Formula One is back and after its monthlong vacation, the championship itches to resume at the iconic Belgian Grand Prix. Join The Roar for a live blog of the race from 10pm AEST.
Situated in the lush Ardennes Forest, Spa-Francorchamps is the longest circuit on the Formula One calendar, yielding 7km of undulating race-track.
Corners such as the fearsome Eau Rouge, the rapid Raidillon and the spectacular Blanchimont, all comprise what is surmised as one of the best circuits in the world.
With its vast layout, only 44-laps total the grand prix distance – with Safety Car intervention a strong probability, due to early chaos in the race.
Just 14-points separate title protagonists Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, with 33-points the gap between the leading Ferrari and Valtteri Bottas in third.
As Hamilton achieves his 200th grand prix this weekend, his pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix sees him equal the all-time record for poles of 68, set by a driver who enjoyed many milestones at Spa himself in Michael Schumacher.
Ferrari were able to string together an effort to see Vettel join Hamilton on the front-row, with the German utilising the slipstream from his teammate Kimi Räikkönen.
Valtteri Bottas, as a result heads the second row of the grid, with his compatriot in Räikkönen as fourth on the grid.
The Scuderia is said to have the superior race pace, from what was seen during their long-runs in the practice sessions – so the onus will come down to the start and who can survive the run to La Source.
A large contingent of Dutch supporters have once again made the pilgrimage across the border, to watch their hero in Max Verstappen – who was best of the Red Bulls as fifth fastest.
Renault have stunned too in qualifying, with both Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer occupying positions in the top ten.
Stoffel Vandoorne will mark his first home event from the rear of the grid, copping a 65-place grid penalty for multiple changes to his Honda power-unit.
Both Hamilton and Vettel share two wins apiece at Spa, so who will be able to snare their third at the legendary circuit during the race?
Can the driver regarded as the ‘King of Spa’ in Räikkönen break his drought of wins with a special fifth victory?
Join The Roar for a live blog of the Belgian Grand Prix from 10pm AEST. as we get set to get racing underway again.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Thanks very much for tuning into The Roar's live blog coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix and we will return for the Italian Grand Prix next week. Ciao!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Well, what a race! As the 2017 championship gets back underway. Many things to take away from this race, including the incident between the two Force India drivers. What recriminations await for Perez and Ocon? Just 7-points in it then between Vettel and Hamilton, going into the next race in just a week's time at the home of Ferrari in Monza.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 220 - Sebastian Vettel 213 - Lewis Hamilton 179 - Valtteri Bottas 132 - Daniel Ricciardo 128 - Kimi Räikkönen 67 -- Max Verstappen 56 -- Sergio Perez 47 -- Esteban Ocon 36 -- Carlos Sainz 34 -- Nico Hulkenberg 27 -- Felipe Massa 24 -- Romain Grosjean 18 -- Lance Stroll 11 -- Kevin Magnussen 10 -- Fernando Alonso 5 --- Pascal Wehrlein 4 --- Daniil Kvyat 1 --- Stoffel Vandoorne 0 --- Jolyon Palmer 0 --- Marcus Ericsson 0 --- Antonio Giovinazzi 0 --- Jenson Button
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 392 - Mercedes AMG 348 - Scuderia Ferrari 199 - Red Bull Racing 103 - Force India Mercedes 45 -- Williams Mercedes 40 -- Scuderia Toro Rosso 35 -- Haas Ferrari 34 -- Renault Sport 11 -- McLaren Honda 2 --- Sauber Ferrari
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RACE REPORT Lewis Hamilton celebrates his 200th grand prix with a victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, edging out a challenge from his championship rival Sebastian Vettel. The Briton was able to convert a record 68th pole position to a fifth win of 2017, in a race which saw late chaos when the two Force India teammates came to blows at Eau Rouge. Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon clashed at the famous corner, with the Mexican littering debris all over the circuit – causing the intervention of the Safety Car and triggering a flurry of late pit-stops, bringing Vettel back in the hunt. Mercedes AMG made the brave decision to utilise the soft tyres in the final stint on both their cars, having no more of the ultrasoft compound on hand. In the end, the decision proved to be fruitful for Hamilton, with the tyres holding off the challenge from Vettel on the ultrasofts. The restart saw Vettel all over Hamilton, though nothing was to materialise from it. Instead, Daniel Ricciardo capitalised with a lunge on Valtteri Bottas into Les Combes – earning the Red Bull driver a well-deserved podium. There were plenty of casualties too, with Max Verstappen out of the race early with yet another mechanical failure and Fernando Alonso’s miserable weekend compounding in another retirement in the maligned McLaren-Honda Kimi Räikkönen’s race was ruined by a 10-second stop/go penalty, which he received for failing to slow down under the yellow flags on the Kemmel Straight – which were on hand following Verstappen’s retirement. The Finn was able to recover to fourth however, diving down the inside of Bottas at Les Combes at the same time as Ricciardo. Nico Hulkenberg finished as the best of the mid-field for Renault, having converted his grid place of seventh, to a race finish of sixth. The same fortunes were not felt by his teammate however, with Jolyon Palmer’s race spoiled by a pre-race gearbox penalty. Staying out of trouble, earned Romain Grosjean and Felipe Massa top ten berths with seventh and eighth, whilst an angry Ocon recovered to ninth – having slammed Perez as a “f****** idiot,” over the team radio. Claiming the final point in tenth was Carlos Sainz, who too had a quiet race and stayed out of trouble. 7-points separate the top two drivers now in the championship, with the next race to be held in seven days’ time at Monza.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
STANDBY FOR UPDATED STANDINGS AND RACE REPORT
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
PODIUM INTERVIEWS - Hosted by Mark Webber HAMILTON - "Its been a strong weekend for myself and the team." VETTEL - "It was good fun and really intense." "Restart... That's why I am not entirely happy." "We had very good pace." RICCIARDO - "Max dropped out early, Kimi had a penalty and we got into fourth." "We had a good opportunity and we capitalised."
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RESULTS FROM THE 44-LAP BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 1 L. Hamilton 2 S. Vettel 3 D. Ricciardo 4 K. Räikkönen 5 V. Bottas 6 N. Hulkenberg 7 R. Grosjean 8 F. Massa 9 E. Ocon 10 C. Sainz 11 L. Stroll 12 D. Kvyat 13 J. Palmer 14 S. Vandoorne 15 K. Magnussen 16 M. Ericsson RET S. Perez RET F. Alonso RET M. Verstappen RET P. Wehrlein
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Dan starts this Race in 6th - Finishes 3rd - Wowsers! Is there a better driver of wringing the neck from hsi car and getting the very best result possible.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
LEWIS HAMILTON WINS THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX! He narrowly edges out SEBASTIAN VETTEL, who challenged the Mercedes AMG to the end. And an unlikely podium for DANIEL RICCIARDO, who finishes third for Red Bull.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 44/44: FINAL LAP
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 43/44: 2 LAPS TO GO Perez told to box, as Force India get set to retire the car with all the damage it sustained in that incident with Ocon. 1.7 seconds between Hamilton and Vettel. It looks now as if the Briton has done it.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 42/44: 3 LAPS TO GO Vettel puts in the fastest lap of the race, which is also a new race record for Spa. 1:46.577 it is.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 41/44: 1.4 seconds between Hamilton and Vettel with four laps to go.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Dan the king of restarts! An unlikely podium result to come from that now for Red Bull. There was an inkling of Baku just before we got racing again, with Vettel stalking Hamilton. Game on!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 40/44: 5 LAPS TO GO The sector times showing Vettel only two-tenths a lap slower than Hamilton currently.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Oh my goodness! Jawad!! That restart!!!! WOW! Hamilton and Vettel right together while Bottas, Raikkonen and Ricciardo are three wide at 300kph. What a sport we love!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 39/44: Vettel still unable to get within the DRS range of Hamilton, as we enter the final stages of the race. Will the Briton hold on here now in his 200th grand prix?
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 38/44: "Push tyre wise, no problem," is the message from the Ferrari pit-wall to Vettel.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 37/44: 1.3 seconds between Hamilton and Vettel.