Good Fortune Gives Sebastian Vettel Victory at Spa-Francorchamps

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Diff.
1	39	Sho Tsuboi		1:52.816	1:46.858
2	88	Robert Kubica		1:52.991	1:47.181	+0.323
3	47	Lando Norris		1:53.104	1:47.960	+1.102
4	18	Sebastian Vettel		1:53.431	1:48.493	+1.635
5	56	Einar Ármannsson		1:53.721	1:48.535	+1.913
6	94	Pascal Wehrlein		1:53.119	1:48.771	+1.917
7	20	Kevin Magnussen		1:53.924	1:48.775	+1.921
8	23	Jules Bianchi		1:53.962	1:48.898	+2.040
9	63	George Russell		1:54.784	1:49.106	+2.248
10	57	Dean Stoneman		1:53.326	1:49.160	+2.302
11	7	Charles Leclerc		1:54.488	1:49.594	+2.836
12	33	Max Verstappen		1:54.505	1:50.280	+3.422
13	29	Roger Ibe		1:55.752	1:50.366	+3.508
14	1	Victoria Desai		1:55.117	1:50.528	+3.670
15	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		1:55.968	1:50.613	+3.755
16	4	Robin Frijns		1:55.038	1:50.691	+3.833
17	26	Robert Shwartzman		1:55.830	1:50.814	+3.956
18	70	Pastor Maldonado		1:56.417	1:51.143	+4.285
19	10	Alessio Lorandi		1:56.064	1:51.548	+4.690
20	95	Beitske Visser		1:57.481	1:51.800	+4.942
21	81	Malik Zidan		1:57.715	1:52.566	+5.708
22	80	Raven Roth		1:58.619	1:53.066	+6.208
23	60	Ritomo Miyata		1:56.721	1:50.317	+3.459*
24	98	Colton Herta		1:58.435	1:53.337	+6.479
25	11	Terry Hawkin		1:59.278	1:54.450	+7.592
26	21	Théo Pourchaire		1:59.941	1:54.796	+7.938

* 10-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident

Report:

The nostalgia choice to move the Belgian Grand Prix to the start of the season was questioned by some, as the temperatures would be rather low. These fears proved correct, as air temperatures never reached the double digits during the weekend.

However, that proved to be the best thing that could have happened to Formula One. Apparently, the CT11’s weakness is performing at low temperatures: Caterham were very vulnerable and only won through bad luck for Sho Tsuboi.

Unlike the Caterhams, Roger Ibe had an easy time overtaking. “Mr. Excitement” once more proved worthy of his name, as he went by two drivers at the Bus Stop chicane. Luck flushed him to third, but with that drive, nobody begrudged him for it.

MRT did not have a good time in Spa, a technical issue for Bianchi prevented the team to score a podium for the first time this season. A team that finally added a point to their WCC total was Sauber, Charles Leclerc fighting off three rivals to bring P8 home.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	18	Sebastian Vettel		52:47.214	4	10
2	39	Sho Tsuboi		+36.115	1	9
3	29	Roger Ibe		+41.124	13	6
4	23	Jules Bianchi		+48.311	8	5
5	94	Pascal Wehrlein		+65.119	6	4
6	1	Victoria Desai		+71.373	14	3
7	47	Lando Norris		+74.022	3	2
8	7	Charles Leclerc		+85.386	11	1
9	57	Dean Stoneman		+86.094	10
10	63	George Russell		+87.068	9
11	20	Kevin Magnussen		+88.120	7
12	10	Alessio Lorandi		+94.384	19
13	70	Pastor Maldonado		+106.909	18
14	80	Raven Roth		1 Lap	22
15	95	Beitske Visser		1 Lap	20
16	26	Robert Shwartzman		1 Lap	17
17	11	Terry Hawkin		1 Lap	25
18	21	Théo Pourchaire		3 Laps	26
19	33	Max Verstappen		Loose Wheel	12
Ret	60	Ritomo Miyata		Transmission	23
Ret	81	Malik Zidan		Puncture	21
Ret	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		Transmission	15
Ret	4	Robin Frijns		Water Leak	4
Ret	88	Robert Kubica		Puncture	2
Ret	98	Colton Herta		Transmission	24
Ret	56	Einar Ármannsson		Oil Leak	5

Fastest Lap:

Jules Bianchi – 1:52.088

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Raven Roth – brilliant defensive driving against the winner of the last two Grands Prix.

Reject Of The Race:

Lando Norris – yet another driver error cost him, working his way back up the order was hard.