Mercedes Lewis Hamilton took a narrow
victory over Sebastian Vettel Formula 1 Pirelli Belgian Grand Prix to slash the
Ferrari driver’s championship lead from 14 to 7 points. Just 2.3 separated the
title rivals at the chequered flag, as Daniel Ricciardo secured an unexpected
podium for Red Bull with third place at Spa Francorchamps.
Hamilton did just what he needed to
in his 200th Grand Prix as he scored his 58th career success, but it was an
intense nip-and-tuck battle all the way, with Vettel never more than two
seconds adrift throughout the 44 laps, and sometimes a lot closer than that. Kimi
Raikkonen was fourth in the second Ferrari, the Finn having been given a
10-second stop-go penalty for ignoring yellow flags when the luckless Max
Verstappen retired his Red Bull with power loss on Lap 8.
Valtteri Bottas finished a
disappointed fifth for Mercedes, while Nico Hulkenberg scored his third sixth
place of the year for Renault, followed home by the Haas of Romain Grosjean and
the Williams of Felipe Massa. Esteban Ocon survived contact with Force India
team mate Sergio Perez not once but twice in two separate clashes on the run
down to Eau Rouge to take the flag in ninth, with Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz
completing the top ten.
Behind them, Hulkenberg easily took
sixth, but a mid-race change of strategy helped Grosjean to take seventh for
Haas ahead of Massa, whose Williams fended off Ocon’s damaged Force India to
the flag. Sainz salvaged 10th and a point for Toro Rosso, as Williams’ Lance
Stroll led Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat, Renault’s Jolyon Palmer, McLaren’s Stoffel
Vandoorne and Sauber Marcus Ericsson home. Perez’s car was withdrawn late in
the race, joining McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, Verstappen and Sauber Pascal
Wehrlein on the retirement’s list.
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