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Event

Belgian Grand Prix

Date
Sun 26th August 2018 (UTC)

Timestamp

Time

15:10:00 UTC

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League
Formula 1

Season
2018

Round
13

Status

Location
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
(70,000 Attendance)

Video Highlights

Description

Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit is among the most historic on the Formula One calendar, having hosted a (non-championship) Grand Prix as long ago as 1924, and remains one of the most popular venues with drivers and fans alike.
Run on narrow public roads, the original Spa layout was an amazing 14.9 kilometres long and notoriously dangerous. The lap distance was reduced slightly over the years, with some corners eased, but when the 'old' circuit staged its final Grand Prix in 1970 it still measured just over 14 kilometres and remained staggeringly quick - Chris Amon set that year's fastest lap at an average speed of just under 245 km/h.

Spa did not return to the calendar until 1983 and then in drastically revised form, with lap distance cut to just under seven kilometres. Somehow, though, the circuit's magic was retained. Around two thirds of the lap used the original layout and the legendary Eau Rouge corner remained intact. Only the new Bus Stop chicane on the run down to La Source drew criticism.
More than twenty years on Spa remains the longest circuit on the calendar. Its mix of long straights and challenging fast corners, coupled with its picturesque setting, means that most drivers still rank it among their favourite tracks.
The weather is still notoriously changeable (it can often be simultaneously raining on one part of the track and dry on another) and Eau Rouge, with its high speed and sudden elevation change, maintains its reputation as one of Formula One racing's most technically demanding corners.
Such is the challenge of Spa that only the truly great drivers can really claim to have mastered it. In fact just six men have won the race more than twice - Juan Manuel Fangio (three times), Damon Hill (three times), Kimi Raikkonen (four times), Jim Clark (four times), Ayrton Senna (five times) and Michael Schumacher (six times).

Vettel decisively claimed the lead on what was a chaotic first lap of the Grand Prix, in which a late-braking Nico Hulkenberg triggered an enormous crash at Turn 1 involving Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc. Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo, meanwhile, also picked up what would ultimately prove race-ending damage in a separate incident.
Once in front, Vettel didn’t cede his advantage at any point, expertly managing the pace to claim his 52nd career victory and 107th podium – two stats that surpass the great Alain Prost’s records. More importantly, he stemmed the flow of his title rival’s momentum, taking seven points out of Hamilton’s championship lead to trail the Briton by just 17 points heading to Ferrari’s home race in Italy.
Hamilton was left to minimise the damage, driving a strong race to finish second – although he ultimately didn’t seem to have the pace to match the Ferrari around the power-sensitive 7.004km Spa track.
Meanwhile Max Verstappen delighted the hordes of Dutch fans who’d crossed the border to watch their hero race by claiming a surprise third place – very much a welcome result, given Red Bull’s struggles for pace around the Spa track throughout the weekend.

Reports

Result List

01	Sebastian Vettel	1:23:34.476
02	Lewis Hamilton	+0:11.061
03	Max Verstappen	+0:31.372
04	Valtteri Bottas	+1:03.605
05	Sergio Perez	+1:11.023
06	Esteban Ocon	+1:19.520
07	Romain Grosjean	+1:25.953
08	Kevin Magnussen	+1:27.639
09	Pierre Gasly	+1:45.892
10	Marcus Ericsson	+1 Lap
11	Carlos Sainz Jr	+1 Lap
12	Sergey Sirotkin	+1 Lap
13	Lance Stroll	+1 Lap
14	Hartley Hartley-Smith	+1 Lap
15	Stoffel Vandoorne	+1 Lap
16	Daniel Ricciardo	DNF
17	Kimi Raikkonen	DNF
18	Charles Leclerc	DNF
19	Fernando Alonso	DNF
20	Nico Hulkenberg	DNF

Result Description
Pos/ Driver/Car/Laps/Time/Retired /Pts

1 /Sebastian Vettel /Ferrari /44 /1:23:34.476/25
2 /Lewis Hamilton /Mercedes /44 /+11.061s/18
3 /Max Verstappen /Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer /+31.372s/15
4 /Valtteri Bottas /Mercedes /44 /+68.605s /12
5 /Sergio Perez /Force India Mercedes /44 /+71.023s /10
6 /Esteban Ocon /Force India Mercedes /44 /+79.520s /8
7 /Romain Grosjean /Haas Ferrari /44 /+85.953s /6
8 /Kevin Magnussen /Haas Ferrari /44 /+87.639s /4
9 /Pierre Gasly /Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda /44 /+105.892s /2
10 /Marcus Ericsson /Sauber Ferrari /43 /+1 lap /1
11 /Carlos Sainz /Renault /43 /+1 lap /0
12 /Sergey Sirotkin /Williams Mercedes /43 /+1 lap /0
13 /Lance Stroll /Williams Mercedes /43 /+1 lap /0
14 /Brendon Hartley /Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda /43 /+1 lap /0
15 /Stoffel Vandoorne /McLaren Renault /43 /+1 lap /0
NC /Daniel Ricciardo /Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer /28 /DNF /0
NC /Kimi Räikkönen /Ferrari /8 /DNF /0
NC /Charles Leclerc /Sauber Ferrari /0 /DNF /0
NC /Fernando Alonso /McLaren Renault /0 /DNF /0
NC /Nico Hulkenberg /Renault /0 /DNF /0

Driver Standings
Pos /Driver /Nationality /Car /Pts

1 /Lewis Hamilton /Mercedes /231
2 /Sebastian Vettel /Ferrari /214
3 /Kimi Räikkönen /Ferrari /146
4 /Valtteri Bottas /Mercedes /144
5 /Max Verstappen /Red Bull Racing /120
6 /Daniel Ricciardo /Red Bull Racing /118
7 /Nico Hulkenberg /Renault /52
8 /Kevin Magnussen /Haas /49
9 /Fernando Alonso /McLaren /44
10 /Sergio Perez /Force India /40

Constructor Standings
Pos/ Team/ Pts

1 /Mercedes /375
2 /Ferrari /360
3 /Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer/238
4 /Renault /82
5 /Haas Ferrari /76
6 /McLaren Renault /52
7 /Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda /30
8 /Sauber Ferrari /19
10 /Williams Mercedes /4

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