Rosberg wins, Hamilton limits the damage

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) dominated the Belgian Grand Prix where he started from pole. The German retained the advantage of his position on the grid at the start and avoided the incidents which marred the peloton to win in front Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) and come back to within nine points of his teammate Lewis Hamilton by signing his sixth success of the season, the 20th of his career, after the triple world champion's four victories in a row, and his first since the European GP in Baku (Azerbaijan) last June.

Lewis Hamilton limited his loss of points after starting from the last row of the grid following three Power Unit changes. The Briton notably took advantage of the incidents to move up the places and get ahead Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Pérez who allow Force India to move up to fourth position in the Constructors' Championship.

La Team Ferrari once again missed a great opportunity in the Belgian Ardennes. The race of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen was spoiled in the first corner following contact between the two drivers. The four-time world champion, who spun, moved up to sixth place in front Fernando Alonso (McLaren) who made a superb takeoff from the back of the grid, while Kimi Räikkönen ranked ninth between the Williams de Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.

Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who started on the front row, finished just outside the top ten. After a missed start and a damaged front wing forcing him to immediately pit, the Dutchman fought fiercely to get back into the points, even if it meant causing several contacts.

Romain Grosjean (Haas) ranks 13th after suffering from the poor performance of his VF16, while his compatriot Esteban Ocon (Manor) finished his first Grand Prix in 16th place.

The Belgian Grand Prix was interrupted by a red flag following the crash of Kevin Magnussen (Renault) left the track at full speed at the end of Raidillon. The Dane was hospitalized with an ankle injury and could miss the next Italian GP next weekend in Monza.

Other incidents disrupted the start of the race. Jenson Button (McLaren) and Pascal Wehrlein (Manor) notably retired following contact between the German and the 2009 world champion. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Toro Rosso) threw in the towel following a puncture also damaging his rear wing. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) returned to the garage following a gearbox problem.

Belgian Grand Prix results

Discover the analysis of the Belgian Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2078 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.