Lewis came home in P2, securing the 10th podium place in Formula One for Mercedes in Belgium. After starting from P17, Valtteri stormed through the field to finish P4 and set the fastest lap of the race.
Today's result marks the 25th podium in Belgium for Mercedes-Benz power.
Lewis (231 points) leads the Drivers' Championship by 17 points from Sebastian Vettel (214 points) with Valtteri (144 points) in P4. Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (375 points) leads Ferrari (360 points) by 15 points in the Constructors' Championship.
Toto Wolff: Today was a little bit deflating after the drama of qualifying. Lewis was pretty powerless on lap one - he got swallowed up by Vettel on the straight, but then couldn't return the favour when Sebastian managed to break the tow on the restart after the Safety Car period. From then on, we were chasing a quicker car and didn't quite have enough pace to challenge for the lead. On the strategy, we did the only thing we could - which was to try the undercut - and try to put some pressure on Ferrari, but they didn't buckle. They were deserved winners today. Valtteri put in a great drive from the back to claim P4, so the points total brings us a small advantage on the constructors' side, while Lewis lost some ground in the drivers' standings. But most of all, we need to stay humble and keep working hard to improve our performance at every race.
James Allison: There's no way of dressing it up today: we were well beaten by a quicker team, who were able to stretch away from us on both tyres throughout the stint. It was very disappointing after yesterday's qualifying performance and what we believed our performance would be in the dry, to find today that we did not have the pace that we thought. Both drivers delivered good performances but neither of them had the car under them to do more today; we have some work on our hands in order to take the fight to Ferrari in Monza and the remaining races this year.
Maurizio Arrivabene: "That was a fantastic win today, with a great race from Seb and the whole team which, both at the track and back in Maranello, fought back from yesterday's difficulties in a strong, calm and determined manner, while the car showed all its potential. What happened to Kimi is a real shame and, but for that, we might have had even more to celebrate and the Constructors' classification would look a bit different. Now, the important thing is to carry on working with determination and humility, without ever giving up. Now we come to Monza and right from Wednesday, we will get the chance to get close to our fans during the event at Darsena di Milano. I am sure that will be able to count on the support of all our tifosi, as the championship goes on, getting more and more interesting. We hope that, come the end of the year, we can give them something to really smile about."
Christian Horner: "Max just drove a great grand prix today, recovering from seventh on the grid passing the Haas of Grosjean on lap 1 and then the two Force Indias. Obviously he lost touch with the leaders in the course of making those passing moves, and certainly in the first half of the race we didn't quite have the pace to keep in touch with the leaders. As soon as the pit stops had taken place he had good pace and was able to match the leading cars until the end of the race. So, in reality quite a lonely race for Max, but fantastic for him to achieve a podium in what is effectively his home grand prix in front of such an enormous crowd here in Spa. For Daniel it was a great shame he got caught up in someone else's accident at the first corner. It looks like Hulkenberg misjudged his braking to cause the chain of events and the damage to the front and rear of Daniel's car was significant. The mechanics did a wonderful job in getting the car turned around but unfortunately having lost two laps to the lead car, and with engine mileage at a premium, we had to make the decision to retire the car from what was only ever going to be a 16th place finish for Daniel today."
Racing Point Force India scored 18 points in today's Belgian Grand Prix, with Sergio Perez finishing fifth ahead of Esteban Ocon in sixth.
Otmar Szafnauer: "To come away from Spa with 18 points feels pretty good. We have been quick all weekend and it was important to convert our potential into a strong result today. It was a very eventful first lap, but we stayed out of trouble in turn one and Esteban was even challenging for the lead on the approach to Les Combes. Once things settled down, both drivers delivered clean and tidy races, but ultimately we didn't have the pace to race for the podium today. Picking up fifth and sixth is just what we needed and it's a credit to all 405 members of staff who have showed great resolve in recent weeks. I congratulate them all and look forward to scoring more points in the races to come."
Sergey Sirotkin finished 12th and Lance Stroll 13th in the Belgian Grand Prix. Both cars started the race on the soft Pirelli tyre, with Sergey starting P15 and Lance P16. Sergey and Lance made up several positions at the start of the race, following multiple incidents into turn one. The Safety Car was immediately deployed before pitting on lap four. Sergey ran as high as P9 during the race before pitting for the supersoft tyre on lap 24, one lap later than Lance.
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: A fine day in Spa without rain so at least the race was not complicated by the weather, but there was a big set of incidents at turn one. There was an impact between Bottas and Sergey, so we were very lucky to emerge from that unscathed and we were able to continue. We came through with both cars in reasonably good positions. We ran a late one-stop strategy, soft to supersoft tyre, which worked well for us. We were able to beat Hartley and Vandoorne and very nearly held Sainz behind us. But none the less, considering recent results this is a good result today for the team and a good solid performance from both drivers. We will build on this in the races to come.
Renault Sport Formula Team endured a disappointing Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix with Carlos Sainz working up the order to finish just one position shy of the points in eleventh. Whilst Carlos was able to complete the full race distance, Nico Hulkenberg's race ended at the first corner after he out-braked himself and collected the car ahead.
Both drivers took tactical Power Unit related grid penalties meaning that Nico lined up in eighteenth and Carlos in nineteenth on the grid. Carlos made a clean start and moved up to thirteenth by lap two after a number of retirements, ending short of tenth after a promising second stint on the Supersoft tyre. Despite missing out on the points, the team remains in fourth place in the Constructors' Championship.
Carlos started from P19 on new Pirelli Medium (white) tyres, pitting on lap 22 for a new set of Supersoft (red) tyres. Nico started from P18 on new Soft (yellow) tyres, ending his race in a first corner incident.
Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: "Today's race was not a good way to return from the break. We knew this weekend would be challenging with a scheduled Power Unit change and the resultant grid penalty for Nico, then we opted to do the same with Carlos after his struggles in qualifying and this meant we started the race from the back of the grid. From aggressive aero setups to tyre choices, we tried various measures to turnaround this very challenging situation that simply didn't work. On his side, Nico made a misjudgement at the start. He's not known for this type of error and I'm sure he'll learn from it and move on. Carlos made the most of challenging circumstances and finished narrowly outside of the points. Today's result doesn't reflect our actual place so we reset for Monza and remain focused on our development strategy."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "Heading into this weekend we knew Spa would be a tough race for us as it's a track that does not suit our car. Therefore, we are really happy to score some points with Pierre finishing ninth. We also had a decent day yesterday as our cars Qualified in 11th and 12th position. At the start of the race, we were quite lucky to avoid the heavy accident at the first corner, fortunately for us we came out without receiving any damage, and it was good to see the drivers involved in the crash walk away without injury. Pierre had a really good start, followed by an equally good race; he controlled his speed from the beginning onwards and managed the tyres well, deserving to finish P9. As for Brendon, he was a little bit unlucky at the beginning when he lost a couple of positions at the first corner after the crash. He started on the Soft while Pierre was on the Supersoft, so they started on alternate strategies. The Supersoft worked better than expected which meant we could extend the stint before going on the Softs, with which he finished the race without any trouble. In the end, we scored two points which are very important for the Constructors' Championship. Next stop: our home race in Italy!"
Toyoharu Tanabe (Honda F1 Technical Director): "We can be pleased to come away from the technically difficult Spa circuit with 2 points, as we had not expected it to suit our package very well. Pierre did a very good job and so did Brendon, enjoying some good battles and overtakes. This result is down to good team work and, from our side, the fact the PUs ran reliably through all sessions. We now head to Monza, which is another major challenge for the power unit. It is also the home race for Scuderia Toro Rosso, which is further incentive to do well."
Haas F1 Team earned a double-points result for the second straight race and the third time this season in the Belgian Grand Prix Sunday with drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen finishing seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 13th round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 10 points from the collective result of Grosjean and Magnussen at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps allowed Haas F1 Team to solidify its fifth-place standing in the constructors' ranks. The American squad now has 76 points and trails fourth-place Renault by just six points with a 24-point advantage over sixth-place McLaren. Magnussen is eighth in the driver's championship with 49 points and Grosjean is 14th with 27 points.
The Haas F1 Team pilots earned their finish by avoiding the opening lap chaos at La Source, the tight first turn that empties drivers down the straight to the renowned Eau Rouge and Raidillon corners. Grosjean's fifth-place starting spot kept him well ahead of the multicar accident that ultimately put four drivers out of the race, while Magnussen deftly picked off Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Scuderia Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen to climb to seventh from his ninth-place starting spot.
Max Verstappen powered his Red Bull past Grosjean on the Kemmel Straight just before turn seven at Les Combes, placing Grosjean sixth and Magnussen seventh when the safety car was deployed to clean up the mess at La Source.
Racing resumed on lap five, and the Haas F1 Team duo held their positions for the next 16 tours around the 7.004-kilometer (4.352-mile), 19-turn track in the Ardennes region of southeast Belgium. A charging Valtteri Bottas, who started 17th in his Mercedes, overtook Magnussen for seventh on lap 22.
Grosjean was able to stay ahead of Bottas until pitting on lap 23, swapping his Pirelli P Zero Red supersoft tires for a new set of Yellow softs. He returned to the race in 10th.
Magnussen, meanwhile, stayed out on the track until lap 26, rising to sixth as others ahead of him made their pit stops before finally making his scheduled stop. Magnussen emulated his teammate's strategy, switching from supersofts to softs, and emerged from the pits in eighth. This allowed Grosjean to leapfrog Magnussen, as he picked up seventh.
From this point forward, Grosjean and Magnussen handily held their seventh- and eighth-place positions. As the longest track in Formula One, Spa allows drivers to stay full throttle for 70 percent of each lap. This provided both wheelmen with the opportunity to extend significant margins between themselves and those around them, allowing for a relatively stress-free double-points finish.
Scuderia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel won the Belgian Grand Prix to score his 52nd career Formula One victory, placing him in sole possession of third on the series' all-time win list, ahead of Alain Prost and behind only Lewis Hamilton (67 wins) and Michael Schumacher (91 wins). Vettel's margin of victory over second-place Hamilton was an impressive 11.061 seconds. It was Vettel's fifth win this season and his third at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
The 1-2 finish between the title protagonists tightened their championship battle, with Vettel cutting seven points from Hamilton's lead. Hamilton came into the Belgian Grand Prix with a 24-point advantage on Vettel and leaves with a 17-point margin.
Eight races remain in the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship, with the next event coming Sept. 2 with the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
Guenther Steiner: "A good end to a solid weekend. Starting off on Friday, we were not where we wanted to be, but we worked our way up. We brought home both cars in the points and made a good step in the championship. We need to do more of that and we'll be fine."
A difficult Belgian Grand Prix for the whole team, as Fernando retired after a dramatic first-lap incident and Stoffel finished his home race in 15th position.
At the start Fernando was hit from behind by a late-braking Nico Hulkenberg who had locked his wheels. Fernando was launched into the air over the top of Charles Leclerc, but thankfully all three drivers were unhurt.
Stoffel had a lucky escape from the chaos at the start, but was held back by the performance of the car and was unable to make any real headway through the field despite pitting early under the Safety Car on lap two. The team will now re-group over a matter of hours before the team moves to Monza for next weekend's Italian Grand Prix.
Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: "Overall, a disappointing end to a difficult weekend.
"We're relieved that no-one was hurt at the first corner accident, which took Fernando out through no fault of his own.
"With Stoffel, we soldiered on as best we could, but we were unable to overcome our pace deficit.
"We now have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time, repairing cars and carefully further analysing our performance in Spa.
"We move on and focus on maximising our performance at Monza next weekend."
The 2018 FIA Formula One Belgian Grand Prix saw Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team driver Marcus Ericsson back in the points. Starting 13th, the Swedish driver made a good start and delivered a consistent and strong performance, fighting his way to P10. It was a disappointing race for Charles Leclerc. Starting in P12, the Monegasque driver had to retire after being caught up in a turn 1 collision that occurred between Niko Hülkenberg and Fernando Alonso.
The team is now travelling to Italy, where it will take part in the F1 Festival in Milan on Wednesday 29th of August, before heading into the Italian Grand Prix race weekend at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team currently holds 8th place in the Constructors' Championship. Charles Leclerc is in 15th, and Marcus Ericsson in 17th place in the Drivers' Championship.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "It was a mixed race for us. Charles had to retire on the first lap due to an incident that took place between two other drivers. On the other hand, Marcus had a strong race and finished in P10, scoring another point for the team. He gave a consistent performance and did a good job. Our next stop is Monza, which will be an important race for us as a team. Our target is to continue making progress, and we aim to deliver a strong qualifying result with both of our drivers there."
Sebastian Vettel won for Ferrari on a one-stop supersoft-soft strategy at Spa: the same strategy that was used by all the podium finishers. This strategy was actually adopted by most of the frontrunners, with the notable exception of Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, who finished fourth with a two-stop strategy after starting at the back. Bottas also set the fastest lap of the race on the soft tyre, beating last year's fastest race lap that was set on the ultrasoft. The Mercedes driver finished ahead of both Force India cars: a very encouraging result for the rebranded team after its recent issues.
Renault driver Carlos Sainz, McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen were the only drivers to use the medium tyre during the race, which was affected by an early safety car following a first-corner collision. After rain yesterday, conditions remained dry for the race, with ambient temperatures in the region of 19 degrees centigrade.
Mario Isola: "The tyres stood up very well to the very intense demands of Spa. The early safety car had the effect of extending the opening stint, with the majority of drivers managing their pace sufficiently to comfortably ensure a one-stopper. A different approach was taken by Valtteri Bottas, who managed to finish in the top four from the back after stopping twice, with a long middle stint on the supersoft. Now we head for our home race at Monza next weekend, where we will have the same tyre nomination."
