F1 Belgian GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc starts on pole after inheriting top spot from Max Verstappen who topped qualifying but serves a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change.
The sister Red Bull of Sergio Perez joins Leclerc on the front row, with Lewis Hamilton in third for Mercedes and Lando Norris in fourth for McLaren.
The Belgian GP starts at 2pm BST and is the final race before the F1 summer break.
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We haven't seen it yet, but Ocon has passed Albon and now has Ricciardo in his sights. What will wily fox Alonso do? Could he opt to stay out? He's ninth ahead of Bottas, Stroll and then Ricciardo, who occupied ninth before the last round of stops.
So, Russell leads by 6s with 11 laps to go but he is being caught by Hamilton. Assuming Mercedes play it smart, they won't want Russell to cause his team-mate too much trouble, but after that he'll be fighting for his life for a podium place.
Russell confirms he is going to attempt a one-stopper given if he pitted now he lose places to three drivers that were behind him and he's drop to seventh or eighth.
Sainz is 4s behind Perez in P8. Neither of their strategies have quite gone to plan today.
Norris is told "these tyres are robust so we are happy to push on them" as he hunts down Verstappen having made quick work of getting by Perez on the previous lap for sixth.
Ocon has now pitted and rejoins on another set of hard tyres less than a second behind Albon. This could be a fascinating battle ahead in the lower reaches of the top 10.
The McLaren front jack mechanic is checked over by the team having effectively rugby tackled Piastri's car to stop it in place. Not that he gets much sympathy from his fellow mechanics!
Piastri pits but goes long in his pitbox and that costs him 2s! He returns to the action with fresh hards behind Hamilton and Leclerc but ahead of Verstappen.
Gasly has pitted but rejoins behind Magnussen and Tsunoda, so will have to repass that pair again before getting into clear air. How much longer will Ocon and Alonso go with their hard tyres?
Perez plays good team-mate by letting Verstappen by and into fifth to aid his charge of undercutting Russell.
With 15 laps to go, Norris pits to respond to Verstappen's stop. He takes on fresh hards but can only watch Verstappen power around La Source to move ahead of him at the pitlane exit.
Verstappen goes on to fresh mediums and is seventh and Sainz comes out in eighth on his second set of hards.
Sainz, in fifth, is holding up Hamilton which is going to be a huge help to his Ferrari team-mate Leclerc... that is until Sainz is told to pit. Verstappen also dives into the pitlane at the end of lap 28.
That said, the fight for the minor points places should also factor in Ocon and Alonso, who are still going on their hard tyres in ninth and tenth. When they make their second stops, they will have much fresher rubber to take the fight to Ricciardo and Albon later on.
The quartet of Piastri, Russell, Verstappen and Norris have lit their lap times up to respond to Hamilton and Leclerc pitting. Can they get back in the mix for the victory fight?
Ricciardo's reprieve didn't last long as Albon breezes past Magnussen in what amounted to a copy/paste move around the outside into Les Combes. Game on once more in the fight for a net P9.
It is a 2.4s stop for Hamilton, taking his second set of hards, and he comes out ahead of Leclerc with a gap of around 2.5s.
Ricciardo has Albon right on his tail in the battle for what is a net ninth place, but gives himself some breathing room by putting Magnussen between them. The Dane who went longest of anyone in the first stint is once again finding himself having to drive in the mirrors on older tyres.
Mercedes responds to Leclerc's pitstop as it calls in Hamilton from the lead. Meanwhile Russell asks Mercedes to "think about a one-stop".
Leclerc pits from second, targeting the undercut, while also covering off Perez. He comes out in seventh and 5.2s clear of Perez.
Sainz is 3.9s behind the battle between Verstappen and Norris. Can the Ferrari man's fresher medium tyres help him out?
Hamilton is steadily building his lead again, as it grows to 2.4s, as he tells Mercedes his "tyres are still good" as he pushes on. He's the quickest driver in the top six, with only the recently-pitted Sainz and Perez currently quicker.
Albon rejoins behind Ricciardo, as RB undercut the Australian ahead once again. Meanwhile Tsunoda is putting Sargeant under pressure, but just fails to get ahead around the outside of the first right-hander at Les Combes.
Norris locks up and runs off track coming into the chicane and that loses him a chunk of time in his hunt of Verstappen.
How long will the rest of the midfield runners wait before moving to cover Ricciardo? There's your answer, as Albon now ditches his mediums he took on at the same time as the RB driver and moves onto the hard.
Hamilton leads Leclerc by 1.8s and then comes Piastri who is a further 2.7s back. With Russell fourth, Verstappen is coming under pressure from Norris now.
Ricciardo has also pitted from tenth, taking a set of hards.
At the end of lap 22 Perez pits for a second time to ditch his second set of mediums for his fresh hards. He comes out in eighth and frees up Verstappen.
Hulkenberg was the trigger for the first round of stops and has now come in to ditch his hard tyres, going back to a medium set.
Having sized up Perez for a couple of laps, Russell darts by the Red Bull driver and into fourth with the aid of DRS on the Kemmel straight.
Any designs Alonso had on Ricciardo's tenth place have been put on hold as Ocon blasts past him on the Kemmel Straight. Nothing wrong with Alpine's aerodynamic package this weekend, as the soon-to-be Haas driver moves into 11th spot.
Sainz pits from the lead at the end of lap 20, taking on his fresh mediums, and comes out in eighth.
Russell had been set to defend from Verstappen but if anything he is attacking Perez for fifth now. The Mexican is off-strategy to the rest having taken a second set of mediums at his first stop.
Norris has decent pace in P8 and has the gap down to a shade under 3s to Verstappen - the Red Bull driver still unable to do anything about Russell.
Bottas is the latest driver to pass Hulkenberg, the first driver to switch onto the hards. Did Haas push the button just a little too early?
Ferrari wants to push Sainz into "Plan B" which looks to be an ambitious one-stopper. He needs to make this pace on the hards last for another six or more laps to make that work. He currently leads Hamilton by 3.3s but is a second per lap slower right now.
Alonso stopped later than Albon and Ricciardo, and could be set to make a move. The Williams and RB drivers have medium tyres, while Alonso is on the hard which could give him an edge as the yellow sidewall tyres begin to wear.
As Magnussen finally comes in for his first stop, releasing Albon and Ricciardo, another Haas is going backwards too. Gasly becomes the latest Alpine to pass one of the white, red and grey cars as the Frenchman zaps Hulkenberg into the Bus Stop. He's up to 13th, while Magnussen has rejoined 18th ahead only of Tsunoda.
Russell is able to use DRS gained from Perez ahead to keep Verstappen at bay behind him. Red Bull will want to do something about that.
"I think we should try to get them, mate. What do you think?" Verstappen asks over team radio. "Have a go," is the reply. Verstappen on the charge and has Russell first up.
By: Autosport Staff
