Lewis Hamilton has described the outcome of his penalty-filled Belgian GP weekend a “super bonus” and believes “now the fight is really on” with Nico Rosberg for the world title.
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Hamilton, who in contrast to his rival was given a warm welcome by the huge crowed here, added: ” I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who supported me today.
“I didn’t expect Lewis to be third and that was pretty impressive”, the German said.
At that stage a win was on the cards, but Mercedes split strategies under the red-flag conditions and Hamilton was unable to catch Daniel Ricciardo for second place at the end.
A series of changes to his engine components resulted in world championship leader Hamilton accumulating a 55-place grid demotion, with FP3 and qualifying on Saturday instead used to tune the vehicle up for the race, rather than showing pace.
“Lewis starting from the back made it a lot easier, and I’m sure he’s going to be back in Monza and it’s going to be a big battle as always”. “It all worked out fine”.
Red Bull’s Verstappen was involved in a first-turn collision with Raikkonen and Vettel that shaped the race.
The incidents continued throughout the opening laps, until finally a Safety Car was deployed on Lap 6 when Kevin Magnussen crashed hard into the wall exiting Raidillon.
The Dane, who was taken to hospital for routine checks after suffering a cut to his left ankle, slammed violently into the barriers, prompting officials to first deploy the safety auto and then the red flag as marshals worked to fix the damage.
After the safety vehicle came out, the race was halted on lap 10 of 44 as the battered barrier needed repairing.
Triple world champion Hamilton, who has a 19-point cushion over team mate Nico Rosberg at the top of the drivers’ standings, appeared relaxed though.
The Briton’s rise through the order was helped by the first corner chaos and the subsequent Magnussen crash. Contact between the two Ferrari’s and Max Verstappen left Sebastian Vettel facing the wrong way while Kimi Raikkonen and Verstappen were forced to pit with damage.
Rosberg got away cleanly, but it was intense behind him.
Hamilton started the race from 21st place, with McLaren’s Fernando Alonso in 22nd and last.
The Ferraris were pushed wide and, as a effect, Raikkonen nudged into the side of Vettel.
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“I woke up this morning knowing how hard things were going to be, but you can never predict what is going to happen”.
