The 11th round of the 2015 Formula 1 season took place at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.
Following a month-long summer break, F1 returned to action at the historic circuit. It was the 60th Belgian Grand Prix in the sport's history.
Lewis Hamilton entered the race weekend with a 21-point lead over team-mate Nico Rosberg in the drivers' standings, chasing his sixth win of the year and second at Spa.
FP1
The second half of the 2015 F1 season got off to a busy start, with Rosberg, Marcus Ericsson, Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel first out onto the circuit in practice one. Following early installation laps, Carlos Sainz Jr put in the opening timed lap with a 1:54.645.
The Spaniard was quickly displaced by Max Verstappen and Hamilton. Rosberg slowed on the run to Blanchimont and pitted with a problem. Hamilton remained fastest after the first 30 minutes with a 1:51.340, before pitting to return the extra set of Pirelli tyres.
The red flags emerged a short while later after Pastor Maldonado lost the rear of his Lotus at the exit of Turn 7 and crashed. Rosberg returned to the track after his earlier problem and immediately moved to the top of the standings, before improving his time to a 1:51.082.
He remained quickest by the chequered flag, with Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo two tenths further back. Kimi Raikkonen, Vettel, Daniil Kvyat and Verstappen were next up, with Sainz Jr, Sergio Perez and Bottas completing the top 10.
FP2
Second practice got off to a quiet start, with Bottas, Vettel and Felipe Massa first to exit the pit lane. Vettel set the opening timed lap with a 1:52.606, but he was displaced by Raikkonen and Nico Hulkenberg.
Bottas, Verstappen and Hulkenberg all suffered off-track excursions early on, while Kvyat and Felipe Nasr almost collided in the pit lane. Rosberg led early on before Vettel switched to the soft tyre and went fastest.
However, he eventually fell to 10th when the rest of the field emerged on the options. Rosberg returned to the front with a 1:49.385, three tenths faster than Hamilton, before drivers switched to high-fuel running.
Rosberg's session ended in drama with 26 minutes remaining when he suffered a scary puncture on the run to Blanchimont, bringing out the red flag. A crash for Ericsson at Pouhon with 11 minutes to go stopped the session once again.
No one was able to beat Rosberg's best time and he remained fastest, with Hamilton second and Ricciardo third. Kvyat, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean were next up. Ericsson, Nasr and Vettel completed the top 10.
FP3
Vettel, Will Stevens and Grosjean were the first to head out onto the circuit in third practice for the Belgian Grand Prix. It was a busy start to the 60-minute session, with Stevens putting in the opening timed lap - a 1:57.470.
Rosberg hit the front but he was quickly displaced by Raikkonen and Ricciardo. The Red Bull driver lost out to Hamilton but returned to first place when he switched to the soft tyre, with a 1:49.930.
Red Bull completed qualifying simulations on the option Pirelli compound early in the session, with the rest of the field doing the same in the closing stages. Hamilton eventually ended practice three fastest with a 1:48.984, half a second ahead of Rosberg.
Vettel and Raikkonen moved up to third and fourth, with Perez in fifth for Force India. Ricciardo and Kvyat slipped to sixth and seventh after their early soft tyre laps, ending the session ahead of Hulkenberg, Bottas and Massa. Alonso was the only driver who did not set a time after an exhaust issue.
Qualifying
Q1
The first segment of qualifying eliminated the slowest five drivers from the fight for pole position. The 18-minute long session got off to a busy start, with Bottas, Roberto Merhi and Maldonado immediately heading out on track,
Bottas put in the opening timed lap with a 1:50.195, but the Finn was displaced just moments later by Hamilton. The two-time champion didn't remain at the top of the timesheets for long, with Rosberg putting in a 1:49.498 to go fastest.
Vettel was third, but Raikkonen could only manage 13th after running wide at Turn 8. The majority of the field switched to the soft tyre and returned to the track for their final laps, with the Mercedes duo on the harder Pirelli compound.
Despite running on the medium tyre, Hamilton and Rosberg returned to first and second, the former putting in a 1:48.908. Perez and Bottas were third and fourth, ahead of Sainz Jr, Vettel, Raikkonen, Grosjean, Kvyat and Hulkenberg. Nasr, Button, Alonso, Stevens and Merhi were all eliminated.
Q2
The second qualifying session kicked off in fairly quiet style, with Bottas being the first driver to exit the pit lane once again. The 15-minute segment decided the line-up for the top 10 shoot-out.
Bottas put in a 1:49.678 but he quickly dropped behind Massa and Hamilton. Rosberg then beat his team-mate by under a tenth of a second to go fastest. However, the red flags then emerged after Raikkonen stopped at Stavelot with a drop in oil pressure.
Q2 resumed several minutes later, with just over half of the session remaining. Rosberg and Hamilton stayed in the Mercedes garage but retained first and second, the former leading the way with a 1:47.955.
Vettel improved to go third, with Perez, Massa and Maldonado next up. Grosjean, Ricciardo, Bottas and Sainz Jr completed the top 10 and also progressed to Q3. Hulkenberg, Kvyat and Ericsson joined Raikkonen and Verstappen in the drop-zone.
Q3
The final 12-minute qualifying segment decided the top 10 on the grid for the Belgian Grand Prix. Bottas was first out for the third consecutive session, with Hamilton and Massa soon joining the Williams driver.
Bottas kicked things off with a 1:48.567. However, Hamilton went one second quicker to take provisional pole position, with Rosberg moving up to second. Massa was fourth, with Vettel fifth after the first attempts.
After a brief lull in the action, drivers returned to Spa with three minutes left on the clock to complete their final runs in Q3. Hamilton improved by two tenths with a 1:47.197 to take pole position, with Rosberg failing to fight back.
Bottas was third, with Grosjean (who has a five-place grid penalty) and Perez surprising in fourth and fifth. Ricciardo, Massa and Maldonado were next up. Vettel was a disappointing ninth and Sainz Jr completed the top 10.
The Race
With new start and radio rules, a mixed up grid and the potential of rain, it looked set to be an exciting race in Belgium. Could Rosberg take the fight to Hamilton, and if so, would they battle cleanly?
A problem for Hulkenberg resulted in an extra formation lap. On the second attempt, the revs rose, the lights went out round 11 of the 2015 season got underway at Spa. Off the line, Hamilton had a strong launch to lead into La Source.
It was a clean first corner, with Perez and Ricciardo jumping up to second and third. Rosberg dropped to fifth, also losing out to Bottas. Perez challenged Hamilton on the long run to Les Combes but couldn't find a way through.
Later in the lap, Rosberg moved ahead of Bottas after a clumsy move at the chicane. The Williams then lost out to Vettel as he attempted to fight back on the second tour. A few moments later Maldonado retired after a power unit issue, slowing on the Kemmel Straight.
Hamilton established a small advantage over Perez, with the Force India driver two seconds behind the leader by lap three. Ericsson dropped from 10th to 12th in quick succession, with Verstappen and Raikkonen using DRS to pass the Swede.
Ricciardo started to close in on Perez, with Rosberg joining in the fun. However, the Red Bull driver then dived into the pits at the end of lap seven for a set of the medium compound. Perez stopped for a new set of softs on the following tour and emerged behind Ricciardo.
Bottas emerged from his stop on three soft tyres and one medium, which is against the regulations. The majority of the midfield pitted over the next few laps, but the order largely remained the same. Verstappen completed a stunning move on Nasr at Blanchimont and the final chicane.
Rosberg pitted at the end of lap 12 and returned to the track ahead of Perez and Ricciardo - the two swapping places on the previous tour. The Mexican tried to fight back, but Rosberg maintained his position. Hamilton pitted on the next lap, briefly giving Vettel the lead before the German stopped for a fresh set of tyres.
Following the tyre mix-up, Bottas completed his drive-through and fell to 11th. At the front, Hamilton's lead over Rosberg was 3.1 seconds by lap 17. Ricciardo was displaced for fourth by Grosjean, with the Lotus quickly catching Perez and moving up to third on the Kemmel Straight.
Perez dived into the pits at the end of lap 20, just as Ricciardo slowed and parked his car at the exit of the final chicane with a mechanical problem. The Virtual Safety Car was deployed while his Red Bull RB11 was recovered, with several drivers taking to the pits.
When the Belgian Grand Prix resumed, Rosberg was one second closer to Hamilton. However, the two-time world champion soon extended his advantage. Vettel and Kvyat didn't stop and moved up to third and fifth, with Grosjean separating them.
The Russian driver then stopped on lap 27 and emerged in 10th on new soft tyres. On lap 29 Vettel radioed his team suggesting an extra pit stop, with Ferrari looking into the strategy change. A series of quick laps from Hamilton saw the gap at the front increase to 5.5 seconds.
Hamilton pitted at the end of lap 30, switching to a new set of the option compound. Rosberg boxed on the following tour and lost a few more tenths to his team-mate. The two traded fastest laps and Rosberg got the gap down to five seconds with seven laps remaining.
Sainz Jr was running two laps down on the leaders when he officially retired in the closing stages of the race. Kvyat passed Raikkonen for seventh and quickly caught up to Massa, who was stuck behind Perez. With Grosjean closing on Vettel, it was shaping up to be an exciting finish.
With the help of DRS, Kvyat passed Massa for sixth. He braked late but just managed to hold onto the position. The Red Bull driver displaced Perez at the same place on the next lap to move into the top five.
There was drama with two laps to go after Vettel suffered a right-rear tyre failure on the Kemmel Straight. He dropped back, promoting Grosjean to third. In the midfield, there was some frantic racing on the final lap.
However, at the front of the field, Hamilton took the chequered flag in first place to win the Belgian Grand Prix for the second time in his career. It was a faultless drive by the Brit, with Rosberg two seconds further back. Grosjean finished third to secure his first podium since the 2013 United States Grand Prix.
Kvyat was fourth after another impressive drive, ahead of Perez, Massa, Raikkonen and Verstappen - who tried a move on the Ferrari driver on the last lap, but couldn't make it stick. Bottas and Ericsson completed the top 10. Nasr, Vettel, Alonso, Button, Merhi and Stevens rounded out the classified finishers.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Lewis Hamilton entered the race weekend with a 21-point lead over team-mate Nico Rosberg in the drivers' standings, chasing his sixth win of the year and second at Spa.
FP1
The second half of the 2015 F1 season got off to a busy start, with Rosberg, Marcus Ericsson, Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel first out onto the circuit in practice one. Following early installation laps, Carlos Sainz Jr put in the opening timed lap with a 1:54.645.
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| © Octane Photographic |
The Spaniard was quickly displaced by Max Verstappen and Hamilton. Rosberg slowed on the run to Blanchimont and pitted with a problem. Hamilton remained fastest after the first 30 minutes with a 1:51.340, before pitting to return the extra set of Pirelli tyres.
The red flags emerged a short while later after Pastor Maldonado lost the rear of his Lotus at the exit of Turn 7 and crashed. Rosberg returned to the track after his earlier problem and immediately moved to the top of the standings, before improving his time to a 1:51.082.
He remained quickest by the chequered flag, with Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo two tenths further back. Kimi Raikkonen, Vettel, Daniil Kvyat and Verstappen were next up, with Sainz Jr, Sergio Perez and Bottas completing the top 10.
FP2
Second practice got off to a quiet start, with Bottas, Vettel and Felipe Massa first to exit the pit lane. Vettel set the opening timed lap with a 1:52.606, but he was displaced by Raikkonen and Nico Hulkenberg.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Bottas, Verstappen and Hulkenberg all suffered off-track excursions early on, while Kvyat and Felipe Nasr almost collided in the pit lane. Rosberg led early on before Vettel switched to the soft tyre and went fastest.
However, he eventually fell to 10th when the rest of the field emerged on the options. Rosberg returned to the front with a 1:49.385, three tenths faster than Hamilton, before drivers switched to high-fuel running.
Rosberg's session ended in drama with 26 minutes remaining when he suffered a scary puncture on the run to Blanchimont, bringing out the red flag. A crash for Ericsson at Pouhon with 11 minutes to go stopped the session once again.
No one was able to beat Rosberg's best time and he remained fastest, with Hamilton second and Ricciardo third. Kvyat, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean were next up. Ericsson, Nasr and Vettel completed the top 10.
FP3
Vettel, Will Stevens and Grosjean were the first to head out onto the circuit in third practice for the Belgian Grand Prix. It was a busy start to the 60-minute session, with Stevens putting in the opening timed lap - a 1:57.470.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Rosberg hit the front but he was quickly displaced by Raikkonen and Ricciardo. The Red Bull driver lost out to Hamilton but returned to first place when he switched to the soft tyre, with a 1:49.930.
Red Bull completed qualifying simulations on the option Pirelli compound early in the session, with the rest of the field doing the same in the closing stages. Hamilton eventually ended practice three fastest with a 1:48.984, half a second ahead of Rosberg.
Vettel and Raikkonen moved up to third and fourth, with Perez in fifth for Force India. Ricciardo and Kvyat slipped to sixth and seventh after their early soft tyre laps, ending the session ahead of Hulkenberg, Bottas and Massa. Alonso was the only driver who did not set a time after an exhaust issue.
Qualifying
Q1
The first segment of qualifying eliminated the slowest five drivers from the fight for pole position. The 18-minute long session got off to a busy start, with Bottas, Roberto Merhi and Maldonado immediately heading out on track,
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| © Octane Photographic |
Bottas put in the opening timed lap with a 1:50.195, but the Finn was displaced just moments later by Hamilton. The two-time champion didn't remain at the top of the timesheets for long, with Rosberg putting in a 1:49.498 to go fastest.
Vettel was third, but Raikkonen could only manage 13th after running wide at Turn 8. The majority of the field switched to the soft tyre and returned to the track for their final laps, with the Mercedes duo on the harder Pirelli compound.
Despite running on the medium tyre, Hamilton and Rosberg returned to first and second, the former putting in a 1:48.908. Perez and Bottas were third and fourth, ahead of Sainz Jr, Vettel, Raikkonen, Grosjean, Kvyat and Hulkenberg. Nasr, Button, Alonso, Stevens and Merhi were all eliminated.
Q2
The second qualifying session kicked off in fairly quiet style, with Bottas being the first driver to exit the pit lane once again. The 15-minute segment decided the line-up for the top 10 shoot-out.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Bottas put in a 1:49.678 but he quickly dropped behind Massa and Hamilton. Rosberg then beat his team-mate by under a tenth of a second to go fastest. However, the red flags then emerged after Raikkonen stopped at Stavelot with a drop in oil pressure.
Q2 resumed several minutes later, with just over half of the session remaining. Rosberg and Hamilton stayed in the Mercedes garage but retained first and second, the former leading the way with a 1:47.955.
Vettel improved to go third, with Perez, Massa and Maldonado next up. Grosjean, Ricciardo, Bottas and Sainz Jr completed the top 10 and also progressed to Q3. Hulkenberg, Kvyat and Ericsson joined Raikkonen and Verstappen in the drop-zone.
Q3
The final 12-minute qualifying segment decided the top 10 on the grid for the Belgian Grand Prix. Bottas was first out for the third consecutive session, with Hamilton and Massa soon joining the Williams driver.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Bottas kicked things off with a 1:48.567. However, Hamilton went one second quicker to take provisional pole position, with Rosberg moving up to second. Massa was fourth, with Vettel fifth after the first attempts.
After a brief lull in the action, drivers returned to Spa with three minutes left on the clock to complete their final runs in Q3. Hamilton improved by two tenths with a 1:47.197 to take pole position, with Rosberg failing to fight back.
Bottas was third, with Grosjean (who has a five-place grid penalty) and Perez surprising in fourth and fifth. Ricciardo, Massa and Maldonado were next up. Vettel was a disappointing ninth and Sainz Jr completed the top 10.
The Race
With new start and radio rules, a mixed up grid and the potential of rain, it looked set to be an exciting race in Belgium. Could Rosberg take the fight to Hamilton, and if so, would they battle cleanly?
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
A problem for Hulkenberg resulted in an extra formation lap. On the second attempt, the revs rose, the lights went out round 11 of the 2015 season got underway at Spa. Off the line, Hamilton had a strong launch to lead into La Source.
It was a clean first corner, with Perez and Ricciardo jumping up to second and third. Rosberg dropped to fifth, also losing out to Bottas. Perez challenged Hamilton on the long run to Les Combes but couldn't find a way through.
Later in the lap, Rosberg moved ahead of Bottas after a clumsy move at the chicane. The Williams then lost out to Vettel as he attempted to fight back on the second tour. A few moments later Maldonado retired after a power unit issue, slowing on the Kemmel Straight.
Hamilton established a small advantage over Perez, with the Force India driver two seconds behind the leader by lap three. Ericsson dropped from 10th to 12th in quick succession, with Verstappen and Raikkonen using DRS to pass the Swede.
Ricciardo started to close in on Perez, with Rosberg joining in the fun. However, the Red Bull driver then dived into the pits at the end of lap seven for a set of the medium compound. Perez stopped for a new set of softs on the following tour and emerged behind Ricciardo.
Bottas emerged from his stop on three soft tyres and one medium, which is against the regulations. The majority of the midfield pitted over the next few laps, but the order largely remained the same. Verstappen completed a stunning move on Nasr at Blanchimont and the final chicane.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Rosberg pitted at the end of lap 12 and returned to the track ahead of Perez and Ricciardo - the two swapping places on the previous tour. The Mexican tried to fight back, but Rosberg maintained his position. Hamilton pitted on the next lap, briefly giving Vettel the lead before the German stopped for a fresh set of tyres.
Following the tyre mix-up, Bottas completed his drive-through and fell to 11th. At the front, Hamilton's lead over Rosberg was 3.1 seconds by lap 17. Ricciardo was displaced for fourth by Grosjean, with the Lotus quickly catching Perez and moving up to third on the Kemmel Straight.
Perez dived into the pits at the end of lap 20, just as Ricciardo slowed and parked his car at the exit of the final chicane with a mechanical problem. The Virtual Safety Car was deployed while his Red Bull RB11 was recovered, with several drivers taking to the pits.
When the Belgian Grand Prix resumed, Rosberg was one second closer to Hamilton. However, the two-time world champion soon extended his advantage. Vettel and Kvyat didn't stop and moved up to third and fifth, with Grosjean separating them.
The Russian driver then stopped on lap 27 and emerged in 10th on new soft tyres. On lap 29 Vettel radioed his team suggesting an extra pit stop, with Ferrari looking into the strategy change. A series of quick laps from Hamilton saw the gap at the front increase to 5.5 seconds.
Hamilton pitted at the end of lap 30, switching to a new set of the option compound. Rosberg boxed on the following tour and lost a few more tenths to his team-mate. The two traded fastest laps and Rosberg got the gap down to five seconds with seven laps remaining.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Sainz Jr was running two laps down on the leaders when he officially retired in the closing stages of the race. Kvyat passed Raikkonen for seventh and quickly caught up to Massa, who was stuck behind Perez. With Grosjean closing on Vettel, it was shaping up to be an exciting finish.
With the help of DRS, Kvyat passed Massa for sixth. He braked late but just managed to hold onto the position. The Red Bull driver displaced Perez at the same place on the next lap to move into the top five.
There was drama with two laps to go after Vettel suffered a right-rear tyre failure on the Kemmel Straight. He dropped back, promoting Grosjean to third. In the midfield, there was some frantic racing on the final lap.
However, at the front of the field, Hamilton took the chequered flag in first place to win the Belgian Grand Prix for the second time in his career. It was a faultless drive by the Brit, with Rosberg two seconds further back. Grosjean finished third to secure his first podium since the 2013 United States Grand Prix.
Kvyat was fourth after another impressive drive, ahead of Perez, Massa, Raikkonen and Verstappen - who tried a move on the Ferrari driver on the last lap, but couldn't make it stick. Bottas and Ericsson completed the top 10. Nasr, Vettel, Alonso, Button, Merhi and Stevens rounded out the classified finishers.
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