Hamilton cruises to Belgian Grand Prix win

The previous two Grand Prix have seen exciting starts, and today was no exception.

The drivers will have to master the complicated start procedure without assistance from their engineers for the first time, with the results an unknown.

The field went round for a second formation lap while Hulkenberg was pushed into the pits where he retired the auto.

Speaking on the podium after the race, Hamilton expressed his delight and heaped praise on the Mercedes team for providing him with the dominant W06 Hybrid auto.

He withstood persistent pressure from Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, who had lagged at the start and fallen to fifth, giving himself a lot of work to do to get back into contention.

Trailing behind the front pairing will be Williams’ Valtteri Bottas, followed by Lotus’ Romain Grosjean and Force India’s Sergio Perez. Once again, the two Mercedes were fastest: a pattern that was repeated in Q3.

Rosberg pitted on lap 12 and Hamilton on lap 13, with Rosberg emerging 7.5s behind his team-mate.

A furious Sebastian Vettel faced possible post-race trouble with the stewards at Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix after the Ferrari driver raged about Pirelli’s “unacceptable” tyres – and refused to be weighed at the end of the race. Hamilton finished sixth and Rosberg was eighth.

Ericsson scored his second point in two races, helped by Vettel’s puncture.

Romain Grosjean, having originally qualified P4 before a gearbox penalty, was the man on the move as the pit stops began to happen.

Vettel was among a number of drivers to vcomplain to Pirelli following Rosberg’s 190mph tyre failure on Friday.

Webber was capable of beating Vettel in a straight fight, and often did, but he could never do it consistently and that was why Vettel won 38 races to Webber’s nine in their five years together. They kept him out on a long stint on the medium compound tyres after his first stop and then unleashed him with a set of options in the end. Coming under official investigation, the Finn was given a drive through penalty for the transgression. Button, meanwhile, was only 17th, three seconds adrift of Hamilton’s best lap.

Hamilton stopped for a change to the prime tyre on the following lap.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, last year’s victor in Spa who was battling for a podium finish, had to drop out in Lap 21 when his auto lost power. The Virtual Safety vehicle was deployed due to the RB11 being parked trackside. Teammate Nico Rosberg stayed close until Q3, but was unable to take pole from Hamilton and thus settled for P2. “We just couldn’t make the step from Q2 to Q3, it was a tight pack and we just went from in front to behind”.

The changes may sound minor, but the well-placed German publication Auto Motor Und Sport has reported that the FIA has been bombarded in recent weeks by teams seeking clarification on exactly what will and will not be permissible on those opening laps. The Mexican and Brazilian took P5 & P6 respectively, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in P7. Max Verstappen did not participate in the session at all and finished at P15, behind Kimi Raikkonen who also failed to complete a timed lap.

Karam, was taken to a hospital with an injury to his right foot.