With Formula 1 returning this weekend, in a frantic race around the iconic Spa circuit, it was Mercedes driver, Nico Rosberg who was victorious after starting the race on pole. This victory marked Rosberg’s sixth win of the season and his twentieth win of his career.
Nico Rosberg Wins The Belgian Grand Prix
This weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix marked another win for Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg- his sixth of the season. Rosberg experienced a very straightforward race, leading from start to finish. Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo finished in second place, marking a third consecutive podium finish for the Australian driver. Despite starting from the back row today, Formula 1’s reigning World Champion, Lewis Hamilton finished in third place. Hamilton was particularly aided by the chaotic first 10 laps of the Belgian Grand Prix, with an early red flag allowing him to change his tyres, effectively giving the Brit a free pit stop.
This weekend marked a very strong finish for Force India, with Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez finishing in fourth and fifth place respectively. This strong finish for the Silverstone based team gave them a haul of 22 points to their campaign in the constructors championship, moving them ahead of Williams.
It was Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel who finished in sixth place, being the highest finishing driver for Formula 1’s most successful team. Ferrari faced a very difficult race weekend, despite qualifying in third and fourth place. Although Ferrari looked quick on Friday and Saturday, the team’s race fell apart in the first corner, with Vettel turning in too much, causing him to clash with his team mate, Kimi Raikkonen. This in turn spun Vettel and pushed Raikkonen into Max Verstappen, causing the Finn to get a puncture on his front right tyre via Verstappen’s front wing. Raikkonen finished the race in ninth place.
Despite starting last on the grid today, McLaren Honda’s Fernando Alonso finished in seventh place, taking advantage of the red flag caused by Kevin Magnussen in the early stages of the race. Like Hamilton, Alonso changed his tyres during the red flag period, granting the Spaniard a free pit stop. Alonso’s team mate, Jenson Button failed to finish in Belgium after being eliminated from the race in the first lap, with Pascal Wehrlein rear ending the 2009 World Champion, forcing him to retire.
Williams again faced a disappointing weekend, with their drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa finishing in eighth and tenth place. This finish caused Williams to slip down to fifth place in the constructors standings, being overtaken by Force India.
After starting the Belgian Grand Prix in second place, a strong finish was looking likely for Max Verstappen. However, the young Dutchman’s race fell apart in the first corner after he came into contact with Kimi Raikkonen. Verstappen finished the race in eleventh place.
The Haas F1 team looked strong for a points finish following qualifying, with Romain Grosjean qualifying in eleventh place. F1’s newest team however, failed to break into the top 10, with Esteban Gutierrez finishing in twelfth and Grosjean in thirteenth.
The Renault F1 Team faced a difficult race on Belgium, with Kevin Magnussen failing to finish the race and Jolyon Palmer finishing in fifteenth. It was Kevin Magnussen who brought out the red flag in the early stages of the face, crashing into the outside wall of Eau Rouge at 190mph. Upon impact, Magnussen experienced a force of 12.5 Gs, with the impact being so hard that Magnussen’s head rest was propelled from the car. Magnussen has since been sent to the medical centre at Spa and has injured his left ankle, having a small cut. Palmer experienced issues with tyre temperatures in Belgium, causing him to adopt a lift and coast strategy in order to reduce his tyre wear. Early in the race, both Palmer and Magnussen looked strong, running inside the top 10.
For driver of the day there are numerous candidates, particularly in the case of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Although Hamilton finished on the podium after starting in second last place, my driver of the day is Alonso. Alonso started the Belgian Grand Prix in last place today, however, finished in seventh. In the McLaren which is not the fastest car on the grid, it is hard not to name Alonso as driver of the day, successfully beating both of the Williams cars and once again bringing a large points haul for McLaren, with his efforts moving McLaren ahead of Toro Rosso in the constructors standings.
Results from the Belgian GP:
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 25 points
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 18 points
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 15 points
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 12 points
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 10 points
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 8 points
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 6 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 4 points
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 2 points
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 1 point
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 0 points
- Esteban Gutierrez, Haas F1, 0 points
- Romain Grosjean, Haas F1, 0 points
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 0 points
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 0 points
- Esteban Ocon, Manor, 0 points
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 0 points
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, Ret
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, Ret
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, Ret
- Jenson Button, McLaren, Ret
- Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, Ret
Drivers Standings after 13 races:
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 232 points
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 223 points
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 151 points
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 128 points
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 124 points
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 115 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 62 points
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 58 points
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 45 points
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 39 points
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 30 points
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 30 points
- Romain Grosjean, Haas F1, 28 points
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 23 points
- Jenson Button, McLaren, 17 points
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 6 points
- Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1 point
- Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 1 point
- Esteban Gutierrez, Haas F1, 0 points
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 0 points
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 0 points
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 0 points
- Rio Haranto, Manor, 0 points
- Esteban Ocon, Manor, 0 points
Constructors Standings after 13 races:
- Mercedes, 455 points
- Red Bull Racing, 274 points
- Ferrari, 252 points
- Force India, 103 points
- Williams, 101 points
- McLaren, 48 points
- Toro Rosso, 45 points
- Haas F1, 28 points
- Renault, 6 points
- Manor, 1 point
- Sauber, 0 points
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