Belgian Grand Prix 2018
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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.
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Vettel surpasses the record of 51 victories held by Alain Prost. “I heard he apologized but you shouldn’t. Records are there to be broken,” commented the quadruple world champion on Canal+.
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With his victory, Vettel returns to 17 points behind Championship leader Hamilton with 8 Grands Prix remaining at the end of the season.
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The Halo seems to have come in handy for Leclerc when Alonso's McLaren passed his Sauber:
Lap 44/44: Just look at the damage #BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/SGBRneyLJD
- Formula 1 (@ F1) August 26, 2018
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Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) wins the Belgian GP, beating Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Max Verstappn (Red Bull). Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) was able to get back to the foot of the podium by overtaking the Force India of Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon. The VJM11 are ahead of the Haas of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen. Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) and Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) complete the Top 10.
The start was marked by the collision of Nico Hülkenberg (Renault) and Fernando Alonso (McLaren). Charles Leclerc (Sauber) was also involved. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) and Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) retired from the race after contact at the start.
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Vettel takes the checkered flag as winner ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen.
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Vettel begins the last lap of a race which will have been very calm except for the start.
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T40 – Bottas gets rid of Pérez. The operation was a formality for the Finn with the DRS.
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T40 – Bottas is now right behind Pérez and is able to activate his DRS.
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T39 – Hamilton is now more than 6s behind Vettel. The Briton will still retain the lead in the Championship if the order is identical at the finish.
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T38 – Bottas is now 2s behind Pérez. Perhaps spectators will be able to witness one last duel before the checkered flag?
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T36 – Bottas comes back to 3s behind Pérez’s Force India. The Finn livens up this very calm end of the race a little…
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T33 – Sainz Jr moves up to 11th place by overtaking Sirotkin in Kemmel. The Renault driver is 6s behind Ericsson's Sauber.
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T33 – Meanwhile, Vettel controls his lead with a 5s gap to Hamilton. The latest weather forecasts indicate that the race should not be disrupted by rain.
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T32 – Bottas easily takes the advantage over Ocon in Kemmel and moves up to 5th place.
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T31 – Ricciardo returns to the pits to retire. This is the 5th pilot to set foot on land.
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T31 – Ocon has less than 2 seconds lead over Bottas who risks putting pressure on the Frenchman in the final laps.
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T29 – With 15 laps to go, Bottas moved up to 4th place while remaining on his first stint. The Finn throws himself into the pit lane to put on the soft tires. The Mercedes comes out in 6th place behind the Force India of Pérez and Ocon.
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T27 – It's now Magnussen and Ericsson who are changing their tires. The Dane slips to 8th position between Grosjean and Gasly while the Swede is between the Toro Rossos of Gasly and Hartley in 10th position.
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T27 – Verstappen changes his tires to soft tires and remains in 3rd place ahead of Pérez.
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