Lewis keeps cool to benefit from chaos
LEWIS HAMILTON kept clear of the chaos as Mercedes’ decision to swap his engine three times paid off spectacularly at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Hamilton certainly did his bit, coming from 21st on the grid to finish third behind race winner Nico Rosberg and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.
But the decision to swap so many power unit parts before the race turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise, even if it saw Hamilton incur a notional 55-place grid penalty.
Starting so far down meant Hamilton avoided the carnage at the front as Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel clattered into team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who then made contact with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Mercedes’ bold strategy also means Hamilton now has three fresh engines to complete the remaining eight races of the season. And although his gap to Rosberg in the drivers’ championship has been cut to nine points, it is fair to assume Hamilton would have jumped at the offer of a podium finish pre-race.
“I woke up this morning knowing how difficult things were going to be, but you can never predict what is going to happen,” said the champion.
“In previous races, there have been no incidents and today there was. It was about trying to have the right approach – not too aggressive and not too easy – and we had the right balance.
“This is the best result I could have hoped for.” His rivals, Rosberg aside, they could to help.
The incident at the start, which sent Vettel tumbling down the field and forced Raikkonen and Verstappen into the pits for repairs, also bunched the rest of the pack. A casualty of the concertina did all effect was McLaren’s Jenson Button, whose race was over on the opening lap when Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein punted him out.
There was no such trouble for Hamilton, who wasted little time in taking full advantage of the havoc, going up to 13th.
And by the time of Kevin Magnussen’s spectacular 180mph crash on lap six, Hamilton was already knocking on the door of the points in 11th.
Speeding uphill through the Eau Rouge corner, Magnussen lost control at the crest of the climb before careering backwards into the tyre barrier. Mercifully, the Dane was able to clamber out of his crumpled Renault under his own steam, but a cut to his ankle meant a visit to hospital.
The force of the impact destroyed the barrier and brought out the safety car, prompting Not Classified: much of the field to dive into the pits for fresh tyres. But Hamilton chose to stay out and it proved yet another wise choice. When the race was subsequently red flagged, he found himself sitting in fifth.
The 15-minute suspension enforced a clean start, with Hamilton suddenly looking like a potential race winner.
On lap 12 he swept past Fernando Alonso, and six laps later he was in a podium position after easing past Nico Hulkenberg.
But despite two more visits to the pits for fresh rubber, Hamilton was unable to close the gap to either Ricciardo or Rosberg, and crossed the line nearly 30 seconds adrift of his Mercedes team-mate.
Rosberg would doubtless have liked to have clawed back more than 10 points on his team-mate given his pole-toflag win. He said: “After the chequered flag I looked at the results. I knew Daniel Ricciardo was behind me, but then I saw ‘HAM’ in P3 I was like, ‘What? Seriously?!’”
‘Best result I could have hoped for’