2017 Belgian Grand Prix

The 2017 Belgian Grand Prix (formally known as the 2017 Formula 1 Pirelli Belgian Grand Prix)^[1] was a Formula One motor race that was held on 27 August 2017 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium. The race, contested over forty-four laps, was the twelfth round of the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship, and marked the seventy-third running of the Belgian Grand Prix and the sixtieth time the race was held at Spa-Francorchamps.

2017 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 12 of 20 in the 2017 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Layout of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit
Race details[1]
Date	27 August 2017
Official name	2017 Formula 1 Pirelli Belgian Grand Prix[2][3]
Location	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Stavelot, Belgium
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	7.004 km (4.352 miles)
Distance	44 laps, 308.052 km (191.415 miles)
Weather	Partially cloudy and dry
Attendance	265,000[4]
Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:42.553
Fastest lap
Driver	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Time	1:46.577 on lap 41
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Third	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
Lap leaders

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel entered the round with a fourteen-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the World Drivers' Championship with Valtteri Bottas a further nineteen points behind in third. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes led Ferrari by thirty-nine points before the race.

In his 200th Grand Prix, Hamilton started the race from pole position for the 68th time in his career, equaling the record of Michael Schumacher for most poles, and went on to win the race. In doing so, he closed to within seven points of Vettel's championship lead.

Television and motorsport personality Guy Martin was present as part of the Williams pit team as part of filming for an episode of his 'Speed' series.^[5]

Qualifying

Pos.	Car no.	Driver	Constructor	Qualifying times			Final grid
				Q1	Q2	Q3
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:44.184	1:42.927	1:42.553	1
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:44.275	1:43.987	1:42.795	2
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:44.773	1:43.249	1:43.094	3
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:44.729	1:43.700	1:43.270	4
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	1:44.535	1:43.940	1:43.380	5
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	1:45.114	1:44.224	1:43.863	6
7	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:45.280	1:44.988	1:44.982	7
8	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India-Mercedes	1:45.591	1:44.894	1:45.244	8
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India-Mercedes	1:45.277	1:45.006	1:45.369	9
10	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:45.447	1:44.685	No time	141
11	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Honda	1:45.668	1:45.090		10
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari	1:45.728	1:45.133		11
13	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	1:45.535	1:45.400		12
14	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Toro Rosso	1:45.374	1:45.439		13
15	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren-Honda	1:45.441	No time		202
16	19	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	1:45.823			163
17	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:46.028			194
18	18	Lance Stroll	Williams-Mercedes	1:46.915			15
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber-Ferrari	1:47.214			171
20	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber-Ferrari	1:47.679			181
107% time: 1:51.476
Source:[6]

Notes

• ^1 – Jolyon Palmer, Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein each received a five-place grid penalty for unscheduled gearbox changes.
• ^2 – Stoffel Vandoorne received a series of grid penalties totalling sixty-five places for exceeding his quota of power unit elements and an unscheduled gearbox change.
• ^3 – Felipe Massa received a five-place grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags in Free Practice 3.^{[N 1]}
• ^4 – Daniil Kvyat received a twenty-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.

Race

At the start Lewis Hamilton held off Sebastian Vettel to lead although Vettel would continue to pressure him for most of the race. In the second half of the race, the safety car came out after the two Force India cars of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez collided leaving debris on the track, earlier in the race both Pérez and Ocon had also touched wheels. Hamilton was not happy with the deployment of the safety car labelling it "BS", on the restart he came under attack again from Vettel but was able to fend him off up until the finish. Daniel Ricciardo came home in 3rd place, Valtteri Bottas' chances of the title were fading after only managing 5th.^[7]

Race classification

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	44	1:24:42.820	1	25
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	44	+2.358	2	18
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	44	+10.791	6	15
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	44	+14.471	4	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	44	+16.456	3	10
6	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	44	+28.087	7	8
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari	44	+31.553	11	6
8	19	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	44	+36.649	16	4
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India-Mercedes	44	+38.154	9	2
10	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Toro Rosso	44	+39.447	13	1
11	18	Lance Stroll	Williams-Mercedes	44	+48.999	15
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	44	+49.940	19
13	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	44	+53.239	14
14	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren-Honda	44	+57.078	20
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	44	+1:07.262	12
16	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber-Ferrari	44	+1:09.711	17
171	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India-Mercedes	42	Collision damage	8
Ret	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Honda	25	Power unit	10
Ret	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	7	Power unit	5
Ret	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber-Ferrari	2	Suspension	18
Source:[8]

Notes

• ^1 – Sergio Pérez retired from the race, but was classified as he had completed 90% of the race distance.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Driver Points 1 Sebastian Vettel 220 2 Lewis Hamilton 213 3 Valtteri Bottas 179 4 Daniel Ricciardo 132 5 Kimi Räikkönen 128 Source:[9]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos. Constructor Points 1 Mercedes 392 2 Ferrari 348 3 Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 199 4 Force India-Mercedes 103 5 Williams-Mercedes 45 Source:[9]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Notes

1. Although Felipe Massa was penalised, subsequent penalties issued to other drivers saw him restored to the position he originally qualified in.

See also

• 2017 Spa-Francorchamps Formula 2 round
• 2017 Spa-Francorchamps GP3 Series round

References

1. "Spa-Francorchamps". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
2. Mitchell, Malcolm. "2017 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
3. Mitchell, Malcolm. "Spa-Francorchamps - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
4. "F1 reveals overall rise in 2017 attendance". GPupdate.net. JHED Media BV. 8 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017.
5. "Guy's Race Pit Stop During The Belgian GP | Guy Martin Proper". 15 July 2019 – via YouTube.
6. "2017 Formula 1 Pirelli Belgian Grand Prix – Qualifying". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Ltd. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
7. Benson, Andrew (27 August 2017). "Hamilton holds off Vettel to win at Spa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
8. "2017 Formula 1 Pirelli Belgian Grand Prix – Race Result". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Ltd. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
9. "Belgium 2017 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.

Previous race: 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 2017 season	Next race: 2017 Italian Grand Prix
Previous race: 2016 Belgian Grand Prix	Belgian Grand Prix	Next race: 2018 Belgian Grand Prix