F1 Belgian Grand Prix result: Leclerc dedicates maiden win to Anthoine Hubert after holding off Hamilton
Relive the action from an emotional Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after Leclerc claimed his first victory a day after the death of his close friend
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Charles Leclerc took the first Formula One victory of his career in emotional scenes at Spa-Francorchamps, just one day after witnessing the death of close friend Anthoine Hubert.
The Ferrari driver saw the jubilation of Saturday's pole-position quickly turn to tragedy as Hubert was killed in a Formula Two accident in a near-170mph accident. A number of tributes were staged before the start of Sunday's Grand Prix, including a minute's silence in memory of Hubert.
When the race got underway, an immediate safety car was required when Max Verstappen collided with Kimi Raikkonen at the first corner and broke his Red Bull's suspension, which resulted in his driving uncontrolled into the tyre barrier at Eau Rouge. When the action resumed, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas pressed Sebastian Vettel into an early pit stop, which while momentarily gave him the lead when his three rivals pitted, left him exposed on worn tyres and cost him a podium finish.
Once promoted to second, Hamilton set his sights on Leclerc and cut the gap to under a second, but despite a chaotic final lap as Antonio Giovinazzi spun off heavily into the barrier and Lando Norris stopped on the start-finish straight with a lap to go, Leclerc held on to clinch the maiden win of his career and Ferrari's first victory in a year.
Re-live the action below.
What time does it start?
The Belgian Grand Prix starts at 2:10pm on Sunday 1 September.
Where can I watch it?
The race will be shown live on Sky Sports F1 from 12:30pm. Online users with Sky subscriptions can watch in on Sky Go at the same time.
Highlights will be shown on Channel 4 from 7pm.
Starting grid
1 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1min 42.519secs
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:43.267
3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:43.282
4 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:43.415
5 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:43.690
6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:44.557
7 Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:44.706
8 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:45.086
9 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:44.797
10 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:44.257 + 5-place penalty
11 Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:44.847
12 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:44.542 + 5-place penalty
13 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:46.435
14 George Russell (Gbr) Williams 1:47.548
15 Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:46.507 + 5-place penalty
16 Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:45.047 + 10-place penalty
17 Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing no time set
18 Alexander Albon (Tha) Red Bull 1:45.799 + 10-place penalty
19 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:46.518 + 15-place penalty
20 Robert Kubica (Pol) Williams no time set (didn’t set qualifying time)
Lap 44: There's a huge lock-up ahead of Leclerc as Gasly and Hulkenberg battle, but Leclerc is keeping his nerve.
Giovinazzi is off!
CHEQUERED FLAG: CHARLES LECERC WINS HIS MAIDEN GRAND PRIX!
CHEQUERED FLAG: It's a chaotic final lap, as Giovinazzi sticks his Alfa Romeo into the wall on the outside of Pouhon. He radios in to say he's ok, and the race is allowed to finish with double waved yellows out. But as Leclerc comes round to take the chequered flag, Norris has stopped on the start-finish line to cost Mclaren a guaranteed fifth-place finish.
Leclerc: "On one hand I've got a dream since I was a child that has been realised, and on the other hand it has been a very difficult weekend since yesterday. We've lost a friend, and I would like to dedicate it to Anthoine. We started out first race together, and I will not be able to celebrate this properly. It is a sad time.
"It's been a very difficult race, we've been struggling with the tyres until the end of the race but I managed them better than in Hungary, so it is a good weekend."
Hamilton: "I gave it absolutely everything that I had. We had a great crowd today, more than we've ever had, and it was a difficult race today. The Ferraris were just too fast on the straight today, and 44 is normally my lucky number but I needed a couple more laps there. Congratulations to Charles though, he deserves his first win."
Bottas: "No chance for me today really, I was trying as much as I could but then we decided to turn the power down and save the gearbox."
Replays can finally reveal that Giovainzzi had a huge off in Pouhon, dropping the rear in the middle of the corner, and that's a real relief to see him emerge unscathed. Norris meanwhile suffered a power failure one lap from home, and that really is gutting for McLaren.
Sombe scenes after the race, with Leclerc's triumph definitely dampened by this weekend's events.
Belgian Grand Prix standings:
1. Charles Leclerc
2. Lewis Hamilton +0.981s
3. Valtteri Bottas +12.585s
4. Sebastian Vettel +26.422s
5. Alexander Albon +81.325s
6. Sergio Perez +84.448s
7. Daniil Kvyat +89.657s
8. Nico Hulkenberg +106.639s
9. Pierre Gasly +109.168s
10. Lance Stroll +109.838s
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