Red Bull Racing’s Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo celebrates on the podium after winning the Formula One Belgium Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit yesterday. (Below) British driver Lewis Hamilton (right) collides with the car of his Mercedes teammate, German Nico Rosberg, on lap six that forced Hamilton to retire. (AFP)
Australian Daniel Ricciardo won the Belgian Grand Prix for Red Bull yesterday while Mercedes title rivals Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton provided the drama of the day by colliding on the second lap.
Hamilton failed to finish after fighting with a damaged car but Rosberg, blamed by his bosses and booed by the crowd on the podium, finished second to extend his championship lead to 29 points with seven of the 19 races remaining.
The victory, on a surprisingly dry afternoon at a circuit famed for rapid changes in weather conditions, was Ricciardo’s second in succession and third of his first season with the reigning champions.
It was also his team’s second in succession in Belgium after four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel triumphed last year and set off a run of nine wins in a row.
Finland’s Valtteri Bottas was third for Williams.
Ricciardo’s win was almost a sideshow to the major talking point, a further stirring up of already troubled waters at Mercedes. The two teammates had been expected to dominate the race after qualifying on the front row but the intense rivalry between them blew up in their face.
Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolf slammed the incident as “absolutely unacceptable” and blamed Rosberg, who refused to comment on the incident until he had seen replays.
“Lap number two of a long race and a crash between two teammates, we have often discussed the situation and it happened today,” he told the BBC. “You don’t try to overtake with the knife between your teeth in lap number two and damage both cars.”
The team’s non-executive chairman Niki Lauda was also fuming. “It is unacceptable. If these things happen at the end of the race, when they are fighting for the win then you discuss it but in the second lap to hand the victory to Red Bull,” said the former champion. “I thought they were clever enough to know that but obviously they aren’t.”
Hamilton had passed pole-sitter Rosberg at the start but his race was effectively over moments later when Rosberg tried to retake the lead in a misjudged move that could cost prove extremely costly for Hamilton.
The German’s front wing made contact with Hamilton’s rear tyre and punctured it, leaving the Briton having to nurse his car back to the pits in a trail of tyre debris.
He rejoined a minute adrift of Rosberg. After complaining that he had no downforce and repeatedly asking the team to save the engine, the Briton was recalled to the pits five laps from the end and retired.
Mercedes have been struggling to keep the peace between the evenly-matched team mates since the start of the year and arrived at Spa after a controversy in Hungary in July, where a ‘team orders’ controversy left Rosberg aggrieved.
Hamilton had started last in that race and finished third, with Rosberg going from pole to fourth and complaining that his teammate had not let him through.
Yesterday, the team made clear their support for Hamilton and they will have their work cut out again in the days ahead.
“This is a decisive moment in the battle between the two of them and for the team. Lewis is very upset, we kept him out there for a long time with a damaged car. He will recover quickly. It is going to be handled,” said Wolff.
Rosberg has 220 points to Hamilton’s 191 with Ricciardo moving closer on 156. Mercedes remain comfortably in front in the constructors’ standings with 411 points to Red Bull’s 254.
Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth for Ferrari, the first time he has beaten Spanish teammate Fernando Alonso this season, with Vettel fifth.
Denmark’s Kevin Magnussen was sixth, ahead of McLaren teammate Jenson Button in seventh, and Alonso eighth after a thrilling four-way battle in the closing laps. Mexican Sergio Perez took ninth place for Force India and Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat grabbed the final point for Toro Rosso.
Results & Standings
1. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 1:24:36.556
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) +00:03.383
3. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) +00:28.032
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) +00:36.815
5. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) +00:52.196
6. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren) +00:54.262
7. Jenson Button (McLaren) +00:54.580
8. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) +01:01.162
9. Sergio Perez (Force India) +01:04.293
10. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) +01:05.347
11. N Huelkenberg (Force India) +01:05.697
12. Jean Vergne (Toro Rosso) +01:11.920
13. Felipe Massa (Williams) +01:15.975
14. Adrian Sutil (Sauber) +01:22.447
15. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) +01:30.825
16. Max Chilton (Marussia) 1 lap
17. Marcus Ericsson (Caterham) 1 lap
18. Jules Bianchi (Marussia) 5 laps
Retired: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 6 laps; Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 11 laps;
Andre Lotterer (Caterham) 43 laps;
Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) 43 laps
Fastest Lap: Nico Rosberg,1:50.511, lap 36
Drivers standings
1. Nico Rosberg (Germany) 220 pts
2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 191
3. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) 156
4. Fernando Alonso (Spain) 119
5. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 110
6. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 98
7. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) 69
8. Jenson Button (Britain) 66
9. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) 45
10. Felipe Massa (Brazil) 40
Constructors standings: 1. Mercedes 411 pts; 2. Red Bull 254; 3. Ferrari 158; 4. Williams 150; 5. McLaren 111; 6. Force India 100; 7. Toro Rosso 18; 8. Lotus 8; 9. Marussia 2