Hamilton has won the Belgian GP 2017 to score his fifth win of the season and third career win in Belgium. In a tightly contested race, the Brit crossed the finish line some 2.3s before Vettel, the two were barely 2s apart in the entire race. Vettel now leads the championship by only 7 points after today.

As for Hamilton, this was his 200th Grand Prix, celebrated with a flawless win as he led from start to finish.

Belgian Grand Prix 2017 Results

1. Hamilton – Mercedes
2. Vettel – Ferrari
3. Ricciardo – Red Bull
4. Raikkonen – Ferrari
5. Bottas – Mercedes
6. Hulkenberg – Renault
7. Grosjean – Haas
8. Massa – Williams
9. Ocon – Force India
10. Sainz – Toro Rosso

The formation lap got underway smoothly and the Bahrain GP 2017 was a go. Hamilton managed to hold on to the lead after the start, and the positions remained pretty much unchanged in the top five – Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, Raikkonen and Verstappen.

Alonso made up three positions after race start, but the McLarens were slower on the straights. Ocon managed to pass the Spaniard for eighth place on the straight, Alonso was clearly unhappy and described the situation as “embarrassing” after both Hulkenberg and Perez passed him on the straight as well.

“I can’t believe this. Unbelievable.” said Verstappen after his car lost power on lap 8/44 and he was forced to stop and retire. The Red Bull parked on the Kemmel Straight and Verstappen exited the car. Christian Horner was not happy either in the pitwall. In the meantime, Hamilton held a 1.7s lead over Vettel, Bottas was further away 7s from the lead in third.

Hamilton made his first stop on lap 12, switching into softs before rejoining the race in fourth place ahead of Ricciardo. Raikkonen was placed under investigation for failing to slow down under the yellow flags.Next to pit among the leaders was Bottas who also picked up soft tires before rejoining in fifth behind Ricciardo.

Vettel pitted on lap 14/44, it wasn’t a quick one as he rejoined 3s behind Hamilton. Raikkonen held the lead momentarily as he was yet to pit but Hamilton managed to pass him on the Eau Rouge. The Finn stopped on the following lap and picked up softs as well before rejoining in fourth, however, he was given a 10s stop and go penalty for failing to slow down under the yellow flags.

“No more radio, for the rest of the race!” said Alonso to his team, McLaren was trying to update him on the tires. Meanwhile, Raikkonen served his 10s stop and go penalty, and emerged in P8 but moved into P7 after passing Perez.

A sad race for Alonso culminated to his retirement on lap 26 after an engine problem. Drama unfolded at the Force India camp with Ocon questioning the team as to why the pitted Perez first. And he was told Perez had a penalty. The two later collided on turn 1 and Perez suffered a puncture, forcing the safety car to intervene.

The field got a chance to pit for new tires, the Mercedes cars picked up soft tires while Vettel took on new ultrasofts. “Why have they got the safety car out? This is ridiculous, there’s literally no debris anywhere.” said Hamilton after the Force India clash.

The race was back on lap 34/44, Hamilton held the lead barely from Vettel but it was Bottas who lost the most after falling back into P5. Only the Mercedes were on softs, the rest of the top six were on ultrasofts.

Five laps left to go and the top five were only covered by 5s. Vettel managed to set a new fastest lap but the gap to Hamilton was still a little over 1s. By the final lap, the Brit had managed to get his lead up to 2s, he went ahead to win the Belgian GP 2017 by 2.3s from Vettel, his fifth win of the season.

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