2016 F1 Round 13 Belgian Grand Prix Race – Rosberg wins after red-flag restart, Hamilton climbs from back row to third

The Belgian Grand Prix took place at Spa on 28 August over 44 laps. There was a three-car tangle at the first corner after the start, with Vettel, Räikkönen and Verstappen squeezed together and several cars damaged.

Archive image: The podium at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix

Rosberg started from pole and kept the lead, with the early chaos doing nothing to disrupt his rhythm. The German went on to win at Spa after a composed drive at the front.

Magnussen lost control at the top of the Eau Rouge section on lap six and crashed into the barriers. Race control first deployed the safety car, then showed the red flag on lap nine to repair the tyre wall. The race was stopped for 17 minutes.

Hamilton started 21st after power-unit changes and chose medium tyres for the start. The first-lap incidents, safety car and red flag helped him climb to fifth before the restart, and he had reached third by lap 18.

Rosberg regained control of the race after the restart, with Ricciardo following closely. Both were on increasingly worn medium tyres in the final stint. Ricciardo’s pursuit gradually lost momentum, and he finished 14.1 seconds behind.

Later in the race, Hamilton switched to soft tyres and then to a new set of mediums. He set two successive fastest laps but still finished 13.5 seconds behind Ricciardo. Rosberg, Ricciardo and Hamilton completed the podium.

At the start, Verstappen damaged his front wing, Räikkönen suffered a puncture and had his front wing replaced, and Vettel also sustained front-wing damage. They eventually finished 11th, ninth and sixth respectively. Alonso climbed from the back of the grid to seventh.

Sainz retired early after a right-rear tyre failure. Magnussen, Button and Wehrlein also failed to finish. Ocon brought his Manor home in 16th, completing his first Grand Prix race at Spa.