2018 Belgian Grand Prix

The 2018 Belgian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 2018 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix) was the thirteenth race of the 2018 Formula One season, and the sixty-second time the Belgian Grand Prix was held on the Formula One calendar. It was held between 24 August and 26 August 2018.
In qualifying, Lewis Hamilton took his seventy-eighth pole position following a light rain shower in the middle of the third qualifying session, surpassing Juan Manuel Fangio and Ayrton Senna's number of four pole positions at the circuit, while Sebastian Vettel qualified alongside him on the front row. Esteban Ocon qualified third ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez to bring both of 's cars onto the second row following strategic errors for Kimi Räikkönen, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
In the race, Bottas damaged his front wing after hitting the back of Sergey Sirotkin, while Nico Hülkenberg crashed into the back of Fernando Alonso at La Source, causing Alonso to hit the top of Charles Leclerc's car and damage Ricciardo's rear wing before Ricciardo also punctured Räikkönen's tyre and damaged his endplate, deploying the safety car after Vettel took the lead from Hamilton on the Kemmel Straight in a similar fashion to the 2013 Belgian Grand Prix. Ricciardo and Räikkönen would later also retire from the race after Ricciardo had his rear wing replaced and rejoined a few laps down, while Räikkönen suffered a malfunction with his DRS. After the safety car came in at the end of lap 4, Vettel led every lap to take his fifty-second victory, 's first win at the circuit since 2009. Hamilton had to settle for second place, leading the Drivers' Championship by seventeen points ahead of Vettel, while Verstappen finished third and took his first podium at his home circuit after overtaking Romain Grosjean, Pérez and Ocon in the first half of the race.
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==Background==
During the , entered administration, but were later bought by investors led by Lawrence Stroll. The team was later recognised as a new team called "Racing Point Force India F1 Team", while Sahara Force India was excluded from the championship, thus also excluding all of Force India's points scored in the season prior to the Belgian Grand Prix.
 and brought their third upgraded engines to the Grand Prix, although Valtteri Bottas was faced with exceeding the use of his power unit components, thus giving him grid penalties that put him at the back of the grid alongside Nico Hülkenberg, who had the same situation.
's reserve driver Lando Norris also made his Grand Prix weekend debut, taking Fernando Alonso's place for just the first practice session.
==Entry list==
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport	 	W09 EQ Power+ 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport	 	W09 EQ Power+ 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF71H 	 	062 EVO 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF71H 	 	062 EVO 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 	 	RB14 	 	TAG Heuer 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 	 	RB14 	 	TAG Heuer 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Racing Point Force India F1 Team	 	VJM11 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	Racing Point Force India F1 Team	 	VJM11 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW41 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW41 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Renault Sport Formula One Team 	 	R.S.18 	 	R.E.18 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	Renault Sport Formula One Team 	 	R.S.18 	 	R.E.18 	
28 	Brendon Hartley 	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 	 	STR13 	 	RA618H 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 	 	STR13 	 	RA618H 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-18 	 	062 EVO 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-18 	 	062 EVO 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
2 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	C37 	 	062 EVO 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	C37 	 	062 EVO 	
Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only 	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only
47 	Lando Norris 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source
==Practice Overview==
===FP1===
===FP2===
===FP3===
===Practice Results===
No 	Driver 	Team 	FP1 	 	FP2 	 	FP3 	 	 	 	 	 	
No 	Driver 	Team 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	 	 	 	 	
2 	Stoffel Vandoorne	 	1:47.452	20 	1:46.496	20 	1:47.061	20 	 	 	 	 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1:45.558	6 	1:44.250	6 	1:44.479	6 	 	 	 	 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:44.358	1 	1:44.129	5 	1:42.661	1 	 	 	 	 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:44.718	4 	1:43.355	1 	1:42.724	2 	 	 	 	 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	1:46.387	12 	1:45.817	12 	1:45.814	12 	 	 	 	 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	1:46.557	14 	1:45.537	9 	1:45.536	11 	 	 	 	 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	1:46.300	11 	1:46.080	15 	1:46.182	15 	 	 	 	 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	1:46.169	9 	1:44.662	7 	1:45.341	8 	 	 	 	 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	1:46.153	16 	1:46.942	19 	 	 	 	 	 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	1:46.554	13 	1:45.622	10 	1:44.963	7 	 	 	 	 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	 	1:46.965	16 	1:46.470	19 	1:46.502	17 	 	 	 	 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	1:47.012	17 	1:46.078	14 	1:46.087	14 	 	 	 	 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	1:45.951	8 	1:45.753	11 	1:45.464	9 	 	 	 	 	
28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	1:46.932	15 	1:46.337	17 	1:46.259	16 	 	 	 	 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	1:45.786	7 	1:45.935	13 	1:45.485	10 	 	 	 	 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	 	1:44.509	2 	1:44.046	4 	1:44.048	5 	 	 	 	 	
35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	1:47.367	19 	1:46.451	18 	1:46.630	18 	 	 	 	 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	1:44.676	3 	1:43.523	2 	1:42.798	3 	 	 	 	 	
47 	Lando Norris 	 	1:47.364	18 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	1:46.210	10 	1:45.481	8 	1:45.925	13 	 	 	 	 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	1:44.724	5 	1:43.803	3 	1:43.464	4 	 	 	 	 	
Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
===Q2===
===Q3===
===Qualifying Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	Grid
1 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	3 	1:42.977 	 	3 	1:41.553 	 	1 	1:58.179 	1
2 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	4 	1:43.035 	 	1 	1:41.501 	 	2 	1:58.905 	2
3 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	 	11 	1:44.003 	 	9 	1:43.302 	 	3 	2:01.851 	3
4 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	 	12 	1:44.004 	 	6 	1:43.014 	 	4 	2:01.894 	4
5 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	 	6 	1:43.597 	 	7 	1:43.042 	 	5 	2:02.122 	5
6 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	1 	1:42.585 	 	2 	1:41.533 	 	6 	2:02.671 	6
7 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	 	5 	1:43.199 	 	5 	1:42.554 	 	7 	2:02.769 	7
8 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	 	7 	1:43.604 	 	8 	1:43.126 	 	8 	2:02.939 	8
9 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	 	9 	1:43.834 	 	10 	1:43.320 	 	9 	2:04.933 	9
10 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	 	2 	1:42.805 	 	4 	1:42.191 	 	10 	no time 	17*
11 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	 	15 	1:44.221 	 	11 	1:43.844 	 	 	 	10
12 	28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	 	14 	1:44.153 	 	12 	1:43.865 	 	 	 	11
13 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	 	8 	1:43.654 	 	13 	1:44.062 	 	 	 	12
14 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	 	10 	1:43.846 	 	14 	1:44.301 	 	 	 	13
15 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	 	13 	1:44.145 	 	15 	no time 	 	 	 	18†
16 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	 	16 	1:44.489 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19‡
17 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	17 	1:44.917 	 	 	 	 	 	 	14
18 	35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	 	18 	1:44.998 	 	 	 	 	 	 	15
19 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	 	19 	1:45.134 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16
20 	2 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	 	 	20 	1:45.307 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20§
107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765	107% time: 1:49.765
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
** Bottas was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fourth ICE, fourth TC, fourth MGU-H, third MGU-K, third ES and third CE.
*† Hülkenberg was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fourth ICE, fourth and fifth TC, fourth MGU-H, third MGU-K, third ES and third CE.
*‡ Sainz was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fourth turbocharger, fourth MGH-H, third MGH-K, third ES and third CE.
*§ Vandoorne was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fourth ICE, fourth turbocharger, fourth MGU-H, third MGU-K, third ES and third CE.
===Grid===
Source
** Bottas was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fourth ICE, fourth TC, fourth MGU-H, third MGU-K, third ES and third CE.
*† Hülkenberg was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fourth ICE, fourth and fifth TC, fourth MGU-H, third MGU-K, third ES and third CE.
*‡ Sainz was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fourth turbocharger, fourth MGH-H, third MGH-K, third ES and third CE.
*§ Vandoorne was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fourth ICE, fourth turbocharger, fourth MGU-H, third MGU-K, third ES and third CE.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	44 	1h 23m 34.476s 	2 	25
2 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	44 	+11.061s 	1 	18
3 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	44 	+31.372s 	7 	15
4 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	44 	+68.605s* 	17 	12
5 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	44 	+71.023s 	4 	10
6 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	44 	+79.520s 	3 	8
7 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	44 	+85.953s 	5 	6
8 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	44 	+87.639s 	9 	4
9 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	44 	+105.892s 	10 	2
10 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	43 	+1 Lap 	13 	1
11 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	43 	+1 Lap 	19 	
12 	35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	43 	+1 Lap 	15 	
13 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	43 	+1 Lap 	16 	
14 	28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	43 	+1 Lap 	11 	
15 	2 	Stoffel Vandoorne	 	43 	+1 Lap 	20 	
Ret 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	28 	Collision damage	8 	
Ret 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	8 	Collision damage	6 	
Ret 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	0 	Collision 	12 	
Ret 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	0 	Collision 	14 	
Ret 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	0 	Collision 	18 	
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
** Bottas was given a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Sirotkin.
==Milestones==
*Racing Point Force India's first race with a new license.
*Sergio Pérez's 150th entry (147th start).
*Nico Hülkenberg's 150th entry (148th start).
*Lewis Hamilton's 111th race for , surpassing his 110 races for .
*Marcus Ericsson scores his fifteenth point.
*Sergio Pérez scores 500 points.
*Sebastian Vettel overtakes Alain Prost for the third highest number of wins and podiums.
==Standings==
 
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Lewis Hamilton 	231 	
2 	Sebastian Vettel 	214 	
3 	Kimi Räikkönen 	146 	
4 	Valtteri Bottas 	144 	
5 	Max Verstappen 	120 	1
6 	Daniel Ricciardo 	118 	1
7 	Nico Hülkenberg 	52 	
8 	Kevin Magnussen 	49 	
9 	Fernando Alonso 	44 	
10 	Sergio Pérez 	40 	1
11 	Esteban Ocon 	37 	1
12 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	30 	2
13 	Pierre Gasly 	28 	
14 	Romain Grosjean 	27 	
15 	Charles Leclerc 	13 	
16 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	8 	
17 	Marcus Ericsson 	6 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	4 	
19 	Brendon Hartley 	2 	
Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	375 	
2 	 	360 	
3 	 	238 	
4 	 	82 	
5 	 	76 	
6 	 	52 	1
7 	 	30 	1
8 	 	19 	1
9 	 	18* 	3
10 	 	4 	
Only point scoring drivers are shown.
** Force India’s original 2018 entry (Sahara Force India F1 Team) was excluded from the championship prior to the Belgian Grand Prix, with the loss of all 2018 constructors’ points. As a new entity with a new championship entry, Racing Point Force India F1 Team began accruing points from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards. 
==Notes==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2018 Grands Prix
Category:Belgian Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in Belgium