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F1 Recap - Belgian Grand Prix 2020.

Daniel Ricciardo puts in a great performance to finish 4th

F1 Recap - Belgian Grand Prix 2020.

Originally posted on Sun Aug 30 2020

A familiar story at the top with Lewis Hamilton, Valterri Bottas and Max Verstappen making up the top 3, but a fantastic day for Renault who complete the top 5.

Lewis Hamilton Wins the Belgian GP
Lewis Hamilton Wins the Belgian GP
Source: Official F1 Twitter

Hamilton secured his 89th win after leading every lap of the race once again, with Bottas and Verstappen behind him in 2nd and 3rd respectively for the whole race. All three cars had to manage their tyres after pitting under a safety car on lap 11, being out on hard tyres for most of the race. Hamilton opened up his lead and finished 8 seconds ahead of 2nd place teammate Bottas, who was 7 seconds ahead of Verstappen, so the race at the front was pretty uneventful. Hamilton did however break another record, now having the record for the most miles in the lead. He is still behind Michael Schumacher on laps in the lead, and two behind on race wins.

4th and 5th place went to the Renault's of Danniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon, who both had very good races. Ricciardo had qualified in 4th, and held onto that spot, looking very fast down the straights of the track. Ricciardo by the end of the race was closing the gap to Max Verstappen, which was at one point 16 seconds, as Max was having to manage his tyres. Ricciardo finished only 3 seconds behind Max, setting the fastest lap time on the last lap of the race, and claiming the bonus point. This is the first time in 10 years that a Renault has set the fastest lap.

Ocon started in 6th, and had a great battle with the Red Bull of Alex Albon for 5th place, with Lando Norris in the McLaren breathing down his neck waiting for him to make a mistake. Ocon was able to pass Albon on the last lap despite some great defending from the Red Bull, putting Renault into a great position. Renault are looking very strong after the last couple of races, and could seriously challenge for a podium next week in Monza.

Great Day for Renault
Great Day for Renault
Source: Official F1 Twitter

Lando Norris' McLaren teammate Carlos Sainz unfortunately did not start the race after suffering an exhaust issue on the way to the grid. Sainz looked very unhappy in the pit during the race, although that may have been from watching the team he will be joining next year...

Pierre Gasly finished in 8th after qualifying 12th, putting in a Driver of the Day worthy performance. Gasly did not pit under the safety car like most of the rest of the cars racing, instead holding onto his hard tires until well after the halfway point of the race. He pitted later on in the race, and fought back through the pack with his fresher tyres, ultimately finishing in that 8th position, with teammate Daniil Kvyat just missing out on the points in 11th. He also managed a very daring overtake on the Racing Point of Sergio Perez on the second lap.

Gasly Driver of the Day
Gasly Driver of the Day
Source: Official F1 Twitter

The safety car was brought out after a crash on lap 11. Antonio Giovinazzi in the Alfa Romeo lost control of his car and span off into the wall. George Russell was a bit behind him in the Williams, and was unlucky to be hit by debris from the crash which was thrown onto the track, taking him out of the race too.

Giovinazzi's Wheel takes Russell Out of the Race
Giovinazzi's Wheel takes Russell Out of the Race
Source: Giovinazzi & Russell Race-Ending Crash at Spa | 2020 Belgian Grand Prix

The two Racing Point cars of Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez may be dissapointed to be finishing 9th and 10th considering how strong their car has looked so far this year, but should be happy to at least be in the points.

Ferrari on the other hand have had another bad week coming in 13th and 14th. Sebastian Vettel, who finished 13th, was clearly once again frustrated with the car and his team, practically begging them to let him come into the pit for fresh tyres. His teammate Charles Leclerc did get an extra pit stop, but was unable to do any better for it, finishing behind Vettel. Last year he won the Belgian GP, so to finish so close to the bottom this year shows just how far the Ferrari has fallen. In fact Kimi Räikkönen finished ahead of them in 12th, the highest place finish for any car powered by Ferrari in this race, and the Williams of Nicholas Latifi was within 3 seconds of Leclerc. The Ferrari's almost collided at the start of the race, which really would have been symbolic of their season.

Here are the results from this week:

Belgian GP Results
Belgian GP Results
Source: Official F1 Twitter

And here are the driver standings now, with Hamilton 47 points ahead of Verstappen in 2nd, and 50 points ahead of teammate Bottas:

Current F1 Driver Standings Top 10
Current F1 Driver Standings Top 10
Source: Official F1 Twitter

Next week we go to Monza in Italy for the first of two grand prix's there.


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