Belgian GP Race Report: Spa day for some, choppy waters for others.

When you are playing the word association game, 'Spa-Francorchamps 'is usually followed by 'speed' or 'classic' or 'balls (big)'. While the latter did feature, this week's Belgian Grand Prix was neither fast nor a classic. Given that this was a Formula One race, that's a bit of an issue. Despite the teams opting to coax their tyres home, to avoid a second pit stop, there were some great drives, overtakes and talking points. Here they are.

“Even Lewis' mistakes are playing into his hands.”

We shall begin with the bit with which we are getting well-practised. Lewis Hamilton took another victory. Not exactly a shock, nevertheless, well-deserved. 

In qualifying, Hamilton out-qualified Valtteri Bottas, his teammate, by half a second - a slap in the face in racing terms. Hamilton even surprised himself as he continually found time that others couldn't. The world champion seemed to make the difference throughout the weekend in the technical and twisty second sector. Bottas would qualify second, just a hundredth ahead of the ever-impressive Max Verstappen. In fourth was Daniel Ricciardo, who had the fastest first sector and a massive smile beneath his mask. 

In Belgium, starting from the front doesn't always translate to success. The long straights, at the beginning of the lap, that leads to the chicane of Les Combes provide a brilliant opportunity to grab a slipstream by driving behind the car ahead. Last year, for example, we had four cars side by side at the end of the Kemmel Straight, as the difference in drag brought others into play. With a front four of two Mercedes, a feisty Dutchman and a box-office Aussie, the race start was one to watch. 

When it came down to it, Hamilton made a mistake and got on the power too early exiting the first corner. This gave him a snap of oversteer that he lost a fraction of time correcting. As a result, Bottas got a much better exit. Heading up Eau Rouge, the drivers go in single file before fighting it out on the Kemmel Straight. Bottas caught Hamilton just as they were entering Eau Rouge, meaning that he needed to lift off the throttle momentarily, losing him momentum. Consequently, Hamilton scampered down the straight unthreatened, allowing him to check out and not look back. Even Lewis' mistakes are playing into his hands. 

Meanwhile, Ricciardo and Verstappen had a squabble over third as they made their way through the opening lap. Ricciardo licked the stamp and sent it down the inside of Les Combes. Verstappen would still hold on around the outside to the podium position in which he would eventually finish. 

From there, Hamilton and Mercedes controlled the race, keeping the gap just so. In the post-race press conference, Hamilton once again expressed his disappointment at having won unchallenged. He wants people to bring the fight to him, but with the current regulations, Mercedes are the team to beat, and they seem unbeatable. That is not their fault. However, it is a shame that Hamilton doesn't have more battles with Verstappen, Alonso, Vettel or anyone else that may be considered at his level. In short, he has Bottas in his back pocket. Mercedes are comfortable with that. Why would they not be, they got a 1-2 finish? Hopefully, the regulation changes in the coming years, designed to close up the field, will do what they say on the tin.

“Belgium was an excellent result for the team and encouraging for Alonso to see as he prepares to jump into Ricciardo's vacated seat next season.”

Behind the top three to whom we have become accustomed, Renault bagged plenty of points, putting a rather disappointing weekend in Spain behind them. As mentioned, Ricciardo did a super job in qualifying to get onto the second row. His teammate, Esteban Ocon, started behind him, in sixth. Following a tidy race, Renault came fourth and fifth. Arguably, it was close between Renault and Red Bull for the second quickest car this weekend. Renault were low on downforce, allowing their slippery car to fly along the long straights that Spa has to offer. With the fastest lap on the last lap, Riccardo needed just one more tour to catch and trouble Verstappen. Renault clearly take care of their tyres, keeping life in them until the very end. Belgium was an excellent result for the team and encouraging for Alonso to see as he prepares to jump into Ricciardo's vacated seat next season.

“The message read 'prove them wrong'. This weekend, he continued his run of doing just that.”

There was a trio of drivers who got the fastest three laps and were the contenders for the driver of the day. One of them won the race, one of them got the fastest lap, and Pierre Gasly was voted driver of the day. 

Last year, the Frenchman lost his best friend, Anthoine Hubert, in a Formula 2 accident at the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. That week, Pierre had been swapped back to the Red Bull junior team, Toro Rosso, following a string of tough races. A couple of weeks ago, he returned to his home in France to find that he has been burgled. The last year has challenged us all, not least, Pierre Gasly. 

Allegedly, one of the first people to send Pierre a message after being dropped by Red Bull was from Hubert. The message read 'prove them wrong'. This weekend, he continued his run of doing just that. Starting, twelfth, Gasly was disappointed with qualifying. A blistering start would see Gasly rise through the field with some fine overtaking - most notably overtaking Sergio Perez around the outside on the entry to Eau Rouge, the very place his friend had died a year ago. I did say that there were some ballsy moments. 

An ill-timed safety car would see Gasly's strategy compromised, leading to him dropping to the bottom of the field. Further fine overtaking would see the Frenchman shoot back up the standings to take eighth position - not a bad effort given the circumstances. Without the safety car, I feel he could have finished in the top six at the rate that he was going. Either way, it was an impressive drive, and I stand by my prediction that he will head to Renault in the coming years.

“In hindsight, they couldn’t even win a championship with an illegal engine, which says a lot.”

While others enjoyed their Spa day, Ferrari find themselves in choppy waters. We shouldn't be surprised about Ferrari's result of P13 and P14 given their pace (or lack of it) this year. However, it is worse than we realised. Whatever they had been doing with their engine that they shouldn't have must have taken place for a while, because the step back in performance seems to be years rather than a year. The Ferrari drivers nearly came together, which would have been the final nail in the coffin. Instead, Kimi Räikkönen, in an Alfa Romeo - a Ferrari engine customer - beat both Ferraris. This result indicates that it is more than the engine that is contributing to Ferrari's woes. Something is simply not working at Ferrari. In hindsight, they couldn’t even win a championship with an illegal engine, which says a lot.

The following two races take place in Italy, the second of which is Ferrari's 1000th race. Ferrari will be glad that there are no fans - there might otherwise have been a revolt. 

If Bottas wants to win a world championship, he needs to start making Lewis uncomfortable, and quickly. The chances of that happening decrease by the race. What is more likely, and my prediction for Italy, is that Renault score their first podium since returning to the sport in 2016. As I said in last weeks article, Ricciardo on a podium is almost as good as Ricciardo on the track. Failing that, Ocon will spray champagne in Formula One for the first time. 

Tune in next week to find out.