F1 Belgian GP Results and Aftermath
Giancarlo Perlas August 27, 2018
The engine upgrades for both Mercedes AMG Petronas and Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 teams finally came into play at the recently-concluded Belgian Grand Prix. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel won the race while Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton settled for the second place.
The high hopes of Mercedes against their rival Ferrari were crushed when Vettel streaked past Hamilton and finished the race with an 11-point margin against the runner-up. “He drove past me like I wasn’t even there,” the Briton described the moment when the German driver beat him to the chequered flag.
Hamilton started the race at pole position in the Belgian GP. However, when the Mercedes driver reached the Kemmel Straight during the start of the race, Vettel rushed past him and he knew right away that he lost his edge.
Meanwhile, Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas was handicapped by the penalty he incurred for adopting the power unit upgrades despite already reaching the maximum amount of engine components allowed in his car prior to that. The decision moved him to the back of the grid at the beginning of the race. His gamble proved to pay out well though because even with another penalty at the Spa, he still managed to finish fourth.
Vettel’s victory brings him closer to the top of the 2018 F1 Driver Standings by 17 points. On the other hand, the failure of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen to finish the Belgian GP meant good news to the standing of Mercedes in the Constructors. The group bearing the three-pointed star logo now has a 15-point lead against Ferrari in the team rankings.
