However, Hamilton holds on to his lead in the drivers’ championship by nine points following this somewhat unexpected result.
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“And the vehicle was great in the race so of course everything still needs to come together and the start is critical and then with the red flag and everything it becomes a bit more complicated and messy”.
Lewis Hamilton will not be able to catch the leaders after starting from the back of the grid for today’s Belgian Grand Prix, said Australian Daniel Ricciardo yesterday.
His win saw him reduce Hamilton’s advantage in the title race to just nine points. “I am so happy and proud of everyone”. Today was really about trying to approach it with the right approach and not be too aggressive, not too easy. After the restart, he fought past Alonso and Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg to take the final place on the podium behind Rosberg and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.
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.
“It has been a great weekend and I am very happy with that result of course”, said Rosberg who was subjected to a number of boos on the podium. Fair play to Lewis, he did a good job. That was because both drivers incurred a myriad of complex grid penalties for extra engine part changes this weekend.
Max Verstappen, could do no better than 11th place, after a race filled with incidents for the Dutchman.
Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz skidded out with a shredded rear tyre to end his race, while an action-packed opening spell continued when Magnussen lost control of his Renault and crashed heavily into tyre barriers at Eau Rouge. Magnussen walked away from the wreck with nothing worse than a cut to his left ankle.
“The key for me is making sure I come out of tomorrow having lost the fewest points possible – and that meant having as many fresh sets of tires available as possible and making sure the auto was set up well”.
The impeded Ferraris were now squeezed wide and, as a outcome, Raikkonen came across and nudged into the side of Vettel.
Verstappen became the youngest driver to win a race when he clinched a brilliant victory at the Spanish GP in May. He infuriated Raikkonen, a rare feat considering the Finn’s nickname is “The Ice Man” for his usually unflappable demeanour.
“I think turn one was more important (than the red flag) because it wiped out three of our direct competitors”, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said.
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Out with them went Swede Marcus Ericsson, who also has a 10-place penalty, Russian Daniil Kvyat and French debutant Esteban Ocon.
