The Belgian GP had quite the turnout & It was a spectacular race indeed. The weather threatened a shower towards the end of the race, but luckily, no drop of rain hit the circuit during the event.
Before the lights went out, there was plenty of drama on the starting grid. Nico Hulkenberg waved his hands back and forth, signaling trouble with his car. During the formation lap, the team had told him to pit and that there was a problem, but ended up deciding he would take the start. However, that did not happen and he retired before he even got a chance to begin. He was not the only one in trouble - Carlos Sainz also had car issues and after being in the garage for quite awhile, the team was able to send him out from pit-lane to start the race.
The start of the race was a problem for some with the new start procedure. Rosberg had a poor start, leaving Lewis Hamilton up in front to battle with Force India's, Sergio Perez, who moved from 4th to 2nd quickly. With Hulkenberg unable to start the race, it was up to Perez to bring Force India the most points he could.
Pastor Maldonado was the first to retire due to engine issues. Romain Grosjean, however was playing catch up from where he'd started in 9th after a grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
It was not a good day for Williams, especially Bottas, who was the victim of a bad pit-stop. When he came in for a new set of tyres, he got 3 of one and 1 of the other. He was given a drive through penalty for this and it cost him a lot of time and the potential for a podium. Felipe Massa was having trouble staying ahead of quite a few cars.
Daniel Ricciardo retired next with a Hydraulics issue & the Virtual Safety Car was put into action while they moved his car off the track. This gave drivers a chance to pit without worrying too much. A bit later after this, Toro Rosso retired Carlos Sainz, due to earlier issues with the car.
Meanwhile, up in front, the battle for the last place on the podium was between Sebastian Vettel & Romain Grosjean. Grosjean had passed Ricciardo and Perez and was coming up on Vettel quickly. With only a few laps to go, it looked like it would be Vettel holding a trophy. However, it was not the case. Vettel's rear right tyre suddenly exploded into bits and he was limping the Ferrari around the circuit. The team told him to pit and it was race over for him. Grosjean then sped around the circuit for the final few laps before coming across the finish line in 3rd. Lotus's first podium since 2013.
Hamilton brought home the win in Spa and added more points to his lead in the Drivers Championship. However, with plenty of races left this season, the title is still up for grabs for the likes of Rosberg and Vettel. Both Max Verstappen & Sergio Perez proved to be the mid-field heroes of the race with both making phenomenal passes and battling with some of the top drivers. Perez finished 5th and Verstappen 8th & both moved up in the drivers standings.
Both McLaren-Honda drivers finished the race, although there was little to celebrate after both had such hefty grid penalties and a lack of pace throughout the pace. However, things continue to look up for the Woking-based team. Both Button & Alonso continue to be optimistic about the teams progress.
Here are the race results - Next up is the Italian GP at Monza.
RACE RESULTS:
1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 25 Points
2. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes-Mercedes / Germany / + 18 Points
3. Romain Grosjean / Lotus-Mercedes / France / + 15 Points
4. Daniil Kvyat / Red Bull-Renault / Russia / + 12 Points
5. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / + 10 Points
6. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil / + 8 Points
7. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / + 6 Points
8. Max Verstappen / Toro Rosso-Renault / Netherlands / + 4 Points
9. Valtteri Bottas / Williams-Mercedes / Finland / + 2 Points
10. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden / + 1 Point
11. Felipe Nasr / Sauber-Ferrari / Brazil
12. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / ( RETIRED - Qualified as finished - Tyre)
13. Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Honda / Spain
14. Jenson Button / McLaren-Honda / Great Britain
15. Roberto Merhi / Manor-Ferrari / Spain
16. Will Stevens / Manor-Ferrari / Great Britain
RETIRED - Carlos Sainz / Toro Rosso / Spain / ENGINE
RETIRED - Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-Renault / Australia / HYDRAULICS
RETIRED - Pastor Maldonado / Lotus-Mercedes / Venezuela / ENGINE
DID NOT START - Nico Hulkenberg / Force India-Mercedes / Germany / ENGINE
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Article Written By: Amy Hawk
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