“Our performance today was stronger than I expected”.
Advertisement
“But in general, I had everything under control because I just had an awesome vehicle out there, and Lewis wasn’t there to battle it out, which made it a less-difficult weekend”.
Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo drove a solid and considered race to take second, having won in Belgium in 2014.
“This weekend I came here to win the Belgian Grand Prix and I managed to do that”.
The Australian is third in the driver standings on 151 points, with Hamilton on 232 and Rosberg on 223.
Hamilton has been relaxed all weekend despite the prospect of starting near the back and was upbeat after Sunday’s race, even though victorious Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg cut his championship lead to nine points.
As pole-sitter Rosberg raced out in front and never looked back Hamilton weaved his way through the field in what turned out to be an eventual first few laps that saw, Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen all collide at the first corner and suffer c ar damage. “Congrats to Lewis, last place to third must be pretty impressive”. The Dutch teenager, who had become the youngest driver to start on the front row of a Grand Prix, ended up racing wheel-to-wheel with Raikkonen and then Vettel down the back of the field.
It helped Hamilton and Alonso, who avoided the early carnage up front, then gained places when the safety auto came out after Danish driver Kevin Magnussen’s crash.
The damage to the tyre wall proved extensive and after four laps behind the safety auto the race was red-flagged.
Another, more alarming, accident brought out the Safety Car itself on lap nine – Magnussen losing control of his Renault as he exited Eau Rouge and smashed into the barriers at around 300 kph on the high-speed rise to Raidillon.
In a fascinating sub-plot, Verstappen and Raikkonen were involved in another incident as Verstappen appeared to nudge him wide. “I woke up this morning knowing how hard it would be on these tyres, y’know, lots of blistering”.
The Finn referred to Verstappen’s driving as “fucking ridiculous” during the race and said “his only interest is pushing me off the circuit completely”.
Verstappen, however, as he has been in the past after tangling with Raikkonen, was unrepentant.
“It’s a big lie”.
Hamilton overtook Hulkenberg on lap 18, leaving just Ricciardo and Rosberg ahead of him. “It’s good TV if someone is moaning”. “I was defending my position, if someone doesn’t like it that’s their problem”, he said.
Asked whether he was disappointed not to have made a bigger indent into Hamilton’s points advantage, Rosberg says he sees no reason to feel disheartened.
Advertisement
The force of the impact destroyed the barrier and brought out the safety vehicle, prompting much of the field to dive into the pits for fresh tyres.
