Lewis Hamilton completed his 200th Grand Prix in victorious style on Sunday when he claimed a much-needed win for Mercedes to trim Sebastian Vettel’s championship lead to seven points.
It was the three-time world champion’s third Belgian victory and the 58th of his career, lifting him back into serious contention for the title.
Another victory in next Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix could give him the lead for the first time this year.
Four-time champion Vettel came home second ahead of Australian Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull, Finn Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari and his compatriot Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes.
Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth for Renault ahead of Romain Grosjean of Haas, Felipe Massa of Williams, Esteban Ocon of Force India with in 10th place, Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso.
Hamilton put in an inspiring performance for his 58th career win on his 200th start.
The 32-year-old Briton had to survive some concerted attacks from Vettel’s Ferrari before emerging triumphant for the fifth time this season.
With Vettel breathing down his neck late in the race – the gap reduced to 1.2 seconds on the final lap – Hamilton stayed composed to seal a seventh win for Mercedes.
He’s been unstoppable all weekend…@LewisHamilton is your #F1DriverOfTheDay#BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/JudjLAUKov
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 27, 2017
Sebastian Vettel had a solid weekend in Spa, finishing on the podium for an eighth time this season and even clocked the fastest lap of 1:46:577 on lap 41.
Hamilton’s 1:46.603 on lap 35 proved the second-fastest, with Ricciardo’s 1:47.549 on lap 44 coming in third.
Sebastian #Vettel clocks the DHL Fastest Lap in the #BelgianGP. His time of 1:46.577 minutes is a new record for #Spa. @ScuderiaFerrari #F1 pic.twitter.com/WSe4IWdIHd
— DHL_Motorsports (@DHL_Motorsports) August 27, 2017
Max Verstappen’s hopes of silverware in front of his home crowd were dashed when he was forced to retire on lap 8 with engine problems.
The Dutchman is enduring a hugely frustrating campaign to date, with six retirements in 12 races.
Max retires on lap 8 of the #BelgianGP with engine failure. Not the race any of us wanted for Max or the fans! 😫 pic.twitter.com/rDIAmsqKNE
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) August 27, 2017
Felipe Massa produced a devastating display to jump eight places and finish 8th.
Starting from P16, the Brazilian overtook the two Force India cars to finish in the points.
The Williams driver has had a solid season, and his result in Spa is sure to bring confidence for the rest of the season.