Belgian Grand Prix 2016
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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. Stay connected to our site for all the information on F1 and the Belgian GP.
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Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) wins the Belgian Grand Prix by winning for the first time in F1 at Spa-Francorchamps. The German won ahead of Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who lost ten points to the winner and who now only has a nine-unit lead over his teammate in the Championship.
The Force India of Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez complete the top five ahead of Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (McLaren). The four-time world champion had to move up the positions after spinning following contact with teammate Kimi Räikkönen at the first corner. The Finn ranks ninth between the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa. Romain Grosjean (Haas) finished 13th while Esteban Ocon (Manor) completed his first Grand Prix in 16th position.
The race was interrupted following the violent exit of Kevin Magnussen (Renault). The Dane was hospitalized with an ankle injury.
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Ricciardo and Hamilton complete the podium ahead of the Force India of Hülkenberg and Pérez.
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Rosberg wins the Belgian GP!
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Rosberg begins his final lap of the race. The leader is preparing to celebrate his 6th victory this season.
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T42 – Räikkönen easily takes 9th place against Massa. The Brazilian still has a 6s lead over Verstappen.
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T41 – Bottas overtakes his teammate Massa to gain 8th place. The Brazilian finds himself under threat from Räikkönen while he seems to be in difficulty with his tires.
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T40 – Hamilton takes the best lap in the race in 1'51″6.
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T39 – Hamilton will no longer be able to come back to Ricciardo on a regular basis. The Mercedes driver is more than 15 seconds behind the Red Bull.
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T38 – The race is stabilizing even if many drivers are still fighting for the places of honor. Rosberg is getting closer to victory and could come back to 9 points behind Hamilton if Ricciardo maintains 2nd place ahead of the Briton.
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T37 – Rosberg retains the lead of the GP with 7 laps to go ahead of Ricciardo and Hamilton. The Force India of Hülkenberg and Pérez complete the top five ahead of Alonso, Massa, Bottas and Räikkönen. Grosjean moved up to 13th place. Ocon remains 16th.
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T36 – Alonso is ahead of a group made up of the Williams of Massa and Bottas followed by Räikkönen, last driver in the provisional points.
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T35 – Rosberg has a 12s lead over Ricciardo. Hamilton is 18s behind the leader.
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T34 – Hamilton easily regains 2nd place against Hülkenberg while Vettel takes 7th place for good against Massa. Räikkönen took advantage of the fight between the German and the Brazilian to return to the rear of the Williams.
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Magnussen was hospitalized for routine checks on his injured ankle.
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T33 – Vettel overtook Massa to gain 7th place but the Ferrari driver missed his braking and allowed the Williams driver to regain his due.
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T33 – Hamilton makes his 3rd stop and comes out on medium tires behind Hülkenberg. The Briton must now get back on the Force India to regain his 2nd place.
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T32 – Mercedes tells Hamilton he will have to do one more test. The Briton would then be fighting for 3rd place against Hülkenberg.
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T32 – While Vettel is still chasing Massa, Alonso sees the Williams driver coming back to within a second of his 6th place.
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T32 – Ricciardo manages to maintain a lead of more than a second over Hamilton who continues to aim for 2nd place.
