Belgian Grand Prix – Race: Mercedes double, fastest lap by Ricciardo 4th

Lewis Hamilton was once again untouchable during the Belgian Grand Prix. His teammate Valtteri Bottas created the illusion at the start of the race, where he easily stayed within less than a second and a half of the Briton before his engineer reminded him that a pact had been signed so that neither he nor his teammate would use the “push” mode against each other.

The event of this Grand Prix was the terrifying accident of Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) on the 10th lap, caught by a sudden spin-out at the exit of Les Fagnes. One of his wheels even came off and was hit by George Russell (Williams), who destroyed his suspension and crashed into the tire wall, also retiring as a result. This caused the safety car to be deployed, before it went back in on the 15th lap.

Despite their apparent domination, the race was not a walk in the park for the Mercedes drivers: indeed, at the start, Max Verstappen attacked Valtteri Bottas on the Kemmel straight but failed to overtake him. Later, at the restart, Hamilton complained about a lack of power until his engineer Peter Bonnington reassured him that it was energy management. Moreover, Verstappen was threatening by staying within two seconds of Bottas for more than ten laps before Bottas was instructed to attack. Valtteri Bottas was even hindered by numbness in his left leg in the last ten laps. Finally, both Mercedes drivers suffered from wear on their right front tire at the end of the race, causing both to lock their wheels and go straight on at the bus stop chicane. It should be noted that Mercedes opted for a double pit stop during the safety car deployment, with the Finn and the Brit returning to the track on hard tires to finish the Grand Prix.

The Renaults made a splash during the Belgian Grand Prix: Daniel Ricciardo harassed Max Verstappen at the start by attempting to overtake him at Les Combes and then in the Brussels corner before reconsidering, and later superbly set the fastest lap in the race on the final lap, allowing him to finish 4th, just 3 seconds behind the Dutchman. Esteban Ocon, for his part, defended himself in the pack and clinched 5th place in the last lap from Alex Albon (Red Bull), who was struggling with his nearly 30-lap-old medium tires. Renault thus matches its best result since its return, as in Monza eleven months earlier. Like the Mercedes, the Renaults pitted during the safety car’s entry on the track to switch to hard tires and finish the race on that same set of rubber.

Pierre Gasly was brilliant during the Belgian Grand Prix at the wheel of his AlphaTauri. Keeping pace with the Renaults and Racing Points at the start of the race on his hard tires, he executed a legendary overtake on Perez on the second lap, passing him on the outside of Eau Rouge, just as he did in GP2 in 2016. His strategy was compromised at the entry of the safety car. At the restart, he was in 4th place then pitted on the 27th lap, emerging from the pits in 16th position. The Frenchman then started his comeback and finished in 8th position, ahead of both Racing Points. Additionally, he was voted driver of the day by the fans.

The race was a bit more complicated for McLaren: Carlos Sainz had to withdraw even before the start of the GP due to a broken exhaust. Lando Norris, the only survivor of the papaya orange armada, finished just outside the top 5.

But the big disappointment came from Ferrari: the reds, already suffering from an underperforming engine, were also handicapped by a flawed chassis. Charles Leclerc created an illusion at the start by briefly taking the 8th place, before losing 4 places successively, due to a Ferrari at a standstill on the Kemmel straight. As if that wasn’t enough, his first pit stop, made during the safety car’s entry, lasted over 10 seconds, as the tires were not ready when he rushed into the pit lane. On the 19th lap, he attempted to overtake Sebastian Vettel, without success. Charles Leclerc stopped again on the 25th lap to switch to medium tires, a pit stop compromised by Ferrari’s decision to repressurize the hydraulic system of the Monegasque’s single-seater. Finally, during the last 5 laps, he was stuck behind the Haas of Romain Grosjean, only managing to overtake him in the very last lap for the 14th final place.

Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, was overtaken at the restart by Räikkönen in the Alfa equipped with the same engine as the SF1000. He finished the race on his set of hard tires fitted when the safety car came out, in 13th place.

Results of the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix: