Belgian Grand Prix LIVE result: Latest updates from F1 today as Lewis Hamilton wins at Spa
Follow the latest updates from the seventh round of the 2020 F1 season at Spa-Francorchamps as Hamilton extends his world championship advantage
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Your support makes all the difference.Follow the latest updates live from the Belgian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton attempts to make it five wins from seven this season, but the six-time world champion could well be in for an unpredictable afternoon.
Hamilton blitzed his way to pole position on Saturday, lapping more than half-a-second faster than second-placed Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen in third. However, the long run from Turn One through Eau Rouge and up to Les Combes offers the chance for those behind the leader to attack, as we’ve seen countless times in the past.
But there is also the threat of rain, with showers expected before the start of the race and sunny weather expected after to trigger a drying track. With Daniel Ricciardo in the low-downforce Renault in fourth, it could be a topsy-turvy opening lap at Spa. Follow the live updates below.
Lap 12: The leaders all pit at the end of the lap, and Mercedes double-stack to try get out ahead of Verstappen. Bottas just makes it, and Renault do the same behind, only for Ocon to come out behind Albon. That promotes the Red Bull up to net fifth, but Gasly and Perez haven't pitted so are running fourth and fifth behind the front three.
Lap 11: The field have to try and navigate their way through tonnes of debris on the exit of Les Fagnes running to Campus. It seems Giovinazzi dropped it on the exit as his right rear caught the kerb, and after whacking the barrier he spun into the path of Russell to take him out of the race too.
Lap 10: SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED
A huge accident between Giovinazzi and Russell, and thank god both drivers are ok.
Lap 10 standings
1. Hamilton
2. Bottas +2.0s
3. Verstappen +6.5s
4. Ricciardo +14.0
5. Ocon +16.6s
6. Albon +17.9s
7. Stroll +21.7s
Lap 9: The front of the field is threatening to become a bit of a procession. Hamilton has a gap to Bottas, who has a bigger gap to Verstappen, who has an even bigger gap to Ricciardo. Gasly is the man to watch at the moment, as he's making the hard tyres work nicely and is right on the back of Stroll in the battle for seventh - but more crucially he's still in range of Hamilton should he pit for fresh tyres.
Lap 7: Bottas asks for a higher engine mode, and is told the team agreed not to use it when battling against each other. "I have never heard of that," comes the reply. Is this Bottas V3.0 we're now getting?
Leclerc meanwhile is plummeting, as Norris and now Kvyat get by on the Kemmel Straight. Next up is Vettel and even he is catching in the sister Ferrari, and to make matters worse, the Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo's are hot on their heels.
Lap 6: Bottas puts in another fastest lap to put him on the cusp of DRS, and what does Hamilton have? He blitzes Bottas to put seven tenths into the gap in one lap, and you get the idea that Hamilton may not be giving it everything he has at the moment.
Lap 4: Bottas has the gap down slightly to 1.1s, but they're leaving Verstappen in their dust and he's already 3.3s back after three laps. Leclerc is also starting to struggle, and after seeing Gasly power past him on the Kemmel Straight, Perez does exactly the same next time by.
Lap 2: Bottas sets the fastest lap but it's not enough to get him within one second of Hamilton as DRS is activated. Ocon has jumped Albon for fifth off the start, while Leclerc has enjoyed a strong opening two laps to gain from 12th to ninth.
Lap 1: Hamilton gets the perfect start, and Verstappen is onto the gearbox of Bottas. He peels out of the slipstream and pulls alongside, but Bottas still has the slipstream of Hamilton in front and that keeps him in second, and allows Ricciardo to challenge Verstappen.
They run side-by-side through Les Combes and all the way down to the Bruxelles hairpin, with both running off track, but Verstappen just holds on to third.
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