Belgian Grand Prix Review

  niko lewis hit

Belgian GP:

 

It was inevitable, and the only thing shocking is that it didn’t happen sooner in the season.  On lap two of the Belgian Grand Prix of Spa, Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg touched.  This touch damaged Rosberg's front wing and gave Hamilton a puncture which effectively ruined his race and put him down 29 points in the championship race with Rosberg.

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Nico Rosberg on Monday remained reluctant to talk about his explosive clash with title rival and teammate Lewis Hamilton at Spa.

Reporters in Belgium tried and failed repeatedly to press the championship leader on the incident, after his furious Mercedes bosses had said the behavior that ultimately led to Hamilton’s retirement was “unacceptable”.

Eventually, however, it was Hamilton’s suggestion that, in a post-race briefing, Rosberg had admitted he made the move on purpose that triggered the first real response.

Posting a waterfront video from Hamburg on Monday, the 29-year-old – who was booed at length on the podium on Sunday – confessed it was “one of the more difficult” social media posts he has made in 2014.

Mercedes F1 have dominated this season often with Rosberg and Hamilton providing the most exciting on-track action as they battled each other.  They have repeatedly pushed the limits of how close two cars can race without crashing.  All the while, Mercedes bosses have vowed that they would not implement team orders and would allow the drivers to race.

The rivalry between teammates have provided the necessary drama for an exciting season but it is clear that the rivalry is turning bitter between the drivers and the team, at least publicly, have done little  to mitigate it.   After the Belgium GP, Mercedes bosses are rethinking team orders.

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 2014 FORMULA 1 SHELL BELGIAN GRAND PRIX

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 44 1:24:36.556 5 25
2 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 44 +3.3 secs 1 18
3 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 44 +28.0 secs 6 15
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 44 +36.8 secs 8 12
5 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 44 +52.1 secs 3 10
6 22 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 44 +54.5 secs 10 8
7 14 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 44 +61.1 secs 4 6
8 11 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 44 +64.2 secs 13 4
9 26 Daniil Kvyat STR-Renault 44 +65.3 secs 11 2
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 44 +65.6 secs 18 1
11 25 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Renault 44 +71.9 secs 12
12 20 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 44 +74.2 secs 7
13 19 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 44 +75.9 secs 9
14 99 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 44 +82.4 secs 14
15 21 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 44 +90.8 secs 20
16 4 Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 43 +1 Lap 19
17 9 Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 43 +1 Lap 22
18 17 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 39 Gearbox 16
Ret 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 38 Damage 2
Ret 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 33 Damage 15
Ret 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 1 Exhaust 17
Ret 45 Andre Lotterer Caterham-Renault 1 Power unit 21