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Kampala, Uganda | XINHUA | Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton cruised to victory in Sunday’s Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, with the Briton leading every lap from his pole position.
Continuing the dominant form he had shown in qualifying, Hamilton started as he meant to go on and was never truly threatened as his took his fifth win in seven races so far this season to consolidate his championship lead.
“I know it is not necessarily what everyone wants to see – the Mercedes at the front – but no matter how much success [we have], we have to just keep our heads down,” said Hamilton afterwards. “When I go back to the office now no-one is celebrating, it is heads down and thinking about the next race. It is an incredible mentality.”
Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas once again took the second place, with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen finishing third, as all three drivers finished in the order in which they had qualified.
The race had been interrupted on lap 10 when Antonio Giovinazzi crashed and George Russell’s Williams was struck by an errant wheel from the stricken Alfa Romeo, putting both cars out on the spot and leaving debris strewn across the circuit.
The resultant safety car period prompted most of the field to dive into the pits for new tyres slightly earlier than they might have liked, with a number of drivers consequently complaining of tyre wear towards the end of the race.
Behind the top three, the Renaults of Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon finished fourth and fifth for the French squad’s best weekend of the season so far, with Ricciardo also taking the bonus point for fastest lap after a late charge.
Verstappen’s teammate Alex Albon finished sixth after being overtaken on the last lap by Ocon, but managed to hold off McLaren’s Lando Norris, who took seventh.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly took a fine eighth after a different tyre strategy meant he had to overtake several cars in the latter half of the race, while the two Racing Points rounded out the points positions, with Lance Stroll ahead of Sergio Perez.
But it was another miserable weekend for Ferrari on a track which brutally exposed the limitations of this season’s SF1000.
Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc finished in 13th and 14th places respectively, and never looked likely to score points.
McLaren’s Carlos Sainz had an even worse day, as the Spaniard failed even to take the start after an exhaust problem on the way to the grid caused an engine failure.
Hamilton’s win sees the Briton extend his lead in the drivers’ championship to 157 points, ahead of Verstappen on 110 and Bottas with 107 points. In the constructors’ standings, Mercedes are way out in front with 264 points, with Red Bull second on 158 and McLaren moving up to third on 68 points.
The next round of the 2020 Formula 1 season is the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on September 7.
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XINHUA
