The first victory of Ferrari, 12 won back places of Quata and the death of Hubert: what happened at the stage of the Grand Prix of Belgium “Formula 1”

First day

During the summer break in Formula 1, many events took place, the main of which was a rearrangement in Red Bull. Pierre Gasley went to Toro Rosso, and Alexander Albon went on increase. Max Verstappen and Daniel Quat remained in their places. At the same time, details appeared on the compositions for the next season. Esteban Okon returns to Formula 1 and will be the pilot of Renault, while Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez re-signed contracts with Mercedes and Racing Point.

Usually, all vacancies for the next year are sorted by the end of the season, but this summer there are very few of them left. On one empty seat - in Red Bull, Alfa Romeo, Haas and Williams, in addition, there is no clarity with the composition of Toro Rosso. The remaining teams are fully staffed.

The first after a summer break was the Belgian Grand Prix. The local track “Spa” has a record length, loved by riders for its complexity, and fans like it for the variety of winners. Over the past seven years, five different pilots have won the race.

On the first day of the Belgian Grand Prix, an application for the first victory was made by Ferrari pilots. Sebastian Vettel and Charles Lecler did not let anyone in the leading positions in both Friday's training sessions. Technical innovations on their cars were more effective than competitors, although the Italian stable did not manage to get closer to last year's seconds.

We're officially back!

The second half of the 2019 season got under way at Spa on Friday morning

Here are the best bits from FP1 🍿 👀 # F1 # BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/kYxIU7Lrer

When the pilots estimated tire wear in the evening, Mercedes pilots losing almost a second and a half were able to add and get closer to the Ferrari. Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton moved from the second virtual row of Red Bull. Albon dropped from fourth to tenth, and Verstappen from third to sixth, despite the fact that in the evening session he faced a loss of engine power. Daniil Kvyat turned out to be faster than his Toro Rosso partner Pierre Gasley both times on Friday, but didn’t get to the top ten in the minutes. However, he still planned to replace the engine on the car, so he was not going to fight in the qualification.

Another top session for @ScuderiaFerrari 👌

Drama at the finish for @ RacingPointF1 🔥

It's all the best bits from FP2 at Spa 🍿 # F1 # BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/1IYzgQec5J

Second day

Saturday began with a slight sensation. In the morning training, Lewis Hamilton broke his car. The car flew off the track and got stuck in the tire guard with the wheels up. The evacuation of the car took a certain time, so the free session was actually reduced by half. There were serious concerns that the championship leader would not take part in the qualification and would be forced to start from the back.

The moment final practice ended in the wall for Lewis Hamilton at Spa 💥 # F1 # BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/M6Ar5O0I36

However, if Hamilton hadn’t had an accident, he would still not have been able to keep up with Ferrari. Their dominance continued with Leclair's victory in final free practice. Although Bottas was able to get closer to his performance, but still the gap was half a second, and in front of the Finn there was still Vettel. Quat is still the same, not hoping for qualifications, did not please with quick seconds, although his partner was able to reach the top ten.

Qualification began for Mercedes with good news - the start of the races had to be postponed due to problems with the Williams Robert Kubica engine. This time was just enough to restore the Hamilton car. He went to the track with all the pilots.

RED FLAG

Huge plumes of smoke coming from Robert Kubica's Williams

Session is halted with 12.59 to run in Q1 # F1 # BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/34HcG2vFNj

Leclair was still out of reach - he was a second ahead of the closest opponent from an alien team. Hamilton was still able to improve his time by two tenths in the second qualifying session, but remained behind both Ferrari. The main event of this part of the competition was the fact that only one Red Bull race car reached the final - Albon did not manage to get comfortable in the new car and make a leap forward.

Ferrari before could beat everyone for a certain period of time, and then suddenly lose everything. In the third segment, this almost happened with Vettel - in the first attempt, he made a mistake and lost a lot to his partner. However, there was no continuation. Lecler still won the pole position, and Vettel went up to him on the first row of the grid. The second was occupied by Mercedes pilots, then Daniel Riccardo from Renault settled down after Verstappen.

Celebrations in the garage and in the cockpit, as @Scuderia Ferrari and @Charles_Leclerc celebrate pole position at Spa! 🙌 # F1 # BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/Mhee1urWmc

Race

Sunday's race was preceded by a minute of silence in memory of the pilot of Formula 2 Antoine Hubert. It crashed on Saturday as a result of an accident at the most famous “Red Water” bend of the Spa. As a result of the triple collision, Juan Manuel Correa was also seriously injured. He broke both legs and injured his spine, but his condition is rated as stable.

As soon as the race started, it immediately ended for Verstappen. The third-place pilot collided with Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen and damaged the suspension. He could only go to the "Red Water", as his car could no longer turn normally. The chances of Red Bull to catch up with Ferrari in the Cup of designers immediately melted away, although it was for this reason that Gasley was replaced by Albona.

LAP 1/44 - SAFETY CAR

Several collisions through Turn 1

Max Verstappen ends up in the barriers and his race is over on the opening lap

The Dutchman is out of the car and is fine # F1 # BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/7jdB7zlOQh

Before the accident, Vettel showed himself perfectly - he restrained the onslaught of Hamilton and retained second position. Lando Norris made a big leap at McLaren, finding himself in fifth place instead of 11th. Daniil Kvyat also played eight places, having come close to the points zone. When on the fourth lap the safety car left the track, delaying the evacuation of Carlos Sainz, the race resumed.

After that, Vettel could no longer worry about his position - Hamilton was thinking more about how to restrain Bottas.

Both Ferrari pilots controlled the cars very well and took off for seconds from the closest pursuers. Leclair also not only held the lead, but also showed the fastest lap. In the middle of the peloton, Kevin Magnussen was experiencing problems - the Haas pilot from seventh place fell lower and lower, skipping everyone in a row, including Kvyat.

20 minutes after the start, Vettel went to the pit stop, but none of his opponents supported him. When, after five laps, Lecler drove up to the mechanics, he was five seconds behind his partner. The team still realized that such overtaking looked ugly, and asked the German to return the position. Hamilton was still third, and Bottas had already lost hope of overtaking his partner.

LAP 20/44

1 Leclerc - no stop
2 Hamilton - no stop
3 Bottas - no stop
4 Vettel - one stop + 16.8 # F1 # BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/a6nYjHqKPS

Kvyat, who started on tougher tires along with other fined racers, had a slightly different tactic. After waiting for time, he got a new rubber and was able to break into the top ten. And ahead of Gasley, the Russian became the best among the pilots of Red Bull and Toro Rosso. Vettel could envy his tire work - he almost immediately began to complain of quick wear and even missed Hamilton, who was gaining speed. Nearby was Bottas, who wanted to go up to the podium.

This situation forced the pilot to again make a pit stop Ferrari. He sank to fourth place, finally leaving Leclair alone to fight with Mercedes. Monegasque passed the test. Although Hamilton in the last few laps began to close the gap, the Italian stable still won the first victory of the season, and Leclair - the first in his career.

"This one is for Anthoine"

An emotional moment for @Charles_Leclerc, as he secures his first ever F1 win and a first victory of the 2019 season for @ ScuderiaFerrari # F1 # BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/VwV86aQ8FE

At the same time, the struggle for points was more interesting than for the podium. Quat at one moment was able to climb to seventh place, ahead of Riccardo. Soon, he still missed Albon on a faster car, but the events of the last round returned the Russians to this position. Noris’s fifth-maker car broke down and missed half a dozen racers. Albon was able to take his place, Sergio Perez became the sixth, and Quat was located on the seventh line. Having scored six points, the Russian moved to the eighth place in the standings of the World Cup.

Hamilton's leadership is still not in doubt; he is 65 points ahead of his closest competitor - his Mercedes colleague Bottas.

LAP 37/44

Alex Albon has his old team mate in his sights

And he eventually gets past Dany Kvyat to move into P7

Reminder: he started P17 on the grid # F1 # BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/UUJnw92j3V