Lewis claims a hard-fought P2, while Valtteri charges to P4 at Spa-Francorchamps...
REPORT: Lewis P2, Valtteri P4 in Belgium
What Happened?
- Lewis started the race from pole position on SuperSoft tyres, with Valtteri lining up P17 on Softs.
- Off the line, Lewis led the field into Turn 1, only to be passed on the back straight by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. A multi-car crash at La Source then brought out the Safety Car.
- Valtteri pitted behind the Safety Car for SuperSoft tyres and a new front wing after getting caught in the Turn 1 mayhem.
- At the restart, Lewis tried a move on Vettel into the chicane but couldn't make it stick, settling into second place while Valtteri started to make moves up the field.
- Lewis began to close slightly on Vettel before pitting for Soft tyres lap 22. Vettel reacted on the next lap, narrowly coming out ahead of Lewis.
- Valtteri's long stint on SuperSofts ended on lap 29, when he dived into the pits for Softs. He emerged in sixth place, before passing the two Force Indias.
- Lewis lost ground in the final laps but crossed the line to claim P2, scoring his 127th F1 podium. Valtteri charged from P17 on the grid to P4 by the flag.
What Did We Learn?
While second and fourth gives us a solid haul of points at Spa, we just weren't quick enough to challenge for victory.
"There's no way of dressing it up today: we were well beaten by a quicker team, who were able to stretch away from us on both tyres throughout the stint," explained Technical Director, James Allison.
"It was very disappointing after yesterday's qualifying performance and what we believed our performance would be in the dry, to find today that we did not have the pace that we thought.
"Both drivers delivered good performances but neither of them had the car under them to do more today; we have some work on our hands in order to take the fight to Ferrari in Monza and the remaining races this year."
What We’re Saying
Lewis: "We gave it everything today but Ferrari just outperformed us and it was hard to match their times.
"I think we lost the race in the first lap and at the Safety Car restart. After that, it was done. They were just faster on the straights and there was nothing we could do.
"We came here with an upgrade, but unfortunately Ferrari were able to match us and even go faster.
"We've got to find more performance and improve on the areas where they're currently stronger than us. But the battle continues and for the sport this is really exciting. We will keep pushing."
Valtteri: "Our goal for today was damage limitation and we've had a good recovery drive. I was hoping to maybe get the chance to be on podium, but I had a collision going into Turn 1 which damaged my front wing.
"After that P4 was the maximum we could get and it's not a bad result given the fact that we started from P17.
"I actually quite enjoyed the drive today, as I got to overtake a lot of cars. My favourite moment was probably the pass in Eau Rouge - that was a lot of fun.
"Unfortunately, we couldn't win the race today, but we scored more points than Ferrari, so that's one positive.
"They looked really strong this weekend, both in qualifying and in the race. We made a step forward with our engine for this weekend, but the Ferraris are still quicker so we need to keep pushing."
Toto: "Today was a little bit deflating after the drama of qualifying. Lewis was pretty powerless on lap one - he got swallowed up by Vettel on the straight, but then couldn't return the favour when Sebastian managed to break the tow on the restart after the Safety Car period.
"From then on, we were chasing a quicker car and didn't quite have enough pace to challenge for the lead. On the strategy, we did the only thing we could - which was to try the undercut - and try to put some pressure on Ferrari, but they didn't buckle.
"They were deserved winners today. Valtteri put in a great drive from the back to claim P4, so the points total brings us a small advantage on the Constructors' side, while Lewis lost some ground in the drivers' standings.
"But most of all, we need to stay humble and keep working hard to improve our performance at every race."