Hello! The racing weekend Royal Racing in Spa was overshadowed by tragic events. We are all used to the fact that much attention is paid to safety in motorsports and we are not tired of saying that races, especially Formula 1, become boring because of this, but when something happens, we immediately forget about what we said. There is no point in repeating the details of the Formula 2 accident that killed 22-year-old Antoine Hubert, it is worth saying only that, despite all the safety measures, riders still risk their lives no less than they did in races 30-40 years ago.
We turn to the review of the Formula 1 race in the Spa. Despite the tragedy, the stage in Belgium still took place. Charles Leclerc twice this season was close to victory, but either failed the technique, or lacked confidence and skill. But in this race, Leclerc demonstrated his level and won in memory of the deceased comrade. Ferrari a day earlier in the qualifying races showed excellent speed, so Leclair took the pole, and his partner Vettel became the second. Mercedes was considered catching up on Sunday’s race, but Vettel’s strange race strategy allowed the Silver Arrows to take both positions on the podium. In the struggle to win the race, it was somewhat calmer than usual in the absence of Max Verstappen. The Dutchman dropped out of the race on the first lap, while damaging Kimi Raikkonen’s car at the start. Because of this collision, Finn had to visit the pits earlier than usual and returned to the track with a considerable lag behind the peloton. Red Bull had to rely on freshman Alex Albon, who was replaced by Pierre Gasley during the summer break.
The Thai left a mixed impression behind the wheel of the Red Bull. On the one hand, in the first half of the race he was generally outside the top 10, he was busy with mid-level rivals for a long time. On the other hand, he made his way to the 6th place at the end of the race, epic surpassing Sergio Perez in the last lap. And thanks to the descent, Lando Norris was in 5th place at all. And this despite the fact that he started from the end of the peloton. His former partner Daniil Kvyat also had a rather successful race, reaching the 7th place, starting in 19th, but in the end the Russian missed forward Albon, who was in a higher class car. But also thanks to the descent of McLaren, he regained the 7th position.
Recognized as the racer of the day, Lando Norris got off the track just 1 lap to the finish line. His car crossed the line on the 43rd lap and stopped, very disappointed for the pilot McLaren, who spent one of his best races. And when you consider that at the beginning of the race his team-mate Carlos Sainz also left, then for McLaren this is a huge loss. Also one of the losers in Belgium was Antonio Giovinazzi. The young Italian lost control and crashed his car on the 43rd lap of 44.
A selection of the best photos of the Sunday race
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 44 | 1:23:45.710 | 25 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 44 | +0.981 | 18 |
| 3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 44 | +12.585 | 15 |
| 4 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 44 | +26.422 | 13 |
| 5 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull Racing | 44 | +81.325 | 10 |
| 6 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point | 44 | +84.448 | 8 |
| 7 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 44 | +89.657 | 6 |
| 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 44 | +106.639 | 4 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 44 | +109.168 | 2 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | 44 | +109.838 | 1 |
| 11 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 43 | DNF | 0 |
| 12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 43 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 43 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 43 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 63 | George Russell | Williams | 43 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing | 43 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 17 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams | 43 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 18 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing | 42 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | 1 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 0 | DNF | 0 |
Photos taken from the official Formula 1 website - www.formula1.com/
