Vettel beats Hamilton into second after F1’s Belgian GP begins with a bang

Clinical and flawless, Sebastian Vettel’s win at the Belgian Grand Prix was reminiscent of some of the German’s untouchable victories during his championship-winning years at Red Bull. He has narrowed the points gap to Lewis Hamilton, who was left expressing not a little concern at the pace Ferrari were able to demonstrate on a circuit where he and Mercedes have previously been so dominant.

Hamilton insisted he did not believe Ferrari’s advantage was due to anything illegal but referred to “a few trick things going on in the car” that Mercedes badly need to match.

Vettel won by 11 seconds from Hamilton, having taken the lead on the opening lap, after which the superior pace of the Ferrari left the German untroubled at the front. Max Verstappen came up from seventh on the grid to take a well-deserved third place for Red Bull, his best finish at Spa.

Vettel has reduced Hamilton’s lead in the title race from 24 points to 17. The German won here for Red Bull in 2011 and 2013, both years he went on to win the title in a car that was the class of the field. He might be forgiven for believing the Ferrari under him now has proved to have a similarly impressive edge, something Hamilton readily acknowledged as he called on greater efforts from his team.

“I did everything I could and we ultimately did well, but he drove past me like I was not there,” he said. “We have to keep pushing to see what we can do. They have got a few trick things going on in the car, I did what I could, we did what we could so we have to keep working.”

Both Ferrari and Mercedes brought new engines to Belgium and the Scuderia already possessed a straight‑line speed advantage. But at Spa it looked to have become of a different order altogether, prompting Hamilton’s concern. Asked if he believed it was legal he said: “I don’t know what is on their car so I couldn’t tell you either way.”

However, when pressed the British driver was adamant he believed Ferrari had simply done a better job. “I’m not saying there is anything illegal,” he said. “We all have something, tricks, a trick is just something that helps you bring that extra performance. Please don’t twist my words to say that I say they are doing it illegally, because they are not. They just outperformed us today and we have to work harder.”

This was Ferrari’s first win here since 2009. Vettel was hugely pleased by his team’s performance, especially in light of their failure to match Mercedes’ development last season. “I hope we have more power, that’s what we are working for,” he said. “If that is the case then well done to our engine guys. We have been making progress in the last two years and that’s good news. I wouldn’t disagree that this year in terms of power we are a lot closer than last year. Last year we didn’t have a chance here.”

He had not been able to match Hamilton in qualifying in the wet and was second on the grid. But the Ferrari had been very strong all weekend in the dry conditions that were repeated on Sunday and Vettel made the most of it. The power-dependent Spa fell to a resurgent Scuderia who look ominously strong for the next rounds at Monza and Singapore.

Last year Hamilton was able to skilfully deny Vettel with his track position from pole, backing the German up through Eau Rouge when he challenged, but the superior pace of the Ferrari this year meant Vettel would not be denied.

The front runners had got away cleanly but Nico Hülkenberg shunted Fernando Alonso going into La Source, sending the Spaniard airborne and into the top of Charles Leclerc’s Sauber. His halo cockpit protection took some of the impact which will perhaps end any further speculation on whether the device should have been imposed.

The safety car was deployed as a result but crucially Vettel had already made his move. The German successfully slipstreamed Hamilton on the Kemmel Straight and had the job done going through Les Combes. The overtake he was denied last year was executed perfectly, with nothing Hamilton could do. Vettel had established a lead and went on to win with a consummate run reminiscent of those heady days at Red Bull.

Hamilton admitted that while he briefly tried to push, he ultimately had to accept the German could not be caught. “He was doing times I could not match,” he said. “So it came to a point where it was sensible to save the engine and get to the finish line.”

He leaves to lick his wounds before Monza next weekend, where he must hope Mercedes can extract more from their car. Vettel, in contrast, goes into the final eight-race run-in, still behind on points but having given definitive notice that on track he is now the man in front.

Valtteri Bottas drove a strong recovery to comeback from 17th on the grid after receiving engine penalties to claim fourth place. The two Force Indias, in their first race under new owners, returned just the finish they team wanted, with Sergio Pérez in fifth and Esteban Ocon in sixth.

Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen in the two Haas cars were in seventh and eighth, in front of the Toro Rosso of Pierre Gasly in ninth and Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson in 10th.

Kimi Räikkönen took a puncture on the opening corner after clashing with Daniel Ricciardo, lost position and was forced to retire on lap nine with his rear wing and DRS damaged. Ricciardo also took damage and ultimately retired on lap 31.