2018 Belgian Grand Prix

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2018 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 13 of 21 in the 2018 Formula One World Championship
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Layout of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit
Layout of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit
Race details[1]
Date 26 August 2018
Official name Formula 1 2018 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix
Location Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Stavelot, Belgium
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 7.004 km (4.352 miles)
Distance 44 laps, 308.052 km (191.415 miles)
Weather Cloudy
Pole position
Driver
Mercedes
Time 1:58.179
Fastest lap
Driver Finland Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
Time 1:46.286 on lap 32 (lap record)
Podium
First
Ferrari
Second
Mercedes
Third
Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
Lap leaders

The 2018 Belgian Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 2018 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 26 August 2018 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium.[2] The race was the thirteenth round of the 2018 Formula One World Championship and marked the 74th running of the Belgian Grand Prix and the 61st time the race was held at Spa-Francorchamps and 51st time as a round of the World Championship.

The race was won by Scuderia Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen. The victory moved Vettel ahead of Alain Prost in all-time career Formula One victories and would be his last win for over a year until the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.

Report[edit]

Background[edit]

After going into administration during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Force India arrived in Belgium under new ownership. A consortium led by Lawrence Stroll purchased the racing assets and operations of Force India through a company named Racing Point UK Ltd.[3] The original team, Sahara Force India, was excluded from the Constructors' Championship due to their inability to participate in the remaining races, allowing the new team known as Racing Point Force India to apply for a late entry and start their participation in the championship in Belgium.[4]

Championship standings before the race[edit]

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton entered the round with a 24-point lead over Sebastian Vettel in the Drivers' Championship. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes led Ferrari by 10 points.[5]

Practice[edit]

McLaren reserve driver Lando Norris made his first appearance at a Grand Prix weekend, replacing Fernando Alonso during the first practice session.[6]

Race[edit]

The race was won by Scuderia Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen. With the win Vettel took his 52nd and overtook Alain Prost for third in the ranking of drivers with the most Formula One wins.[citation needed] The race featured a first lap crash involving Fernando Alonso, Nico Hülkenberg, and Charles Leclerc. Hülkenberg misjudged his braking before ramming into the back of Alonso, before flying over Leclerc's car and landing on the halo.[7]

After the first corner incidents, Vettel passed Hamilton on the Kemmel straight on lap 1. Hamilton tried to repass at the end of the straight, as did the two Racing Point cars of Ocon and Pérez, and they were four abreast in the braking zone, with Vettel staying ahead. Hamilton was not able to challenge Vettel again.[8]

Classification[edit]

Qualifying[edit]

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:42.977 1:41.553 1:58.179 1
2 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:43.035 1:41.501 1:58.905 2
3 31 France Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes[note 1] 1:44.003 1:43.302 2:01.851 3
4 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes[note 1] 1:44.004 1:43.014 2:01.894 4
5 8 France Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 1:43.597 1:43.042 2:02.122 5
6 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:42.585 1:41.533 2:02.671 6
7 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:43.199 1:42.554 2:02.769 7
8 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:43.604 1:43.126 2:02.939 8
9 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:43.834 1:43.320 2:04.933 9
10 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:42.805 1:42.191 No time 171
11 10 France Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 1:44.221 1:43.844 10
12 28 New Zealand Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 1:44.153 1:43.865 11
13 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Sauber-Ferrari 1:43.654 1:44.062 12
14 9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 1:43.846 1:44.301 13
15 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Renault 1:44.145 No time 181
16 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 1:44.489 191
17 14 Spain Fernando Alonso McLaren-Renault 1:44.917 14
18 35 Russia Sergey Sirotkin Williams-Mercedes 1:44.998 15
19 18 Canada Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 1:45.134 16
20 2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Renault 1:45.307 201
107% time: 1:49.765
Source:[9]
Notes

Race[edit]

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 44 1:23:34.476 2 25
2 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 44 +11.061 1 18
3 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 44 +31.372 7 15
4 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 44 +1:08.6051 17 12
5 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes[note 1] 44 +1:11.023 4 10
6 31 France Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes[note 1] 44 +1:19.520 3 8
7 8 France Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 44 +1:25.953 5 6
8 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 44 +1:27.639 9 4
9 10 France Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 44 +1:45.892 10 2
10 9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 43 +1 lap 13 1
11 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 43 +1 lap 19
12 35 Russia Sergey Sirotkin Williams-Mercedes 43 +1 lap 15
13 18 Canada Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 43 +1 lap 16
14 28 New Zealand Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 43 +1 lap 11
15 2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Renault 43 +1 lap 20
Ret 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 31 Collision damage 8
Ret 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 9 Collision damage 6
Ret 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Sauber-Ferrari 0 Collision 12
Ret 14 Spain Fernando Alonso McLaren-Renault 0 Collision 14
Ret 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Renault 0 Collision 18
Source:[10]
Notes

Championship standings after the race[edit]

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Competing as Racing Point Force India.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Formula 1 2018 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  2. ^ "2018 Belgian Grand Prix Entry list".
  3. ^ "Force India set to exit administration". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  4. ^ "FIA approve Racing Point Force India F1 entry". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Hungary 2018 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Norris to make Grand Prix weekend debut in Belgium". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Vettel wins in Belgium after dramatic crash". BBC Sport.
  8. ^ "Sebastian Vettel cruises to Belgian GP victory and reduces Lewis Hamilton's championship lead". The Telegraph.
  9. ^ "Formula 1 2018 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix – Qualifying". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Formula 1 2018 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix – Race Result". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Belgium 2018 – Championship". StatsF1. Retrieved 13 March 2019.


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2019 Belgian Grand Prix
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