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2016 Belgian Grand Prix

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2016 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 13 of 21 in the 2016 Formula One World Championship
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Layout of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit
Layout of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit
Race details[1]
Date 28 August 2016
Official name 2016 Formula 1 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 233,730 (Weekend) [4]
Pole position
Driver Mercedes
Time 1:46.744
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
Time 1:51.583 on lap 40
Podium
First Mercedes
Second Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
Third Mercedes
Lap leaders

The 2016 Belgian Grand Prix (formally known as the 2016 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix)[1] was a Formula One motor race held on 28 August 2016 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa, Belgium. It was the thirteenth round of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship, and marks the seventy-second running of the Belgian Grand Prix and the fifty-ninth time the race was held at Spa-Francorchamps.

Mercedes driver and defending race winner Lewis Hamilton entered the race leading the World Drivers' Championship by nineteen points ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes held a lead of 159 points. Red Bull Racing was lying second, having passed Ferrari in the standings at the previous round in Germany.

Nico Rosberg won this Grand Prix, with Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton, second and third respectively. Hamilton received a multi-grid penalty before the start of the race. Hamilton retained the championship lead, with Rosberg closing the gap to nine points. Red Bull's Max Verstappen and both Ferraris were involved in an incident at the start of the race.

The race was stopped on lap 9 after Kevin Magnussen crashed heavily at Raidillon, suffering a 12.5G impact, causing structural damage to the armoured collision barrier and tyre wall which required repairs, before the race could resume under green flag conditions. Magnussen suffered a cut on his ankle but no serious injury.[5]

Background

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Driver changes

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Esteban Ocon made his Formula One début, replacing Rio Haryanto at MRT.[6] Haryanto stayed with the team, filling a testing and reserve role.[7]

Tyres

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Tyre supplier Pirelli provided teams with the super-soft, soft and medium compounds for the races. Drivers were also supplied with two sets of "prototype" soft tyres for use in the Friday practice sessions, which were designed to provide similar lap times and performance to the existing soft compound whilst being more durable when striking kerbs and going beyond track limits.[8] The prototype tyres were introduced to allow Pirelli to gain data on their performance ahead of their competitive début in Malaysia, where they will replace the existing soft compound.

Upgrades

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Both Honda and Mercedes introduced upgrades to their power units for the race, while Sauber brought their first updates of the season for the C35 chassis.[9]

Penalties

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Lewis Hamilton, Marcus Ericsson and Fernando Alonso took grid penalties for exceeding their season allocation of engine components; Hamilton received fifteen places for using his sixth turbocharger and associated Motor Generator Unit, while Ericsson was demoted ten places for replacing his turbocharger,[10] and Alonso thirty-five places for introducing his sixth complete power unit. Hamilton received a second set of penalties when Mercedes introduced a seventh turbocharger and MGU-H ahead of the second free practice session;[11] and a third set for further changes ahead of the final practice session, thereby guaranteeing that he would start the race from last place. Mercedes deliberately took the penalties as they sought to stockpile new components for the remainder of the season, deeming the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to be a venue where the potential for overtaking offset the penalties.[12]

Esteban Gutiérrez received a five-place grid penalty for dangerous driving during the final practice session when Pascal Wehrlein was forced to take evasive action and cross the grassy verge on the inside of Raidillon to avoid contact.

On race day, Mercedes removed a seal on the gearbox of Hamilton's car so he could take a new gearbox at the next race, giving the world champion an additional five place grid penalty. The penalty was initially incorrectly issued and originally designated Hamilton to start from the pit lane.[13]

Qualifying

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Pos. Car
no.
Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 6 Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:48.019 1:46.999 1:46.744 1
2 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:48.407 1:47.163 1:46.893 2
3 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:47.912 1:47.664 1:46.910 3
4 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:47.802 1:47.944 1:47.108 4
5 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:48.407 1:48.027 1:47.216 5
6 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 1:48.106 1:47.485 1:47.407 6
7 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:48.080 1:47.317 1:47.543 7
8 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1:48.655 1:47.918 1:47.612 8
9 22 United Kingdom Jenson Button McLaren-Honda 1:48.700 1:48.051 1:48.114 9
10 19 Brazil Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1:47.738 1:47.667 1:48.263 10
11 8 France Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 1:48.751 1:48.316 11
12 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:48.800 1:48.485 12
13 21 Mexico Esteban Gutiérrez Haas-Ferrari 1:48.748 1:48.598 181
14 30 United Kingdom Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:48.901 1:48.888 13
15 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:48.876 1:49.038 14
16 94 Germany Pascal Wehrlein MRT-Mercedes 1:48.554 1:49.320 15
17 12 Brazil Felipe Nasr Sauber-Ferrari 1:48.949 16
18 31 France Esteban Ocon MRT-Mercedes 1:49.050 17
19 26 Russia Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:49.058 19
20 9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 1:49.071 202
21 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:50.033 213
107% time: 1:55.279
22 14 Spain Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda No time 224
Source:[14]

Notes:

  • ^1  – Esteban Gutiérrez received a five-place grid penalty for impeding Pascal Wehrlein during the final practice session on Saturday.[15]
  • ^2  – Marcus Ericsson was penalised 10 grid places for unscheduled power unit element changes.[14]
  • ^3  – Lewis Hamilton received a 60-place grid penalty after Mercedes opted to replace several elements on his power unit, then remove a seal from his gearbox.[16][13]
  • ^4  – Fernando Alonso received a 60-place grid penalty after McLaren opted to replace several elements on his power unit.[16] As Alonso also failed to set a qualifying time, his participation in the race came at the stewards' discretion.[14]

Race

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Race report

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Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team representative Hywel Thomas on the podium.

At the start Nico Rosberg got away well, Max Verstappen got a poor start and was passed by both Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen, going into La Source Verstappen tried to come back at both Ferraris only to hit Räikkönen who in turn then hit his teammate Vettel spinning him round, all three had to come back to the pits for repairs. At Les Combes Jenson Button was hit by Manor's Pascal Wehrlein taking them both out of the race. Carlos Sainz suffered a tyre failure and pulled off the track causing a virtual safety car, at this point Fernando Alonso had made it up to 12th with all the chaos and Lewis Hamilton was up to 15th. The race restarted but soon after Kevin Magnussen suffered a crash when his car spun and smashed into the tyre wall at Raidillon, Magnussen limped out of the car but did require medical attention for an injured ankle, the race was initially neutralised under the safety car before being stopped two laps later so they could repair the tyre barrier. At the restart Hamilton was able to pass Alonso but then it took him several laps to get past the Force India of Nico Hülkenberg. Rosberg won the race followed by Daniel Ricciardo with Hamilton finishing third.[17] Hamilton became the first ever driver to have claimed three podiums from 20th on the grid or lower.[18]

Post race

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Kevin Magnussen had been taken to hospital as a precaution but tweeted that he was fine and he would be racing at the next Grand Prix in Italy.[5]

Race classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 6 Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes 44 1:44:51.058 1 25
2 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 44 +14.113 5 18
3 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 44 +27.634 21 15
4 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Force India-Mercedes 44 +35.907 7 12
5 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 44 +40.660 6 10
6 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 44 +45.394 4 8
7 14 Spain Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda 44 +59.445 22 6
8 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 44 +1:00.151 8 4
9 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 44 +1:01.109 3 2
10 19 Brazil Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 44 +1:05.873 10 1
11 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 44 +1:11.138 2
12 21 Mexico Esteban Gutiérrez Haas-Ferrari 44 +1:13.877 18
13 8 France Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 44 +1:16.474 11
14 26 Russia Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Ferrari 44 +1:27.097 19
15 30 United Kingdom Jolyon Palmer Renault 44 +1:33.165 13
16 31 France Esteban Ocon MRT-Mercedes 43 +1 Lap 17
17 12 Brazil Felipe Nasr Sauber-Ferrari 43 +1 Lap 16
Ret 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Renault 5 Accident 12
Ret 9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 3 Gearbox 20
Ret 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 Puncture damage 14
Ret 22 United Kingdom Jenson Button McLaren-Honda 1 Collision damage 9
Ret 94 Germany Pascal Wehrlein MRT-Mercedes 0 Collision 15
Source:[19]

Championship standings after the race

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Spa-Francorchamps". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  2. ^ Mitchell, Malcolm. "2016 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". Progcovers.com. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  3. ^ Mitchell, Malcolm. "Spa-Francorchamps - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". Progcovers.com. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  4. ^ "F1 attendance figures hit four million in 2017". Formula1.com. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  5. ^ a b Benson, Andrew (28 August 2016). "Belgian Grand Prix: Kevin Magnussen says he will be racing in Italy". BBC. Archived from the original on 2016-08-29. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  6. ^ Barretto, Lawrence (10 August 2016). "Manor F1 team replaces Rio Haryanto with Esteban Ocon". autosport.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  7. ^ Freeman, Glenn (11 August 2016). "Rio Haryanto accepts Manor F1 reserve driver offer after losing seat". Autosport. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  8. ^ Cooper, Adam (26 August 2016). "Pirelli plans to use safer construction from Malaysian GP". Motorsport.com. Francorchamps: Motorsport Network, LLC. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  9. ^ Barretto, Lawrence (25 August 2016). "Sauber Formula 1 team brings raft of upgrades to Belgian Grand Prix". Autosport. Francorchamps: Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  10. ^ "Hamilton incurs 15-place Spa grid penalty". Speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Verstappen edges Ricciardo in Spa practice". Speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  12. ^ Barretto, Lawrence (26 August 2016). "Belgian GP: Hamilton to start at the back following further penalty". Autosport. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  13. ^ a b Anderson, Ben (28 August 2016). "Mercedes breaks F1 gearbox seal on Hamilton's car". Autosport. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  14. ^ a b c "2016 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Qualifying". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  15. ^ "Gutiérrez penalised for impeding Wehrlein in FP3". formula1.com. Formula 1. 27 August 2016.
  16. ^ a b "Alonso and Hamilton set to start from back of Spa grid". formula1.com. Formula 1. 29 August 2016.
  17. ^ Benson, Andrew (28 August 2016). "Lewis Hamilton finishes third from Belgian GP back row, Nico Rosberg wins". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  18. ^ "Spa stats - Hamilton takes historic podium from rear of the grid". Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  19. ^ "2016 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Race Result". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  20. ^ a b "Belgium 2016 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
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2016 German Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
2016 season
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2016 Italian Grand Prix
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2015 Belgian Grand Prix
Belgian Grand Prix Next race:
2017 Belgian Grand Prix