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Formula 1

F1 Belgian GP Live updates - race day

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By: Jake Boxall-Legge

Summary

Hamilton wins Belgian GP from pole
Bottas and Verstappen complete podium
Fastest lap for Ricciardo with a 1m47.483s
Russell, Giovinazzi out after crash. Sainz a non-starter
Status: Stopped
Verstappen: "It was pretty boring, not very interesting, not much to do. I ran out of tyres at the end, so I was just stretching it out, saving the front tyres. It was not enjoyable out there today."
Bottas: "Of course at the start it would have been a good opportunity but I think Lewis played it really well. I just couldn't catch him on the straight. With the same car and Lewis driving mistake-free, it was really difficult"
Hamilton: "It wasn't the easiest of races! It was a bit of a struggle, but nonetheless I think it was okay. I was worried we've have a scenario like Silverstone, but the tyre seemed to have quite a bit of rubber left on it"
Norris ends the race in P7, with Gasly, Stroll and Perez rounding out the scorers.
Bottas and Verstappen will flank Hamilton on the podium. Ricciardo and Ocon get fourth and fifth, with Albon having to be content with sixth.
Ricciardo snatches the fastest lap with a 1m47.483s! We've barely seen him all day!
On the final lap, Ocon finally clears Albon and completes a 4-5 for Renault.
And Lewis Hamilton wins the Belgian GP!
Gasly gets up to P8 on the penultimate lap as he overtakes Stroll. It has been a terrific performance by the AlphaTauri driver this afternoon.
It's the final lap.
Albon holds the line perfectly once more into Les Combes, keeping Ocon at bay for a while longer.
A big battle for fifth is brewing, as Albon, Ocon and Norris are all grouped together.
"I don't like the feel of this right tyre", Hamilton reports. He's hanging on now, dropping into the 1m49s.
On lap 40 the alternate strategy duo swap places as Gasly overtakes Perez with the aid of DRS at the end of the Kemmel Straight. Gasly is up to P9 and hunting down Stroll.
Ocon has a go at Albon onto the Kemmel Straight, but Albon gets his lines right and defends from the Renault driver.
The leaders are hanging onto their tyres now, being told to be super-careful in the last few laps. Bottas was told to stay off the kerbs after a Bus Stop lock-up.
Norris is up to P7 after getting ahead of Stroll and is closing in on Ocon. The lone McLaren has six laps to catch the Renault ahead of him.
Ocon's homing in on Albon, so he'll presumably secure P5 before the race is out.
As we poke fun at the tyre graphic, Hamilton had a lock-up into the Bus Stop and lost a second to Bottas. I'm preparing to tuck into humble pie.
Perez and Gasly are on a crusade through the midfield using the alternate strategy. The Racing Point driver goes around the outside of Kvyat at Les Combes to take P9, with Gasly following him through later in the lap, but the Russian driver made it easier work for his team-mate to get ahead.
Hamilton has 10% of his front tyre left, according the the INFAMOUS tyre performance graphic. Which probably means he could do another race distance on them...
An overtake by a Ferrari driver to report (you read that right), as Leclerc gets ahead of Magnussen for P15 on the Kemmel Straight on lap 35. Small comfort on a tough afternoon for Ferrari.
Verstappen, meanwhile, is suffering with some vibrations in his tyres. Nobody's having much fun out there, it seems.
The very next lap Gasly gets by Raikkonen to take P11 with the same move Perez pulled off. Raikkonen, just like Vettel did, locks up at the end of the straight as soon as Gasly gets by.
"I have an issue with numbness on my left leg from the brakes", Bottas reports.
Ocon's within 3s of Albon now, so it's certainly looking as though the medium compound is not the one to be on. Good Red Bull tyre strategy calls seem to be limited to one driver.
Perez produces a carbon copy of Gasly's earlier overtake on Vettel as the Racing Point driver powers past Raikkonen on the Kemmel Straight to take 10th place.
...and the power of the AlphaTauri Honda eases ahead of the Ferrari at the end of the Kemmel Straight to see Gasly take P12 on lap 32.
Albon's now dropping a bit, perhaps having come to an impasse with his medium tyres. He's now 5s behind Ricciardo, with Ocon slowly closing in.
Gasly has made light work of getting ahead of Magnussen and Grosjean and now has Vettel in his sights...
Ferrari confirms the work that went on with Leclerc's car during his earlier stop: "As a precaution, we topped up pneumatic pressure on Charles’ engine during [his] pitstop."
Hamilton's advantage to Bottas is now up to 4.4s, with Verstappen a further 3.3s behind the second Mercedes driver.
Vettel, who offers a spicy exchange about Ferrari's race strategy, is powerless to stop Perez from passing him at the end of the Kemmel Straight to see the Racing Point move up to P11 on lap 29.
Perez is already up to P12 following the stops by Leclerc and Gasly, having got ahead of both Haas drivers, and is now hunting down Vettel.
Hamilton, meanwhile, has pinged in a 1m47.758s lap to further extend his now-3.8s advantage over Bottas.
"Everything you've got, Valtteri", race engineer Riccardo Musconi suggests.
Gasly pitted at the end of lap 26, dropping to P16.
Gasly doesn't defend from Ocon too much, taking to the inside line as his compatriot passes on the Kemmel Straight.
"What's happening, why do we need to stop?" Leclerc asks his Ferrrari team as he takes a second pitstop for fresh medium tyres and a few tweaks. The Ferrari driver comes out in last place.
That fan screen along the Kemmel Straight is a bit...awkward isn't it?
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