That penalty for Hamilton, the effect of early season engine problems, has left the door open for Rosberg to at the very least make major inroads to his championship deficit.
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Rosberg insisted that he didn’t know that Hamilton was up to fifth by the red flag period, despite having got out of his vehicle and walked back down the pitlane during the break.
And, with the spectre of engine penalties finally lifted from over him after several months, Hamilton was thrilled with how the result of the weekend sets him up for the remainder of the season.
In addition to Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Gutierrez and Marcus Ericsson have also been handed grid penalties.
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Hamilton’s sanction should open the door for team-mate Nico Rosberg – 19 points behind the Briton in the battle for the F1 world title – and the German went fastest in Friday’s first practice session.
World champion Hamilton benefited from a chaotic start and a safety vehicle period caused by a heavy crash by Renault’s Kevin Magnussen, who was taken to hospital with an ankle injury, to rescue an unlikely podium place.
He began the Belgian Grand Prix at the back of the grid and with his team mate on pole it looked like he would struggle to score any points.
Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian in the Red Bull, took second place. I’m happy to have won the race, it’s been a great weekend for me and that’s it.
Rosberg, who now has a great chance to close the 19-point gap on Hamilton, was more than a little relieved – especially as the hot weather conditions made it more hard for Mercedes.
The Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were in sixth and ninth with the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa rounding out the top 10 in eighth and tenth.
“That’s not what I’m focusing on”, he said.
There have been races I’ve done where I’ve needed something like that and it’s not happened and it’s been a real tough fight from the back.
Both drivers were out of the race, and they were soon joined by Carlos Sainz who suffered a right-rear tyre blow-out before coming to a stop with his vehicle in pieces.
“I don’t think of it [that Hamilton has an advantage] in that sense”, said Rosberg.
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Verstappen was only just over a tenth of a second adrift of Rosberg as he became the youngest driver in the history of Formula 1 to start on the front row of the grid.
