Nico Rosberg led a dramatic Belgian Grand Prix full of contact and a red flag from the start to claim his sixth victory of the season, but Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton remains top of the drivers' standings.
Rosberg and Hamilton began the day separated by 19 points and 20 places on the grid, with the German on pole while the defending champion started from 21st after accumulating penalties for power unit changes over the course of the weekend to the tune of a 55-place demotion.
Being at opposite extremes enabled the duo to steer clear of all the potentially damaging action in between, with Hamilton recovering to take third position behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Rosberg.
There was drama from the very first turn, with home favourite Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel – who started second, third and fourth respectively – all taking contact and having to enter the pits in the early stages.
A heavy crash for Kevin Magnussen, who hobbled away from his wrecked Renault with an ankle injury, at the top of Eau Rouge led to a red flag at the end of lap nine so barrier repairs could be carried out.
By that point Hamilton had made his way up to fifth, though a late pit stop for medium tyres to take him to the end of the race kept him from passing Ricciardo for a Mercedes one-two, Rosberg cruising to the chequered flag to move to within nine points of the championship leader.
Comments
SHARE