#BelgianGP Race Report: @LewisHamilton dominates to 89th-career victory. #F1

Lewis Hamilton cruised to a dominant Belgian GP victory ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, with the race interrupted by a big crash for Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi, which also eliminated Williams Racing’s George Russell.

It was a processional race at the front of the field, with Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen claiming another third place, while drivers attempting an alternate strategy during the safety car period providing most of the action in the field.

When the 44-lap Belgian GP began, Bottas made a slightly better run off the line compared to pole-sitting team-mate Hamilton but was forced to go on the outside and tuck in right behind the Briton at the exit of La Source.

Bottas ran very close to Hamilton but the Finn lost momentum running up through Eau Rouge and instantly fell under-pressure from third-placed Verstappen.

But assistance from a tow by his team-mate Hamilton allowed Bottas to remain in-front as they reached Les Combes, where Verstappen found himself facing an attack by the quicker-starting Renault of Daniel Ricciardo.

The pairing ran wheel-to-wheel through the second part of Les Combes and the next right – with Ricciardo and then Verstappen running right off the circuit at the two respective points – but the Honda-powered RB16 remained ahead, whilst the Mercedes moved clear into the lead.

Hamilton was leading by 1.4 seconds at the end of the opening lap and the gap to team-mate Bottas increased and decreased over the next few laps.

The Mercedes pairing and Verstappen were the only drivers running in the 1:50’s, before the two F1 W11 EQ Power+ racers dip into the 1:49’s and the gap to the Dutchman rapidly grew to five seconds behind the leader.

Hamilton’s gap was at 1.8 seconds on the tenth lap when the race was stabilised after a huge accident for Alfa Romeo Racing’s Giovinazzi, who lost the rear of his Ferrari-powered C39 at the exit of turn 14 and crashed into the barriers on the outside.

Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen was behind his team-mate and managed to escape damage-free but a wheel that broke off Giovinazzi’s C39 bounced back onto the circuit and into the path of Williams’ Russell.

The Briton struck the wheel and his suspension of his FW43 racer was destroyed, then his car went into the barriers on the left of the track, with the deployment of the safety car as the two cars were cleared and the huge amount of debris were swept clear off the circuit.

Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen took the opportunity to pit, with Mercedes double-stacking their drivers and fitted on a set of C2 white side-walled harder compounds.

This almost let Verstappen jump Bottas as he accelerated away having put on his own fresh set of hards, but the Finn remained in-front and the order stayed as it was before the safety car deployment.

When the race resumed on lap 15, Hamilton already moved clear from Bottas after making a great jump away at the Bus Stop Chicane on the previous lap.

This meant Bottas had no chance to fight his team-mate for the lead and at the front, the race settled once again, with Hamilton rapidly rebuilding his lead as the rest of the field could not match the top three who were running in the 1:48’s.

But Verstappen was much more satisfied on the hards than he felt on the mediums and was able to keep closer to Bottas as Hamilton moved further away in the lead.

Verstappen was able to keep 1.4 seconds behind the Finn for a few laps before both Mercedes turned the wick up and near the second third of the Grand Prix and Bottas pulled away.

Mercedes encouraged Bottas to give it “everything he got” as he and Hamilton posted a set of quick times in the 1:47’s but did not come in for another stop.

This meant the duo ran all the way to the chequered flag on a one-stopper and whilst it looked like an easy run to the line for the leaders, they both encountered minor issues.

Bottas first reported a numb left leg from the effects of braking force, and race-leader Hamilton was concerned about his front-right tyre – with both Mercedes at separate parts of the circuit in the closing laps suffering lock-ups at the Bus Stop Chicane and cutting the second part of the chicane.

But these issues resulted in nothing and Hamilton moved comfortably away, crossing the line to claim the Belgian GP victory by 8.448 seconds.

Hamilton took his fourth Belgian GP victory, equalling the legendary Jim Clark and Alfa Romeo Racing’s Raikkonen.

Verstappen – who struggled with vibrations on his harder rubber as his second stint continued on, and wound-up seven seconds behind Bottas in third.

Renault’s Ricciardo came home fourth – making major overtakes on Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, who did not opt to stop during the safety car period to jump up the field – posting a series of quick laps including the fastest lap of the race (gaining the bonus point) on the final tour of the Grand Prix.

The second Renault of Esteban Ocon snatched fifth place from Red Bull Racing’s Alexander Albon on the last lap with DRS assistance on the rundown the Kemmel Straight and on the outside coming into Les Combes as the Thai-Briton tried to make a soft-medium strategy work.

Albon was close to almost finishing fifth but remained ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris to take sixth.

Gasly put in several overtakes – mostly with DRS assistance on the long Kemmel Straight – as the Frenchman came from the rear of the field after his green flag pit-stop after he had taken the race-restart from fourth.

He fought back passed Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, who also did not opt to pit under the safety car and had to make a longer stint work on old softs and ended up finishing eighth.

BWT Racing Point’s Lance Stroll crossed the line in ninth and in-front of team-mate Perez, as Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat was 11^th.

Alfa Romeo Racing’s Raikkonen came home in 12^th and ahead of Ferrari duo Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc who finished 13^th and 14^th respectively.

Vettel finished the race with another battle of words with engineer Riccardo Adami, while team-mate Leclerc had a two-stopper – with the second stop a precautionary topping up pneumatic pressure in his SF1000 racer – en route to 14^th place after he gained a few places at the start.

Haas F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen were 15^th and 17^th respectively with Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi in-between the duo in 16^th.

McLaren’s Carlos Sainz failed to start the Belgian GP after his MCL35 racer suffered an exhaust issue on the laps to the grid.

The Top Three

Belgian GP Winner – Lewis Hamilton, #44, Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport, F1 W11 EQ Power+: “Yeah it wasn’t the easiest of races, I had a lock up into Turn 5, the tyre temperatures were slowly dropping. It was a bit of a struggle; I was a bit nervous that we might have a scenario like Silverstone.”

2^nd – Valtteri Bottas, #77, Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport, F1 W11 EQ Power+: “I just couldn’t catch him on the straights. With the same car and Lewis driving pretty much mistake-free… I think Lewis was faultless today and yesterday.”

3^rd – Max Verstappen, #33, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing-Honda, RB16: “It was pretty boring, not much to do. I couldn’t keep up with them, and then I ran out of tyres at the end. I think I was very close to a puncture; not more was possible today.”

Formula 1 Pirelli Belgian Grand Prix 2020 Race Results Classification (44 Laps)

https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2020/races/1051/belgium/race-result.html

Click here for the full Formula 1 2020 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings

Round eight of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship heads straight to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy for the Formula 1 Gran Premio Heineken D’Italia 2020 from September 4-6.

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