lotus racer Romain Grosjean finished third, thanks in part to two expert passes on Williams driver Valtteri Bottas early on, either side of the opening round of pit-stops, along with fine overtakes on Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez.
The Frenchman, who was ninth on the grid, ultimately secured the podium result when the right-rear tyre of Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari failed on the penultimate lap.
However, fellow Lotus man Pastor Maldonado, who started from seventh, suffered a power-train problem on the opening lap, bringing about his exit from the race.
Vettel had come from eighth place on the grid to move up third, attempting to make a one-stop strategy work to his and the team’s advantage, but his right-rear proved unable to take the strain.
Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat, following a series of strong manoeuvres during his final stint, finished fourth, a spot ahead of Force India’s Perez.
The respective teammates of Kvyat and Perez both suffered disappointment, however. Ricciardo had been on course to take home a decent haul of points until his Red Bull suffered a shutdown just prior to mid-distance, while Nico Hulkenberg fell foul of a technical problem on the formation lap.
Felipe Massa’s composure under pressure helped him to take sixth place, where he had started, for Williams, while Kimi Raikkonen gave Ferrari some consolation by finishing seventh.
Teenager Max Verstappen produced several scintillating moments, including a stunning pass on Sauber’s Felipe Nasr around the outside Blanchimont and into the chicane, on his way to an eighth-place result. The Dutchman could have secured an even greater number of points, indeed, had he not run wide in attempting to overtake Raikkonen.
Bottas finished ninth despite Williams fitting his car with a mixture of soft- and medium-compound tyres during his opening stop. A drive-through penalty and handling difficulties duly followed, but the Finn did enough to grab some points for himself and the team.
Tenth place and the final available point went to Sauber and Marcus Ericsson, who started from 13th.
The action at Spa-Francorchamps had commenced with an aborted start, as a technical issue on the formation lap forced Hulkenberg out of the race, while a loss of power in Carlos Sainz’s Toro Rosso subsequently damaged the Spaniard’s hopes and ultimately led to his retirement.
When the race proper got underway, Rosberg started poorly, dropping back to fifth place, with Perez second, Ricciardo third and Bottas fourth, although Rosberg battled his way back past Bottas at the chicane at the end of the opening lap, before Vettel also overtook the Williams.
The quick-starting Perez had a punt at taking the lead off Hamilton on the first visit to Les Combes but was unable to make the move stick, and the Englishman immediately began to build a healthy advantage at the front.
Both Ricciardo and Perez made early stops, allowing Rosberg to move up to second place. Following his own opening visit to the pits, the German retained the position on his return to the circuit, consolidating the achievement by holding off Perez on the run up to Les Combes.
Ricciardo’s race was soon to come to an end, while Vettel marched his way up into the podium places, but the four-time world champion's day eventually ended with a disappointing and somewhat frightening tyre failure.
Up front, Rosberg tried all that he could to close up to Hamilton, but the Englishman never came under serious pressure, extending his championship lead in style.
Belgian Grand Prix: provisional race results
Pos. Driver, Team, Time/Gap
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1hr23:40.387
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, +2.058
3. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, +37.988
4. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, +45.692
5. Sergio Perez, Force India, +53.997
6. Felipe Massa, Williams, +55.283
7. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, +55.703
8. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, +56.076
9. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, +1:01.040
10. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, +1:31.234
11. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, +1:42.311
12. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, +1 lap
13. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, +1 lap
14. Jenson Button, McLaren, +1 lap
15. Roberto Merhi, Marussia, +1 lap
16. Will Stevens, Marussia, +1 lap
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Not classified/retirements
Driver, Team, Laps Completed
Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 31
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 18
Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1
Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 0
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Date:July 19th, 2017