MAG’S HORROR SMASH
Hamilton roars through from last place to third
RENAULT’S Kevin Magnussen escaped with a cut ankle after an 180mph horror smash in yesterday’s Belgian Grand Prix.
The Dane lost control of his car after Spa’s daunting Eau Rouge corner before ploughing backwards into a tyre wall.
But Magnussen was quick to confirm he will still compete in next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix tweeting, “On my way home with a sore ankle but I will be ready for Monza.”
The incident-packed grand prix saw Lewis Hamilton produce a remarkable comeback drive to finish in third after starting second last.
His Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg led from start to finish and now trails his British rival by just nine points heading into the final eight races of the season.
LEWIS HAMILTON kept clear of the chaos as Mercedes’ decision to swap his engine THREE times paid off in spectacular fashion 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 in Spa.
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 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 means Hamilton now has three fresh engines to complete the remaining eight races of the season.
Jumped
And although his gap to Rosberg in the drivers’ championship has been cut to nine points, it is fair to assume that Hamilton would have jumped at the offer of a podium finish pre-race.
“I woke up knowing how difficult things were going to be but you can never predict what is going to happen,” said the reigning champion.
“In previous races, there have been no incidents and today there were.
“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 competitors, Rosberg aside, did all
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 further back was McLaren’s Jenson Button, whose race was over on the opening lap when Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein punted him out of the race.
There was no such trouble for Hamilton, who wasted little time in taking advantage of the havoc, powering his way 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 place.
Speeding uphill through the daunting 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 unaided but a cut to his ankle required a visit to hospital.
The force of the impact destroyed the barrier and brought out the safety car, prompting much of the field to dive into the pits for fresh tyres.
But Hamilton elected to stay out and it proved to be yet another wise choice as, when the race was subsequently halted for barrier repairs, he found himself sitting pretty in fifth place.
The 15-minute suspension enforced a clean start, with Hamilton all of a sudden looking like a potential race winner.
On lap 12 he swept past Fernando Alonso and six laps later he was in a podium spot after passing Nico Hulkenberg.
Despite two more pit-stops for fresh rubber, the three-time world champion was unable to close the gap to either Ricciardo or Rosberg, and crossed the line nearly 30 seconds adrift of his Mercedes team-mate.
Delighted at his first win at the iconic Belgian track, Rosberg would doubtless have liked to have clawed back more than 10 points on his team-mate given his pole to flag win.
“After the chequered flag I looked at the results,” said the German. “I knew Daniel was behind me but then I saw ‘HAM’ in P3 and I was like, ‘What? Seriously?’”