F1 2018: 5 Best Moments from the Belgian GP

F1 Grand Prix of Belgium
F1 Grand Prix of Belgium

At Spa Francorchamps in Belgium, we saw an intriguing race that had some crazy happenings, although it wasn't completely chaotic from start to finish. Vettel closed the gap in the drivers championship to Lewis Hamilton, although the Brit still leads, and Verstappen came home in P3 24 years after his father did the same at Spa.

In an very polarizing race like this, it's not the easiest to pick the best moments, but as usual that won't stop us! Check out our 5 best moments from the Belgian Grand Prix.


1. Lap One Carnage

The first corner of Spa has always been a treacherous place for F1 cars in the past, such as in 2012 and 1998, and this year was no different. A lock-up by Hulkenberg saw the German careen into the back of Fernando Alonso, who was then launched over Charles LeClerc in a Moonsault like fashion.

If the retirements of Alonso, LeClerc and Hulkenberg weren't enough, we also saw Raikkonen, Bottas & Ricciardo take damage in the pileup. This led to Raikkonen eventually retiring, as well as Ricciardo & Bottas being pushed all the way to the back of the field. The fact that the carnage occurred behind the top 4 also meant that they could all get away cleanly and we could see some fights up ahead.

The carnage also proved the use of the Halo, as the replays showed that had Alonso's car made contact with the Sauber without the Halo, LeClerc may not have walked away in one piece. While the rest of the race may not have been as eventful as this, no doubt the replay from Hulkenberg's bowling-ball-like crash into everyone will be a common sight in years to come.

2. Vettel & Perez go one up

F1 Grand Prix of Belgium
F1 Grand Prix of Belgium

As the field crumpled into each other behind them, Hamilton had to duel with Vettel as soon as they got past Eau Rouge and into Raidillion. The straight line speed of the Ferrari won, and in a daring maneuver, the German driver managed to get past the world championship leader and take the lead of the race.

If one brave overtake wasn't enough, we also saw Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez make a move on the two championship leaders and each other. While the Pink Panthers didn't manage to get past the Ferrari or Mercedes, Perez did take advantage of the situation, and jumped Ocon to temporarily take third.

While the spot wouldn't last too long as Verstappen would soon come and get past both of them, it was encouraging to see the two Force Indias battle each other, and for a split second, even the two leaders.

3. Verstappen charges to third

F1 Grand Prix of Belgium
F1 Grand Prix of Belgium

As great a sight as it was to see the two newly branded 'Racing Point Force India' cars in 3rd and 4th, it was never going to be a sight to last. Ocon and Perez put up a great fight at the beginning of the race, but the flying Dutchman charged ahead of them as quickly as he could.

First off, Max took on Ocon, building a run into Eau Rouge and eventually sunk right behind Ocon into Raidillion. Ocon tried to hold the inside line, but Verstappen swooped right round him and got the move done, pushing him one step closer to a podium in Belgium.

Next up, Verstappen closed in on the Mexican driver aggressively. Perez would have known that his race was with the Haas's rather than the Red Bull. Verstappen picked his place into Les Combes and took Perez over from the outside, putting himself in position to grab P3 at what is essentially his home race.

4. Hartley and Ericsson go head to head

F1 Grand Prix of Belgium - Qualifying
F1 Grand Prix of Belgium - Qualifying

While the midfield teams can't really battle with the top teams, they do have some fun battles with each other sometimes. In Belgium this time round, we saw Sauber's Marcus Ericsson and Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley do battle for P9 in the race.

With Hartley right in front of him, we thought the Swede had the overtake done into the first turn of Spa, but he misjudged his run into Eau Rouge and allowed Hartley to switch back around as they got into Les Combes.

The sight of the Sauber mechanics clapping prematurely would have been an amusing sight for any Toro Rosso fans, and then the next lap, it certainly went the other way round. Ericsson took the advice of the commentators and no doubt fans around the world, and positioned himself after turn one to take the position back from Brendon Hartley.

5. Bottas makes it to fourth

F1 Grand Prix of Belgium
F1 Grand Prix of Belgium

Probably the best drive of the weekend was Valtteri Bottas sneaking up the field from the very back of the grid after penalties put him there. Chaos at the start of the race meant that he couldn't capitalize and had to wait before he could start moving up the field.

As soon as everything calmed down, Bottas made a strong series of moves to put himself into the points, although to get past the Force India and Haas cars would still be a challenge.

The Finn made the best of a bad situation, which he has unfortunately had to do a fair few times this season. Eventually, he got right behind Ocon and Perez, and with two magnificent runs up through Raidillion, he beat out the Force Indias, even with Checo dragging on the chase as long as he could.

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