F1 2020: Hamilton wins Belgian GP as Ferrari struggle

Lewis Hamilton put on yet another dominant display to win the Belgian GP and extend his F1 2020 championship lead. The Briton was in a league of his own at Spa-Francorchamps and crossed the line 8.448 secs ahead of his Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas. F1’s 70^th Anniversary GP winner Max Verstappen held position in 3^rd place to take his sixth consecutive podium finish.

·         Hamilton now leads the standings by 47 points from Verstappen

·         Ricciardo and Ocon finish 4^th and 5^th for Renault

·         Ferrari out of the points in 13^th and 14^th

Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen hold station

The Belgian GP did churn out some memorable moments and overtaking moves, but none of them at the top end of the field as Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen held station out at front to manage their tyres.

After making a good start, Hamilton already started pulling away in the lead. An early-race safety car triggered by a huge crash for Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, which also took out Williams’ George Russell, gave Bottas the opportunity to attempt a pass at the re-start. However, he was unable to make a move stick and spent the race of the race unable to really match Hamilton’s pace, allowing his team mate to build a healthy buffer.

Speaking after the race, Hamilton admitted that he was struggling with his tyres and was afraid of a repeat of his British GP fiasco, where he crossed the line on just three wheels. “It wasn’t the easiest of races. I had a lock-up into Turn 5 which started to give a bit of a vibration and then one into the last corner. The tyre temperatures were slowly dropping... and I was a bit nervous we might have a scenario like Silverstone at the end so I was nursing it,” he said.

Finishing in 3rd place, Red Bull Racing’s Verstappen quipped that the race was “pretty boring”  and “not very interesting”  for him. “Not much to do. I ran out of tyres at the end, so I was just stretching it out, saving the front tyres. It was not enjoyable out there today,” he added.

Strong race for Renault

Renault bounced back from a disappointing Spanish GP to secure its best team result since Monza last year. Daniel Ricciardo took 4^th place and bagged an additional point for setting the fastest lap. The Australian was flying in the final few laps, but was unable to catch up to Verstappen ahead of him.

Esteban Ocon, meanwhile, overtook Red Bull Racing’s Alexander Albon on the last lap to claim 5^th place. Lando Norris had closed up to the back of the pair towards the end of the race, but had to settle for 7^th place. He was the only McLaren driver to compete in the race after Carlos Sainz failed to start due to an exhaust failure.

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and the Racing Point duo of Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez completed the top 10.

Ferrari hit a new low

Ferrari has struggled for pace all season, but Spa-Francorchamps threw a real curveball for the Italian squad. They narrowly avoided the embarrassment of being knocked out in the first segment of qualifying, and the race saw them finish behind both the AlphaTauri cars and even Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen. Both Ferrari drivers failed to score any points with Sebastian Vettel finishing 13^th, ahead of his team mate Charles Leclerc in 14^th.

Leclerc had done well at the start to gain six places and climb up to 8^th. But he dropped down the order as the race progressed, unable to match the pace of his nearest rivals.

The Belgian GP proved that Ferrari indeed are running low on power, but there’s a lot of be desired on the chassis side too. With F1 heading to the Temple of Speed, Monza, next week for the Italian GP, Ferrari really have their work cut out if they want to perform decently at their home race.

What does the F1 2020 drivers’ championship look like?

With his fifth race win (out of seven races) in the bag, Hamilton has now extended his championship lead over Verstappen to a very healthy 47 points. Meanwhile, Bottas has slashed into Verstappen’s advantage and is now just three points behind the Red Bull Racing driver.

2020 Belgian GP results

Also see:

F1 2020: Turkey, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi races confirmed

Williams F1 team sold to American investment firm