Jack Leslie F1: 2014 Belgian Grand Prix in pictures

The Spa-Francorchamps circuit hosted yet another thrilling F1 weekend, with Daniel Ricciardo taking his third victory in the sport and Red Bull Racing's 50th.

It was an action-packed race with plenty of drama. The classic track produces some stunning photographs. Here is the race weekend in pictures.

Some of the images featured in this piece are courtesy of Octane Photographic. You can see more of their work here.

Friday

Nico Rosberg set the pace in the first practice session of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, just ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Giedo van der Garde was back behind the wheel of the Sauber C33 on Friday, replacing Esteban Gutierrez just for first practice. He finished 17th.

Andre Lotterer got his first taste of modern F1 machinery in practice one, finishing one tenth ahead of his team-mate Marcus Ericsson.

Alexander Rossi found out after his FP1 outing for Marussia that he would not be contesting the rest of the weekend, with Max Chilton returning to his seat following contractual issues.

Hamilton was fastest in second practice, following his qualifying simulation on the soft compound tyre. Rosberg was six tenths back after a scruffy lap.

Pastor Maldonado's second practice session didn't even last 10 minutes. He crashed on the run to Pouhon, heavily damaging his Lotus E22.

Here is another look at the damage sustained to Maldonado's car. It left the Lotus team with plenty of work to do overnight.

Saturday

Valtteri Bottas topped the timesheets in third practice on Saturday morning, finishing three tenths ahead of Ricciardo.

Third practice got off to a damp start, with drivers completing installation laps on the intermediate or wet Pirelli tyre. However, it soon dried out.

Surprisingly, Nico Hulkenberg was eliminated from qualifying in the first segment. He was joined by Maldonado, Chilton, Gutierrez, Lotterer and Ericsson.

Jules Bianchi managed to make it through to Q2 for the second consecutive Belgian Grand Prix, finishing the session in 16th.

Romain Grosjean struggled in the wet conditions and joined Bianchi in the Q2 drop-zone, along with Daniil Kvyat, Jean-Eric Vergne, Sergio Perez and Adrian Sutil.

Both McLaren drivers made it to Q3, with Kevin Magnussen qualifying seventh and Jenson Button 10th.

Here is a fantastic action shot of Felipe Massa taking to the run-off area at Les Comes. Williams enjoyed a positive qualifying session despite the wet conditions, with Valtteri Bottas sixth and Massa in ninth.

Rosberg took his fourth consecutive pole position, with Hamilton in second after a few mistakes in Q3. Sebastian Vettel was third fastest for Red Bull Racing.

Sunday

Hamilton had a strong getaway from the grid and snatched the lead into La Source.

Vettel went around the outside of Rosberg at turn one to move up to second on the first lap, but he would later drop to third after cutting Les Combes in an attempt to take the lead.

It got very close in the midfield, but unlike previous years it was a relatively clean first corner.

Bianchi and Grosjean collided at the exit of La Source, puncturing the former's tyre.

Hamilton led Rosberg at the start of lap two, but just a few corners later the Mercedes drivers would make contact. The resulting puncture would drop Hamilton to the back of the field.

Fernando Alonso lost time due to a stop/go penalty and eventually finished eighth, although it would later become seventh after a 20-second time penalty was given to Kevin Magnussen for forcing the Spaniard off track.

Massa had a dismal race and took the chequered flag in 13th place. Debris from a punctured tyre got caught to his floor and cost him performance.

Kimi Raikkonen enjoyed his best race of the season. He held second place early on but dropped to fourth by the finish.

Rosberg recovered from two premature pit stops for a front wing change and a flat-spotted tyre to finish just 3.3 seconds behind Ricciardo in second place.

Ricciardo was once again there to benefit from the Mercedes team's problems, dominating the Belgian Grand Prix and taking his third win.

Bottas picked up his fourth podium after a mature and impressive drive.

Ricciardo picked up Red Bull Racing's 50th victory in F1 and was delighted with the result.

Rosberg was booed by fans on the podium as he collected his trophy, following the contact with Hamilton (who retired late in the race). The result meant he extended his lead in the championship to 29 points.

25 August 2014

2014 Belgian Grand Prix in pictures

No comments:

Post a Comment