Sixty penalty places return McLaren to sixth place in the Constructors’ standings

Despite the chaos at the first braking at La Source, the McLarens fared quite well. Jenson Button, 9th on the grid, was forced to go off the track to avoid Vettel’s Ferrari, which was left sideways, while Fernando Alonso, starting from the back, was far from the commotion and benefited from the initial retirements in his climb up the field.

Unfortunately for the Briton, traffic is dense at Les Combes, and Pascal Wehrlein, lacking clarity, crashes into the back of him, lifting his car. The German won’t complete a lap, while Jenson will head to the pits to retire.

For the other McLaren driver, the circumstances are much better. Having neither run in Free Practice 1 nor in qualifications and accumulating 60 penalty places due to several engine part changes, the Spaniard is gradually climbing up the hierarchy. Thus, by the 3rd lap of the race, he was already in 10th position, an incredible feat when considering the importance of engine power on this circuit and the lack of power from the Honda unit. Following Kevin Magnussen’s spectacular accident at the exit of Raidillon – fortunately without severity for him – on lap 6 and the race interruption on lap 10, Alonso stops in the pit lane with the other drivers and, believe it or not, was in 4th place, ahead of Lewis Hamilton. After the race, the Spaniard, like other drivers, does not hesitate to inquire about the good health of the Dane.

La cosa más importante de la carrera es que Kevin esta OK. A parte de eso, algo que ya sabemos… https://t.co/UNHLS1rdwL

— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) 28 août 2016

At the restart, there are 35 laps remaining, and the car number 14 is holding its ground, keeping more powerful cars at bay. As the laps go by, the Spaniard stays sandwiched between the Force Indias of Hülkenberg and Pérez, and by the 22nd lap, the three drivers are within less than six seconds of each other.

But the British team and the Spaniard don’t give up, and with a quicker pit stop, Alonso comes out neck-and-neck with Hülkenberg, the tires rubbing. The German narrowly avoids crossing the line that limits the re-entry on the track, and McLaren will not receive a penalty for possibly releasing Alonso a bit early while Hülkenberg was arriving alongside, despite a radio communication between Force India and its driver that could have been a charge against McLaren. « Did Alonso hit you? » asked the team, to which the German replied, « Yes ».

LAP 24/44 – PIT LANE EXIT

Force India 📻: “Did Alonso hit you?”

HUL 📻: “Yes.”#BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/ntQ7m3UXlS

— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 août 2016

The next ten laps were more challenging for Alonso, as his less rapid McLaren forced him to fall back in the hierarchy, with Hamilton and then Pérez taking the advantage. By the 33rd lap, Alonso was still in 6th place, but behind him, the Williams and Ferrari drivers were gaining ground. Ultimately, only Sebastian Vettel managed to overtake the Spaniard after getting past Felipe Massa. The Brazilian was even overtaken by Valtteri Bottas. Behind Alonso, the Williams couldn’t do anything despite having an advantage in the fast sections, as the second sector allowed the McLaren to secure itself.

At the end of the 44 laps of the Spa slide, Alonso finishes in an unthinkable 7th place despite starting from the back of the grid. The Spaniard himself said in an interview after the race: “That was unthinkable a couple of months ago,” referring to finishing in the top 10 on the fast circuit of Spa-Francorchamps and moreover ahead of the Williams, a Ferrari, and a Red Bull. Of course, the incidents during the race allowed him to climb back: “I was able to gain a few places in the first lap and then with the safety car as well, and at the red flag, we were 4th,” but we must not forget that in a traffic race starting last, it’s experience that speaks with the luck of champions, as some would say.

Lewis Hamilton also benefited from this opportunity and his car helped him. Both managed to make the most of the situation, matching the performance of their car, and unfortunately, Jenson Button could not accompany Fernando Alonso in this forward march for the Woking team.

At the end of the Grand Prix, McLaren reclaimed 6th place in the Constructors’ standings at the expense of Toro Rosso, which had a very difficult race this Sunday. Similarly, Alonso jumped two places in the drivers’ championship and is now holding onto 11th, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Romain Grosjean.