Nico Rosberg took advantage of championship rival Lewis Hamilton’s engine penalty to secure pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix.
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“I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen in the race”, said Hamilton, whose rise up the order was helped by the opening lap collisions and race disruptions.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished second in his Red Bull.
Under Formula One’s complex engine penalty regulations (see sidebar), the changes equate to a 55-place grid drop, which means Hamilton will start from the back row, most likely joined by McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, who has a 35-place grid drop of his own.
When the rest of the field made a decision to pit, it meant that Hamilton managed to restart the race in a far better position than he might have been in otherwise.
By then he had too much to do to catch Ricciardo but succeeded in limiting the damage to his title bid.
Hamilton heads into the weekend gunning to become only the third driver ever to take 50 career wins.
“I’m hoping to get into the top ten”, said Hamilton, who leads Rosberg by 19 points coming into the race. The fact we have six components of an engine I don’t think it’s great.
The Briton’s rise through the order was helped by the first-corner chaos that forced both Ferraris and Verstappen into the pits and by the safety auto and red flag deployed after Magnussen’s crash.
“It’s not disappointing, I’m happy with today”. The German admitted the race was made easier in his absence, though Rosberg did have to manage a restart after the race was red flagged on lap 11.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz lost control when his rear right tire blew out, sending him pirouetting to an improvised halt on the grass.
Pole-sitter Rosberg retained his lead on the short run down to the La Source hairpin, but utter chaos broke out behind him.
“I’d have had an even better summer if I went into the summer knowing I’d come out nine points ahead still after three new engines”.
“It wasn’t the toughest race of course because Lewis wasn’t there, that’s for sure. Still, tomorrow is the race and I feel satisfied”.
“It was a great race, and there was a great atmosphere thanks to these fans”.
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Huelkenberg and team-mate Sergio Perez were next up, Vettel recovered to finish sixth, with Alonso seventh ahead of Valtteri Bottas in a Williams, Raikkonen and Felipe Massa in a Williams.
