There’s no doubt that Ferrari is stepping up to the plate and proving they are still among the top teams in F1. For just about the entire 2019 season, Red Bull and Ferrari have been shifting between positions while the Mercedes drivers claim the first and second place. However, things are certainly changing around in all possible ways, especially after the Belgian GP this last weekend.
Surprisingly, Max Verstappen didn’t finish the race, which is sure to affect the overall points. He was the hope for the Red Bull team to keep them in the running and possibly grab the second-place finish from Ferrari. However, while Ferrari steps it up, this is by far the last thing the Red Bull team needs. Below, we look at the highlights of the Belgian GP and see how things came to be that Ferrari finished in first with Charles Leclerc as the driver.
Belgian GP Highlights
Ferrari had the best start with both cars in front. It didn’t take long for Hamilton to make their lead short by squeezing in between the two Ferrari drivers behind Leclerc to claim second place, but Vettel didn’t just accept that their and managed to get back second place on the straight. In the first lap, Max Verstappen had contact and damaged his from left wheel. With a broken searing, he was unable to get to the top of the hill and hit the barrier instead, taking him out of the Belgian GP.
Just a few laps later, Vettel locked up the front wheels and allowed the Mercedes team to catch up. However, it wasn’t until lap 32 that Hamilton saw the perfect opportunity to get past Vettel’s Ferrari on the straight, thanks to DRS. With just ten laps to go, the leading cars were settled in. Charles Leclerc was in the lead with Hamilton more than seven seconds behind him. Bottas also managed to get past Vettel and at this point followed Hamilton by just over four seconds.
While Hamilton might have been catching up towards the end, it simply wasn’t enough to catch Charles before the end of the race. The Ferrari team added an impressive 38 points to their total by finishing in first and Vettel in fourth. Mercedes said a total of 33 points to their total with Hamilton in second and Bottas in third place. The five-point different is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, but there’s still just under 150 points dividing the two teams.
Ferrari has now secured their second place for the 2019 season even more as Max Verstappen didn’t contribute any points to the team at the Belgian GP. The gap between Ferrari and Red Bull now sits at 72 points. Luckily for Red Bull, they can count on a third-place finish as the McLaren team in fourth is behind them by more than 150 points.