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Hello and welcome to ESPN's live coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix from the glorious Spa-Francorchamps. --- 14:02: Rosberg pulls into his grid slot as the rest of the field slots into their respective starting positions. We are ready for the start of the Belgian Grand Prix. --- 13:59: The formation lap gets underway as polesitter Rosberg leads the field away. --- 13:57: The fans are well and truly out in force today. There's a huge amount of Dutch orange around and plenty of support for Max Verstappen. --- 13:54: Marcus Ericsson is set to start the race from the pit lane. Looks like Sauber was unable to get his car ready in time before the pit lane closed. --- 13:52: All the drivers are being strapped into their cars as we await the formation lap. --- 13:50: The Belgium national anthem has been played and we are 10 minutes away from the start. --- 13:43: Just over 15 minutes to go until lights out. --- 13:42: Ericsson the only man yet to make his way to the grid from the pit lane. --- 13:40: Tyre pressures have also been a drama this weekend, with some rather insane pressures from Pirelli frustrating everyone we've spoken to this weekend. The lower temperatures today might dampen those issues but tyre strategy and management is going to be a huge part of this race. --- 13:38: So what's the big news ahead of the race? Well, Hamilton will still start 21st on the grid after a bit of confusion after lunch. The FIA initially reported he would start from the pit lane after Mercedes broke the seal of his gearbox in parc ferme conditions, allowing him to have a fresh one for the Italian Grand Prix. However, Mercedes did not do any work to the gearbox, they merely broke the seal, meaning it is just another five-place grid penalty to take him level with Alonso's 60 places of combined penalties. And who said F1 was confusing? --- 13:36: The grandstands are absolutely packed today, especially at Eau Rouge and along the Kemmel Straight. --- 13:34: Lots of noise as Verstappen's Red Bull emerges from the pit lane. --- 13:30: The pit lane goes green... drivers are now allowed to make their way to the grid. --- 13:28: There are a few more clouds in the sky today but it's still a gorgeous day for racing. Air temparature has dropped to 27 degrees Celsius after being in the low 30s for most of the weekend. A lower track temperature may alleviate some of the tyre problems a lot of the teams have been having but may also favour Mercedes, who seem to struggle in hotter temperatures. |
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Lap 1 |
There's contact at the start between both Ferraris and Verstappen, who had a bad start. A chaotic start to the Belgian Grand Prix. Vettel is last and Raikkonen has damage to his Ferrari. |
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Lap 2 |
Rosberg leads the way by 4 seconds from Hulkenberg as Verstappen dives into the pit lane. Vettel and Button also pit. Sainz has suffered a huge tyre blow out, he's spun out of the race. Flames on Raikkonen's Ferrari during his pit stop. Action all over the place in the opening laps. |
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Lap 3 |
The Virtual Safety Car is out to neutralise the field. In all the chaos, Alonso has got himself up to 10th, while Hamilton is 12th. "They just turned into me," Verstappen reports over team radio. He was caught up in a Ferrari sandwich into La Source. |
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Lap 4 |
We are racing again on Lap 4 as Button is forced to retire. Rosberg leads from Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Bottas and Perez. |
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Lap 5 |
Raikkonen sets the fastest lap but the Finn is already a lap down. It was a disastrous start for both Ferrari drivers. Replays show that Wehrlein rammed into the back of Button at Les Combes. That will be the cause of Button's retirement. |
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Lap 6 |
Hamilton is now right on the back of Alonso. The safety car is out. Magnussen has gone off into the barriers at Eau Rouge. That looked to be a huge incident but thankfully the Dane has walked away and looks to be OK. |
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Lap 7 |
That safety car has created a chain reaction as a number of drivers pile into the pit lane. Alonso and Hamilton both stay out and are 6th and 7th respectively. Hamilton asks over team radio to check if Magnussen is OK. That was a hefty, hefty impact for the Renault driver. |
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Lap 8 |
Bottas and Gutierrez both pit. Repair work has begun on the heavily damaged barrier. The order behind the safety car is Rosberg, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Alonso and Hamilton. |
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Lap 9 |
The safety car stays out at the start of Lap 9 as the lapped cars are released. Five retirements already in the opening stages of this race with Magnussen, Ericsson, Button, Sainz and Wehrlein all out of the Belgian Grand Prix. |
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Lap 10 |
The field is led into the pit lane. This of course allows all drivers the option to effectively make a free tyre change. Sainz has just got his lift back to the paddock on the back of a moped. All the drivers are not out of their cars and are keeping cool in these hot conditions. Verstappen has been re-watching footage of the start with his Red Bull engineers. The race will re-start in 10 minutes time. The drivers are putting their helmets back on and getting ready for the re-start, which will occur in around six minutes time. And now all the drivers are back in their cars. Around three minutes to go until the race resumes.
Hamilton has switched onto the soft tyres. Rosberg has opted for a new set of mediums. |
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Lap 11 |
Rosberg continues to lead Ricciardo as Alonso tucks in right behind Hulkenberg. |
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Lap 12 |
Rosberg leads by 1.4s. Hamilton moves up to fourth place with an easy pass on Alonso's McLaren along the Kemmel Straight. Meanwhile Raikkonen and Verstappen touched wheels into Les Combes. Raikkonen held onto the position. |
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Lap 13 |
DRS is enabled on Lap 13. Raikkonen lets Verstappen through before attempting to make a pass along the Kemmel Straight but Verstappen blocks the inside line and holds onto 14th. |
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Lap 14 |
Rosberg continues to lead by over a second from Ricciardo as Hamilton gets ever closer to the back of Hulkenberg's third-placed Force India. |
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Lap 15 |
Ricciardo (on softs) is gaining on Rosberg (mediums). The Red Bull driver has moved into DRS range. |
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Lap 16 |
It's all calmed down a bit following a frantic start to the race. Rosberg leads by 1.3s over Ricciardo. Vettel charges past Grosjean along the Kemmel Straight and moves himself into ninth place. |
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Lap 17 |
Vettel is now right on the back of Kvyat as the pair head into La Source. Verstappen pits to the delight of Raikkonen. Vettel sweeps past Kvyat and is now up to eighth place. |
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Lap 18 |
Hamilton has closed the gap to Hulkenberg on this latest tour. Aided by DRS along the Kemmel Straight, Hamilton moves to the outside and steals third place from Hulkenberg. |
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Lap 19 |
Rosberg has extended his advantage over Ricciardo to over three seconds. Raikkonen and Grosjean touch wheels into Les Combes but both drivers escape damage. |
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Lap 20 |
"Check if I have a f------ puncture," Raikkonen asks over team radio. He's understandably agitated after the way his race has panned out thus far. The Finn has moved past Grosjean and is up to 12th place. |
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Lap 21 |
The top three is covered by just over 11 seconds as Rosberg continues to eek out his lead at the front. Perez looks to make a move on Massa into Les Combes but has to back out of it. Every point is crucial for Williams and Force India in their battle over fourth in the constructors' standings. |
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Lap 22 |
Hamilton pits at the half-way mark for a set of softs. It's a slow stop for Hamilton but he emerges ahead of Gutierrez and Raikkonen in ninth place. Raikkonen easily passes Gutierrez along the Kemmel Straight. |
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Lap 23 |
Nasr has been given a five second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. A number of drivers have opted to dive into the pits following Hamilton's stop. Massa and Verstappen both find a way past Grosjean and are up to 10th and 11th respectively. |
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Lap 24 |
Alonso and Hulkenberg touch coming out of the pits. Hulkenberg retains position, just. The pair were wheel-to-wheel at the exit of the pit lane and just touched wheels. Alonso wasn't going to give that one up easily. |
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Lap 25 |
Rosberg has a 10 second lead over Ricciardo as Raikkonen pits for medium tyres. Hamilton is back into third after his second stop. Vettel is all over the back of Verstappen. |
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Lap 26 |
Ricciardo pits from second place. Vettel gets past Verstappen on the exit of La Source, before Verstappen retakes P8 on the run into Les Combes. |
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Lap 27 |
Rosberg pits from the lead and returns to the track on the medium tyre. Vettel has found a way back past Verstappen, who now has Bottas all over the rear of his Red Bull. |
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Lap 28 |
Bottas dives up the inside of Verstappen into the Bus Stop chicane, before Verstappen heads for the pits. |
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Lap 29 |
Rosberg leads by over 10 seconds, while Hamilton is catching Ricciardo for second place. Perez completes a stunning overtake around the outside of Massa at Les Combes. The Mexican is up to sixth for Force India. |
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Lap 30 |
Hamilton is within DRS range of Ricciardo. Verstappen jumps past Palmer into La Source and moves up P13. |
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Lap 31 |
Vettel is closing onto the back of Massa in seventh place. |
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Lap 32 |
Rosberg continues to lead by a healthy margin. |
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Lap 33 |
Hamilton pits for the medium tyre. Hamilton returns behind Hulkenberg and ahead of Perez in fourth place. Bottas sneaks past Vettel to regain P9 after the German had got ahead. |
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Lap 34 |
Hamilton moves back into the podium places as he sweeps around the outside of Hulkenberg. Vettel finally makes a move stick on Bottas and also gets past Massa for good measure. The Ferrari driver is up to seventh. |
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Lap 35 |
Just a few seconds separates Alonso in 6th to Raikkonen in 10th. Vettel eases past Alonso along the Kemmel Straight and takes sixth place. |
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Lap 36 |
Rosberg holds a 12-second buffer over second placed Ricciardo. Verstappen moves into 11th place as he moves past Gutierrez. |
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Lap 37 |
Rosberg is coasting towards his sixth win of the season. If things stay as they are, Hamilton will lead the championship by 9 points heading to Monza. |
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Lap 38 |
The closest battle on track remains the fight over seventh place. Alonso is one second clear of Massa, who has Bottas and Raikkonen right behind. |
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Lap 39 |
Hamilton is 15 seconds behind second-place Ricciardo. |
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Lap 40 |
Five laps to go. With Hulkenberg and Perez currently fourth and fifth, Force India will leapfrog Williams into fourth in the constructors standings, by a single point. Meanwhile Hamilton sets the fastest lap of the race on a 1:51.692s. |
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Lap 41 |
Hamilton sets another new fastest lap of the race, on a 1:51.583s. Bottas passes his Williams teammate Massa into Les Combes. |
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Lap 42 |
Three laps remain at Spa as Hamilton continues to catch Ricciardo. Will he manage to put in a late challenge for second place? Raikkonen makes a move on Massa and gets up to ninth place. With that, Williams loses another point to Force India. |
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Lap 43 |
Rosberg leads by 12 seconds from Ricciardo with two laps remaining. |
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Lap 44 |
Rosberg begins his final lap.
Ricciardo comes home in second place, while Hamilton completes a recovery drive from the back row to finish on the podium. Hulkenberg and Perez finish in an excellent fourth and fifth, while Vettel finishes in sixth. Alonso grabs more points for McLaren in seventh, ahead of Bottas, Raikkonen and Massa, who rounds out the top 10. That's a wrap on our LIVE coverage of the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix. Thank you for joining us and we'll see you in Monza next weekend for the Italian Grand Prix. |
Lights out and Rosberg leads the field into La Source.
The race has been red-flagged due to the damaged tyre barrier.
We are back underway at Spa, behind the safety car.
Rosberg takes the chequered flag to claim his sixth win of 2016. That's his first victory in Belgium.
