Sebastian Vettel wins in Belgium after dramatic crash

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel beat title rival Lewis Hamilton in the Belgian Grand Prix to cut his lead to 17 points.

Vettel passed Hamilton on the first lap just in time before a safety car was deployed following a multi-car crash at the first corner, and dominated thereafter.

Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg and Charles Leclerc were uninjured after the German rammed Alonso’s McLaren and launched it over Leclerc’s Sauber.

Hulkenberg received a 10-place grid penalty at the next race for the incident.

Alonso related it to the first-lap crash at this race in 2012, in which Lotus driver Romain Grosjean was given a race ban for causing a similar incident, which also took out the Spaniard.

“Again a very big-time missing braking point,” Alonso said. “That time Romain had a race ban.

“It is tough to understand how you can miss (the braking) so much. It is not a couple of metres. You arrive at a speed that it is impossible to negotiate the corner. So, sad for that but happy that we are all fine.”

The big difference between the 2012 and 2018 crashes was that Grosjean was a repeat offender in terms of first-lap crashes that year, while Hulkenberg is one of the sport’s most consistent performers.

The crash also may have been the first time a grand prix driver was saved from injury by the new halo head-protection device, introduced this year. Television replays showed Alonso’s car bounced off the halo on Leclerc’s car and Alonso said: “I flew over his car and the halo was a good thing to have today. I think for him it helped, looking at the replay. We don’t need to prove it is a good thing to have.”

Hulkenberg, who was handed a 10-place grid penalty for next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix for his error, said: “I misjudged my braking point a little bit and there was no real time to recover it.

“Of course I can understand that he [Alonso] is upset and frustrated. So am I, and he has every right to be, but it is racing and these things unfortunately do happen.” – bbc.com