Vettel leads Hamilton at Belgian GP

Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) won at the Belgian GP his 5th victory of the season, the 52nd of his career (exceeding the record ofAlain Prost) and his first since Silverstone, winning for the third time at Spa-Francorchamps after his successes in 3 and 2011.

The four-time world champion who started from second place built his victory by overtaking the pole sitter Lewis Hamilton on the Kemmel straight, just before the safety car entered the track following the spectacular collision involving Nico Hulkenberg (Renault), Fernando Alonso (McLaren) and Charles Leclerc (Sauber) at the start. The winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans 2015 was called to the commissioners to explain his accident.

Starting from 17th position after his penalty, Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) was able to get back to the foot of the podium after taking the advantage over the Force India of Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman gave in to his Mexican teammate during the first round.

The Haas de Romain Grosjean et Kevin Magnussen preceded the Toro Rosso de Pierre Gasly and the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson which complete the Top 10. Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault) failed to reach the points by beating the Williams by Sergey Sirotkin and Lance stroll, while Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren) finished last classified.

Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) and Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) also dismounted following damage to their cars following contact on the first lap, when the Australian hit the Finn's right rear wheel.

Sebastian Vettel is 17 points behind Lewis Hamilton with eight races remaining in the season. Mercedes now only has a 15-point lead over Scuderia Ferrari.

Discover the analysis of the Belgian GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2180 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.