Belgium – Race: Vettel surpasses Hamilton and gets back into the championship fight
After a very eventful start after which Hülkenberg, Alonso, Leclerc, then Räikkönen and Ricciardo retired, Vettel managed to take the advantage over Hamilton from the first lap. Subsequently, the German maintained a considerable gap, synonymous with victory at the end of the race.
17°C in the air, 30°C on the track, the weather conditions are cool but normal here at Spa-Francorchamps just minutes before the start. The penalties announced this morning have altered the starting grid. Stoffel Vandoorne starts from 20th, Carlos Sainz is 19th, Nico Hülkenberg 18th, and Valtteri Bottas 17th.
*butterflies*
— Racing Point Force India F1 (@ForceIndiaF1) 26 août 2018
Tire update: All the drivers in the top 10 are starting on super-softs (Q2 set), while all drivers outside the top 10 are starting on softs except for Carlos Sainz on mediums. The Spaniard is therefore on a different strategy compared to all his competitors.
At lights out, Hamilton, Vettel, and Ocon maintain their positions, but there’s quickly chaos at the back of the pack. Hülkenberg brakes much too late, locks his brakes, and crashes into Alonso’s diffuser. The Spaniard is propelled onto Leclerc, his McLaren goes over the Sauber. In the commotion, Räikkönen is also hit and ends up with a torn right rear tire while Ricciardo has only the rear wing mast left on his Red Bull.
Before the race was interrupted by the safety car, Vettel managed to overtake Hamilton in Kemel using the slipstream. Ocon, very inspired, attempted to gain the advantage in the slipstream over the two world champions but, being on the inside, he braked earlier to avoid any issues. Unfortunately for him, Pérez took the opportunity to overtake him.
Lap 1/44: Chaos at the start – Leclerc, Alonso and Hülkenberg out 💥#BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/ZKu2RlVrLK
— Formula 1 (@F1) 26 août 2018
In the 5th lap, the race resumes its course. Vettel manages well and keeps Hamilton at bay, with the Racing Point Force India staying sensible behind the leading duo. Ocon quickly finds himself under threat from Verstappen, who manages to stay in touch thanks to the slipstream in Kemel and then on the climb to Blanchimont. On the following lap, with the help of DRS, Verstappen gains the upper hand during the braking at Combes, not without resistance from the Frenchman.
At the back of the pack, Bottas climbs up little by little and puts on a show in Eau Rouge. The Finn prevails against Hartley at the foot of Raidillon as both drivers arrived side by side in Eau Rouge. On the next lap, the Mercedes driver overtakes Carlos Sainz on the Kemel straight, while Räikkönen is forced to retire, the damage to the Ferrari being too significant.
After passing Ocon, Verstappen now passes Pérez and takes the last spot on the podium. Meanwhile, Bottas gains the upper hand over the two Williams drivers and enters the top 10. Daniel Ricciardo, a lap down, follows the Finn. By the 15th lap, the French drivers are 5th, 6th, and 8th in the starting order (Ocon, Grosjean, Gasly).
On the 22nd lap, the pit stop shuffle is initiated by Lewis Hamilton. The Briton attempts the undercut on Sebastian Vettel, who was 3.2s ahead before entering the pit lane. At the end of the following lap, the German dives into the pits and manages to exit right in front of Max Verstappen, who had Lewis Hamilton in his diffuser. The Mercedes driver gains the advantage over the Dutchman at the Combes braking zone afterward.
Romain Grosjean is the first outside the top 3 to make a pit stop, he comes out 10th, 5.9 seconds behind Marcus Ericsson. On the 25th lap, Esteban Ocon pits and comes out ahead of the Swede. He must now take on Pierre Gasly as Sergio Pérez takes to the pit lane in turn. Pierre Gasly follows suit.
In the pit stop game, Ericsson is the big loser. Until now in the top 10, the Swede is deprived of his provisional point by Brendon Hartley. Ericsson doesn’t give up and overtakes at La Source. His joy is short-lived as the New Zealander regains the advantage on the Kemel straight thanks to DRS.
Ericsson is into the points
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#SkyF1 #F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/XeaKgCo4Pv— Sky Sports F1 🏎 (@SkySportsF1) 26 août 2018
The Swede finally collects his due during a final exchange. On the 31st lap, Daniel Ricciardo retires after spending 30 laps one loop behind the leaders. Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas continues his comeback and overtakes Esteban Ocon effortlessly for 5th place. The Mercedes driver can still hope to take 4th place from Sergio Pérez with 10 laps remaining.
This was done with 4 laps to go, the Finn managed to catch up and overtake the Mexican during the braking at Les Combes after gaining slipstream and DRS. At the front, Vettel has built up a clear advantage of 8.7 seconds over Hamilton, while Verstappen is far behind the Briton, at 23.5 seconds.
At the checkered flag, Sebastian Vettel claims victory ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Valtteri Bottas makes a great comeback to finish in 4th place, the Racing Point Force India and Haas held their ground until the end. The three French drivers remained in the top 10!
The final ranking at the end of the race:
A dominant victory for Sebastian Vettel in Spa!
Both @ForceIndiaF1's in the top 10 👏#BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/rqaNIw0kHY
— Formula 1 (@F1) 26 août 2018
From our special correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps
