Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton gestures as he arrives for the podium ceremony after the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Spa on July 28, 2024. (Photo: John Thais/AFP)
Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton are back as a race-winning force, Max Verstappen and Red Bull are struggling to defend their titles and Fernando Alonso may be getting older, but he’s far from finished.
Although George Russell was disqualified for a technical infringement after victory, the clear consequences of a tense, intriguing and ultimately thrilling Belgian Grand Prix could not be hidden.
AFP Sport looks at three things learned from Sunday’s events at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit:
Lewis Hamilton is back in form
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton emerged from a two-and-a-half-year hiatus when he won the British Grand Prix and followed it up with a podium finish in Hungary and a stunning victory on Sunday.
It confirms he is back and close to his best – he made a brilliant start, took the lead and controlled the race before Russell’s unfortunate one-stop strategy put him in the lead – and that too in a car that is even better than he imagined when he decided to leave Mercedes to join Ferrari next year.
The team may have missed out on a glorious one-two win when post-race inspections revealed Russell’s car was 1.5kg underweight, but it was Hamilton’s 105th win, dating back exactly 11 years to his first for Mercedes in 2013.
As an investigation into the causes of Mercedes’ rare mistake began, it became clear Russell would also be involved in a title race that would potentially involve seven drivers.
His ‘heartbreaking’ loss of victory on Sunday with a one-stop strategy from sixth on the grid was possibly due to his bold ‘intuitive’ decision to switch from two stops on lap 26, which led to him finishing the race on very worn tyres that weighed significantly less than new tyres.
Verstappen’s damage limitation
Russell’s disqualification after the race was a boost for Max Verstappen, as he moved up to fourth ahead of Norris, who once again missed the chance to reduce the champion’s 78-point lead.
Verstappen started from 11th after taking a grid penalty and used the under-cut to beat his main title rival. He said it was ‘damage limitation’.
But Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez finished seventh after starting from second place, and Oscar Piastri finished second, taking McLaren to 366 points, 82 points behind Red Bull’s 408 points in the Constructors’ Championship.
As teams head on a three-week holiday ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix on August 23, Red Bull have decided to gamble on the future of Perez, who has struggled this year and is winless.
Reserve driver Liam Lawson and RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, who was promoted to 10th on Sunday, are in the running to take over if the Mexican is relieved of his duties. This week’s testing at Imola could decide that.
Alonso is aging in style
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso continued to perform in style as he aged, driving his Aston Martin eight miles per hour slower than his old team-mate and foe Lewis Hamilton – the best of all the others after the ‘big four’ teams.
Monday was his 43rd birthday, yet he still displayed all his passion, commitment and competitive spirit, outperforming many of his rivals after making his F1 debut 23 years later. He took part in 395 races, started 392, won 32, competed with 20 different team-mates and achieved 22 pole positions.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
His last win came with Ferrari at the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, but he shows no signs of letting up.
