Flawless Lewis Hamilton follows through on Belgian GP promise but Mercedes remain on red alert

With the gap between the Briton and Sebastian Vettel down to seven points, attention now turns to the Italian GP as the race for the world championship heats up

Lewis Hamilton said Saturday's victory wasn't won on race pace but track position (Getty)

On his 200th grand prix appearance Lewis Hamilton did precisely what he said he had gone to Belgium to do: he won the race. For the entire 44 laps of the Belgian GP he had Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari on his heels, yet he never made a mistake and led the world championship points leader home by 2.3 seconds. The gap between them is now down to seven points with eight races remaining.

It was his 58th triumph at this level and his fifth success of a see-saw season. But it did not come in the manner that had been expected of his Mercedes team. This was more a story of the man than it was of the machine.

So far in 2017 Ferrari has held the advantage on tracks where downforce counts. Think Monaco or Hungary. Mercedes’s strong suit has been those circuits where medium to low downforce was important. Think Canada and Britain. Vettel was dominant in Monte Carlo and Hungaroring, while Hamilton was likewise in Montreal and thrashed Ferrari on his home ground at Silverstone. A similar drubbing had been expected here, but it didn’t happen. Vettel not only kept him honest all the way to the chequered flag – putting him under tremendous pressure – but had the faster car. Against the expectations of many, Ferrari had the advantage at Spa-Francorchamps, which should have been one of the tracks on which Mercedes ought to have held the upper hand.

“Qualifying was good for us,” Hamilton said, and indeed he equalled Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 68 pole positions. “But if I hadn’t had the lead I would not have been able to win, so it definitely wasn’t won on race pace. It was all about track position.

“I’ve read lots of comments that our car is the fastest, but I think it is very difficult and that you cannot truly say that. There are pros and cons to both cars and it will vary race to race. Ferrari have been the most consistent, and that’s why they are leading the world championship. We have been very solid, but have only just done enough.”

Looking ahead to this weekend’s race, the Italian GP on Ferrari’s home ground at Monza where Vettel will be going all-out for victory, Hamillton added: “It’s not possible to predict. The high downforce races will be tough, but at tracks such as Monza where you run low downforce we are very good in such conditions.

“I think we are as strong as anyone in terms of development rate, but it’s a balance between how much we apply now in this title race and what we keep for the 2018 car. That is where the race is now; how much we apply to get the job done, and how much we save for the next car. I hope we have more to come, and we need more to come.”

The truth at Spa was that he won the race by taking pole position and maintaining track position, and that Ferrari had the edge on race pace all weekend, despite Mercedes bringing an engine upgrade.

Vettel said in Hungary that the team had identified the areas in which they believed the SF70H to be weak, and they brought a comprehensive update to Spa which included new low-drag wings and floor and a revised front suspension which helped to optimise critical aerodynamic factors such as ride height and rake angle. The changes worked extremely well, and despite losing to Hamilton, Vettel said he was very happy all weekend with his car’s performance.


 Hamilton said it was impossible to predict the Italian GP 
 (Getty)

“The positive thing is that we had very good race pace,” he said. “Overall the car was very good. We haven’t changed too much since Silverstone, which was just a bad weekend, but we have improved the car, too. If we were to go back to Silverstone now, we would be a lot better. It’s a big step, so I’m very, very happy.”

Ominously for Mercedes’s title hopes in the remaining races, he added: “I don’t think we have a circuit which we should fear coming from now.”

Victory for Hamilton in Belgian was a crucial element in his title aspirations, and he duly delivered as only he can. But Monza will be another acid test. If he wins there with Vettel second, they will head into the final seven races equal on points with Hamilton ‘leading’ the table for the first time. But if Ferrari are as close there as they were this weekend the Silver Arrows, literally, will be on full red alert.