Hamilton Wins Belgian Grand Prix

Hamilton wins Belgian Grand Prix

British driver Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix in convincing fashion to regain the top rank in the Formula One Drivers' Championship standings.

Hamilton's McLaren sped past Red Bull's car driven by Mark Webber early in the race and Hamilton led throughout the race to take the checkered flag at the finish. Webber was second with Robert Kubica of Renault third, and Felipe Massa of Ferrari in fourth place. The win puts Hamilton three points ahead of Webber in the standings.

“This last push in the championship couldn't have started better for me; this victory was the perfect way to bounce back from Hungary,” Hamilton wrote in the Formula One website.

Webber was in pole position but had a horrible start as five cars sped past him going into the first turn. Rubens Barichello retired after being involved in a pile-up and the safety car rolled out as rain began to pour.

Hamilton increased his lead when race resumed but his teammate Jenson Button's championship aspirations suffered a setback when Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull hit him during lap 16.

The rain made the track slippery and Vettel lost control of his car causing it to plough into the side of Button's McLaren, forcing him to retire.

“All I felt was a really big bang in the side-pod and I lost drive immediately. I don't know what he was playing at really. From the point of view of the championship, it's a massive blow,” Button told reporters later.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Monday August 30 2010, 7:45 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0