Hamilton wins Belgian GP to trim Vettel’s lead to seven points
SPA-FRANORCHAMPS, Belgium – Lewis Hamilton celebrated his record-equaling 68th pole position with victory at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, trimming championship leader Sebastian Vettel’s lead to seven points.
Hamilton clinched his fifth win of the season and 58th overall, having equaled Michael Schumacher’s pole record.
Vettel finished 2nd, about two seconds behind Hamilton.
“I was waiting for Lewis to make a mistake and he didn’t,” Vettel said.
It was a comfy win for the British driver, albeit it got a bit tense toward the end.
With about ten laps left, Vettel almost overtook his challenger as they emerged from behind the safety car.
Vettel got his Ferrari alongside Hamilton on a long straight, but Hamilton edged his Mercedes into the corner just in time.
“I’m not entirely glad,” said Vettel, adding that he got his treatment a bit wrong.
Crimson Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was third – for his sixth podium of the season – completing ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, with Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas fifth.
After twelve races, four-time F1 champ Vettel has two hundred twenty points to three-time champ Hamilton’s two hundred thirteen heading into next weekend’s Italian GP in Monza.
“I think we had very good rhythm,” Vettel said. “I’m looking forward to next week.”
The Spa track, nestled in the Ardennes forest, is the longest in F1 at seven kilometers (Four.Trio miles) and the race is often utter of incident, especially when it rains.
It stayed dry, but there was one heated clash inbetween Force India drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, prompting the safety car to come out after they ploughed into each other on lap 30, sending debris onto the track.
Their tense relationship is unlikely to improve anytime soon.
Earlier, they touched wheels as Ocon moved on the outside, with Perez responding by squeezing the Frenchman against the barrier.
Hamilton made a good begin to the race on the long climb up to Eau Rouge, with Vettel on his tail.
But Max Verstappen’s hopes of a very first win this season ended on lap eight when his Crimson Bull lost power.
“I can’t believe this,” the exasperated Verstappen said.
Understandably, given that it is the sixth time this season he has failed to finish the race – and that some 80,000 Dutch fans had crossed the border to cheer him on.
It has been a frustrating season for the 19-year-old Verstappen, who secured a podium with third place in China but has been hit with reliability issues since.
Two-time F1 champ Fernando Alonso was getting exasperated with the lack of rhythm in his McLaren as he drifted way down the leaderboard, and shouted “no more radio for the rest of the race,” after receiving some instructions he didn’t want.
Halfway through the 44-lap race, Hamilton led Vettel by 1.Three seconds, with Bottas seven back. Ricciardo got past Bottas after the safety car.
Alonso’s race ended when he retired on lap 27, the latest setback in yet another frustrating season as McLaren resumes to fight with Honda engines. The Spanish driver has finished only three races so far.
Behind the leaders, the Ocon-Perez rift deepened.
After bumping on the track at the Azerbaijan GP in June, they did it again, with Ocon’s front wing flying off and a tire ripping off off Perez’s car.
This prompted a furious, expletive-laced outburst from Ocon, who was already unhappy that his team had pitted Perez for fresh tires ahead of him.
The safety car permitted both Force India cars to pit for repairs. Ocon finished ninth but Perez had to retire just before the end.
The safety car stayed out for four laps, which was too long for Hamilton’s liking, and he used a choice expletive of his own to complain.
Drivers worry that their tires lose warmth if they stay behind the safety car too long.