Track Torque: Fast and furious from Ferrari
At the very first corner after the start of the race there was a big incident involving Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso.
Ferrari was fast in all practice sessions but got pipped out of pole position by Lewis Hamilton during a wet patch period of qualifying.
Their natural speed advantage came back to them in the race and Sebastian Vettel was able to pass Lewis Hamilton and pull away in what was a startling display of top-notch driving around this very formidable track.
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Hamilton hung on grimly but try as he might, he could not make any impression on the Prancing Horses.
He was 11 seconds behind at the finish.
In third position came Max Verstappen, a lonely 31 seconds behind Hamilton but 68 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas in fourth.
Bottas had also done well after starting 17th on the grid due to engine penalties for taking a new power unit.
His bravest pass was that to get past Brendon Hartley’s Toro Rosso around the outside of the blind Eau Rouge corner.
Before continuing the story after the top four I must go back to the start and unfold some of the drama that ensued.
At the very first corner after the start of the race there was a big incident involving Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso.
Hulkenberg’s Renault locked wheels and went straight on into the back of Alonso’s McLaren which immediately went airborne over the top of Charles Leclerc, bouncing off the Halo in the process and landing in more than one piece. They were both out of the race.
Further, round La Source it was Daniel Ricciardo’s turn to have a coming together with Kimi Raikkonen. Although soldiering on for a while neither car was to finish the race.
Big news of the weekend was that billionaire Lawrence Stroll, father of Williams driver Lance Stroll, has bought the beleaguered team of Force India with the obvious intent of moving his son Lance to lead the team.
Drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon were very quick during the wet qualifying and continued the good work into the race with the two cars finishing fifth (Perez) and sixth (Ocon).
ALSO READ : Track Torque: Happy ‘six of the best’ for Hamilton
Spa had yet again proved a tough race for both car and driver but at least the weather for a change had remained sunny and dry for the whole race.
This weekend the circus drives across Europe to Italy for the Itallian Grand Prix.
The Tifosi are always there in hordes for Monza and Ferrari so it better be a Prancing Horse victory.
Qualifying and the race should both be at 3pm on SuperSport 6.
Drivers: 1 Lewis Hamilton 231; 2 Sebastian Vettel 214; 3 Kimi Raikkonen 146; 4 Valtteri Bottas 144; 5 Max Verstappen 120; 6 Daniel Ricciardo 118.
Teams: 1 Mercedes 375; 2 Ferrari 360; 3 Red Bull 238.
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