BELGIAN GP - RACE - RE-CAP & RESULTS
Sebastian Vettel took his 5th win of the 2018 season after a nerve-wracking race at Circuit de Spa Francorchamps.
The race got off to an incredibly rocky start when a first lap accident caused by Nico Hulkenerg set off a quick chain reaction of collision-induced retirements.
Hulkenberg, who admitted to misjudging his braking, started the whole incident by plowing into the back of Fernando Alonso, who was then launched into the air and sent flying over the Sauber of Charles Leclerc. One of Alonso's front tyres was seen bouncing and scraping against Leclerc's Halo.
When Alonso's car finally came to a rest, it was then clear how much damage had actually been done. The engine cover had been torn off and the front wing set-up was completely gone.
Alonso, Hulkenberg and Leclerc were all out of the race due to the accident and Kimi Raikkonen was next to retire after a puncture and collision damage that he sustained as well.
Nico Hulkenberg was handed a 10-Place-Grid-Penalty for Monza for causing the collision and was also given 3 Penalty Points to his license. Bottas was handed 2 Penalty Points as well for colliding with Sergey Sirotkin in the opening lap.
Both Racing Point Force India drivers were lucky enough to miss the tangle in the back, with Perez and Ocon following Vettel and Hamilton without any damage. While it looked like a potential podium finish for one of them, they finished the race in 5th (Perez) and 6th (Ocon). This brought them a total of 18 points, which is a good start as they now much catch up in the constructors after losing all their points from when they were entered as Sahara Force India.
Max Verstappen was able to secure third to finish in front of his home-crowd, making it another well-driven race for the Half-Dutch/Half-Belgian driver. Vandoorne, who was also a home-crowd favorite, finished back in 15th after a tough weekend of mechanical woes.
While Leclerc never got a chance to show what he could do around Spa, Marcus Ericsson, in the lone Sauber, was able to bring home the last point by finishing in 10th. Just ahead of him in 9th was Pierre Gasly. Gasly's team-mate, Hartley, finished in 14th.
Both Haas drivers were also celebrating as they finished within the top 10 with Grosjean in 7th and Magnussen in 8th. There is yet to be any word of who will drive for the American team in 2018, but there is rumours that Grosjean will not be keeping his seat.
Valtteri Bottas just missed out on a podium as he brought home his Mercedes in 4th, while Lewis Hamilton secured 2nd, missing out on the win.
Daniel Ricciardo was the only other retirement of the race due to collision damage as well.
RESULTS:
1. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / + 25 Points
2. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 18 Points
3. Max Verstappen / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands / + 15 Points
4. Valtteri Bottas / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland / + 12 Points
5. Sergio Perez / Racing Point Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / + 10 Points
6. Esteban Ocon / Racing Point Force India-Mercedes / France / + 8 Points
7. Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France / + 6 Points
8. Kevin Magnussen / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark / + 4 Points
9. Pierre Gasly / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / France / + 2 Points
10. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden / + 1 Point
11. Carlos Sainz / Renault-Renault / Spain
12. Sergey Sirotkin / Williams-Mercedes / Russia
13. Lance Stroll / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
14. Brendon Hartley / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / New Zealand
15. Stoffel Vandoorne / McLaren-Renault / Belgium
RETIRED - Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Australia / Collision Damage
RETIRED - Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / Collision Damage
RETIRED - Charles Leclerc / Sauber-Ferrari / Monaco / Collision Damage
RETIRED - Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Renault / Spain / Collision Damage
RETIRED - Nico Hulkenberg / Renault-Renault / Germany / Collision
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Article Written By: Amy Hawk
No copyright infringement intended
Follow us on Twitter @F1Insider78 & @bethonieboost
Alonso, Hulkenberg and Leclerc were all out of the race due to the accident and Kimi Raikkonen was next to retire after a puncture and collision damage that he sustained as well.
Nico Hulkenberg was handed a 10-Place-Grid-Penalty for Monza for causing the collision and was also given 3 Penalty Points to his license. Bottas was handed 2 Penalty Points as well for colliding with Sergey Sirotkin in the opening lap.
Both Racing Point Force India drivers were lucky enough to miss the tangle in the back, with Perez and Ocon following Vettel and Hamilton without any damage. While it looked like a potential podium finish for one of them, they finished the race in 5th (Perez) and 6th (Ocon). This brought them a total of 18 points, which is a good start as they now much catch up in the constructors after losing all their points from when they were entered as Sahara Force India.
Max Verstappen was able to secure third to finish in front of his home-crowd, making it another well-driven race for the Half-Dutch/Half-Belgian driver. Vandoorne, who was also a home-crowd favorite, finished back in 15th after a tough weekend of mechanical woes.
While Leclerc never got a chance to show what he could do around Spa, Marcus Ericsson, in the lone Sauber, was able to bring home the last point by finishing in 10th. Just ahead of him in 9th was Pierre Gasly. Gasly's team-mate, Hartley, finished in 14th.
Both Haas drivers were also celebrating as they finished within the top 10 with Grosjean in 7th and Magnussen in 8th. There is yet to be any word of who will drive for the American team in 2018, but there is rumours that Grosjean will not be keeping his seat.
Valtteri Bottas just missed out on a podium as he brought home his Mercedes in 4th, while Lewis Hamilton secured 2nd, missing out on the win.
Daniel Ricciardo was the only other retirement of the race due to collision damage as well.
RESULTS:
1. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / + 25 Points
2. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 18 Points
3. Max Verstappen / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands / + 15 Points
4. Valtteri Bottas / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland / + 12 Points
5. Sergio Perez / Racing Point Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / + 10 Points
6. Esteban Ocon / Racing Point Force India-Mercedes / France / + 8 Points
7. Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France / + 6 Points
8. Kevin Magnussen / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark / + 4 Points
9. Pierre Gasly / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / France / + 2 Points
10. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden / + 1 Point
11. Carlos Sainz / Renault-Renault / Spain
12. Sergey Sirotkin / Williams-Mercedes / Russia
13. Lance Stroll / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
14. Brendon Hartley / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / New Zealand
15. Stoffel Vandoorne / McLaren-Renault / Belgium
RETIRED - Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Australia / Collision Damage
RETIRED - Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / Collision Damage
RETIRED - Charles Leclerc / Sauber-Ferrari / Monaco / Collision Damage
RETIRED - Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Renault / Spain / Collision Damage
RETIRED - Nico Hulkenberg / Renault-Renault / Germany / Collision
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Article Written By: Amy Hawk
No copyright infringement intended
Follow us on Twitter @F1Insider78 & @bethonieboost
