# 2017 Belgian Grand Prix

The 2017 Belgian Grand Prix (formally known as the 2017 Formula 1 Pirelli Belgian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 27 August 2017 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium. The race, contested over forty-four laps, was the twelfth round of the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship, and marked the seventy-third running of the Belgian Grand Prix and the sixtieth time the race was held at Spa-Francorchamps.
Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel entered the round with a fourteen-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the World Drivers' Championship with Valtteri Bottas a further nineteen points behind in third. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes led Ferrari by thirty-nine points before the race.
In his 200th Grand Prix, Hamilton started the race from pole position for the 68th time in his career, equaling the record of Michael Schumacher for most poles, and went on to win the race. In doing so, he closed to within seven points of Vettel's championship lead.
Television and motorsport personality Guy Martin was present as part of the Williams pit team as part of filming for an episode of his 'Speed' series.

## Qualifying

| Pos. | Car no. | Driver | Constructor | Qualifying times | Qualifying times | Qualifying times | Final grid |
| Pos. | Car no. | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Final grid |
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:44.184 | 1:42.927 | 1:42.553 | 1 |
| 2 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:44.275 | 1:43.987 | 1:42.795 | 2 |
| 3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:44.773 | 1:43.249 | 1:43.094 | 3 |
| 4 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:44.729 | 1:43.700 | 1:43.270 | 4 |
| 5 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 1:44.535 | 1:43.940 | 1:43.380 | 5 |
| 6 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 1:45.114 | 1:44.224 | 1:43.863 | 6 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 1:45.280 | 1:44.988 | 1:44.982 | 7 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Force India-Mercedes | 1:45.591 | 1:44.894 | 1:45.244 | 8 |
| 9 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India-Mercedes | 1:45.277 | 1:45.006 | 1:45.369 | 9 |
| 10 | 30 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:45.447 | 1:44.685 | No time | 14 |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Honda | 1:45.668 | 1:45.090 | | 10 |
| 12 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1:45.728 | 1:45.133 | | 11 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1:45.535 | 1:45.400 | | 12 |
| 14 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Toro Rosso | 1:45.374 | 1:45.439 | | 13 |
| 15 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren-Honda | 1:45.441 | No time | | 20 |
| 16 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1:45.823 | | | 16 |
| 17 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:46.028 | | | 19 |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams-Mercedes | 1:46.915 | | | 15 |
| 19 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:47.214 | | | 17 |
| 20 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:47.679 | | | 18 |
| 107% time: 1:51.476 ||||||||
| Source: ||||||||

### Notes

* ^1 – Jolyon Palmer, Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein each received a five-place grid penalty for unscheduled gearbox changes.
* ^2 – Stoffel Vandoorne received a series of grid penalties totalling sixty-five places for exceeding his quota of power unit elements and an unscheduled gearbox change.
* ^3 – Felipe Massa received a five-place grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags in Free Practice 3.
* ^4 – Daniil Kvyat received a twenty-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.

## Race

At the start Lewis Hamilton held off Sebastian Vettel to lead although Vettel would continue to pressure him for most of the race. In the second half of the race, the safety car came out after the two Force India cars of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez collided leaving debris on the track, earlier in the race both Pérez and Ocon had also touched wheels. Hamilton was not happy with the deployment of the safety car labelling it "BS", on the restart he came under attack again from Vettel but was able to fend him off up until the finish. Daniel Ricciardo came home in 3rd place, Valtteri Bottas' chances of the title were fading after only managing 5th.

### Race classification

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 44 | 1:24:42.820 | 1 | 25 |
| 2 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 44 | +2.358 | 2 | 18 |
| 3 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 44 | +10.791 | 6 | 15 |
| 4 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 44 | +14.471 | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 44 | +16.456 | 3 | 10 |
| 6 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 44 | +28.087 | 7 | 8 |
| 7 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 44 | +31.553 | 11 | 6 |
| 8 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 44 | +36.649 | 16 | 4 |
| 9 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India-Mercedes | 44 | +38.154 | 9 | 2 |
| 10 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Toro Rosso | 44 | +39.447 | 13 | 1 |
| 11 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams-Mercedes | 44 | +48.999 | 15 | |
| 12 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 44 | +49.940 | 19 | |
| 13 | 30 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 44 | +53.239 | 14 | |
| 14 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren-Honda | 44 | +57.078 | 20 | |
| 15 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 44 | +1:07.262 | 12 | |
| 16 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 44 | +1:09.711 | 17 | |
| 17 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Force India-Mercedes | 42 | Collision damage | 8 | |
| Ret | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Honda | 25 | Power unit | 10 | |
| Ret | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 7 | Power unit | 5 | |
| Ret | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber-Ferrari | 2 | Suspension | 18 | |
| Source: ||||||||

#### Notes

* ^1 – Sergio Pérez retired from the race, but was classified as he had completed 90% of the race distance.

## Championship standings after the race

| | Pos. | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | 220 |
| | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | 213 |
| | 3 | Valtteri Bottas | 179 |
| | 4 | Daniel Ricciardo | 132 |
| | 5 | Kimi Räikkönen | 128 |
| Source: ||||
| | Pos. | Constructor | Points |
| | 1 | Mercedes | 392 |
| | 2 | Ferrari | 348 |
| | 3 | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 199 |
| | 4 | Force India-Mercedes | 103 |
| | 5 | Williams-Mercedes | 45 |
| Source: ||||
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.