ROUND 11: BELGIAN GP
Qualifying
A crazy day today as though Rosberg sets the first time, which remains unbeaten, he spins off on his second lap. Many drivers are held up and by the time the second wave of drivers come out, the session has almost ended and in the end 5 drivers didn't even manage to set a time - one of them Lewis Hamilton! The grid is therefore fairly mixed up.

Starting Grid
1.Rosberg
2.Bottas +0.529
3.Perez +1.075
4.Alonso +1.562
5.Verstappen +1.600
6.Sainz +1.690
7.Raikkonen +1.714
8.Button +1.719
9.Vettel +1.761
10.Massa +1.874
11.Gutierrez +2.499
12.Hulkenberg +2.863
13.Magnussen +3.191
14.Kvyat +3.560
15.Ericsson +3.892
16.Nasr +4.585
17.Wehrlein +5.597


20.Hamilton - No Time
21.Ricciardo - No Time
22.Palmer - No Time
23.Haryanto - No Time
24.Grosjean - No Time


Race Day
Bottas grabs the lead and his straightline speed keeps Rosberg at bay. Perez in 3rd is tantalisingly close to slipstreaming Rosberg in the early laps. On lap 2 Kvyat goes off at Pouhon but quickly rejoins, losing a place. On lap 3 Vettel does the same trying to overtake a McLaren and beaches it - he is out! After 3 laps, Sainz in 4th is already 10sec down while Bottas continues to lead. Kvyat goes off again but again quickly rejoins as Hamilton is now up to 16th.

Massa is making quick work of everyone and is challenging Sainz for 4th. On lap 10 Rosberg makes a mistake and Perez grabs 2nd. Kvyat and Hamilton are now up to 12th and 13th but 30+sec down now.

On lap 11 Hamilton pits down to 17th. Verstappen does the same but is going to the end of the race now - a daring strategy! He is 12th. A lap later Perez pits but has a 30sec lead over Massa in 4th, who has finally got past Sainz. Perez is still an easy 3rd - perhaps one of his podiums today?

On lap 14, Bottas finally pits from the lead relinquishing it to Rosberg, but comes out 2nd ahead of Perez. A lap later and Rosberg is in from the lead, as is Gutierrez from 6th! Kvyat is right behind and dives in the pits too. Kvyat jumps Gutierrez in the pits but both have seemingly ruined their races by going to the end like Verstappen, who is making no progress in 12th.

Suddenly Rosberg and Perez have collided and are both out!! This leaves Bottas leading his team-mate Massa by 37sec. Hamilton is the only big name down in 5th and 52sec off the lead! Suddenly Alonso has crashed out of 5th with a Caterham, Hamilton then taking 5th.

Remarkably Gutierrez is 9th and holding onto Verstappen and Kvyat in front, all running to the end, as Raikkonen is in the gravel at Les Fagnes losing a huge stack of time, and is nowhere. Now Grosjean is off on lap 24 at Pouhon, losing massive time, but wasn't in contention anyway.

On lap 28, Bottas pits from a 45sec lead over Massa. Perhaps today he can finally win his maiden race, having just failed to do so at Monza in last year's simulation?! Hulkenberg is 3rd and Hamilton still only 4th and 57sec off the lead, having struggled to get through the pack.

Button can't get past Sainz for 5th while Massa pits from 2nd, dropping to 4th. Hulkenberg and Hamilton pit, Hamilton emerging ahead. Now Massa spins at Eau Rouge losing over 10sec and now Hamilton is right behind him for 2nd.

Sainz has lost time in the pits and Button beats him, so does Verstappen but Sainz gets his team-mate. With 12 laps remaning Gutierrez remains 10th and is 12.6sec ahead of Nasr on much fresher tyres. What will happen?

Suddenly, an almighty smash at Pouhon eliminates both Toro Rossos and Button from 6th, 7th and 8th! Button had clipped a backmarker on the inside, gone into the gravel then back onto track into the Toro Rossos who were nose and tail. Haryanto was already in the gravel so there's 5 cars in the gravel!

Now Hamilton makes a mistake and drops to 4th behind Hulkenberg, who is pressuring Massa for 2nd like crazy. Bottas now leads by over 1 minute with 11 laps remaning. Now Hamilton slips up behind Kvyat who was quietly catching the group for 2nd, as Hulkenberg is through and scampers away.

Raikkonen is finally out of his misery from a nowhere 13th with 6 laps remaning. Hamilton has got past Kvyat for 4th, who was pressuring Massa hugely, but Hamilton goes wide almost losing 4th again. This gives Massa some breathing space in 3rd for a bit as Palmer crawls to a halt with a loose wheel from 12th.

Wehrlein is now 11th, 20sec behind Ericsson in the points, but Gutierrez is holding 7th and actually pulling away from Nasr to 15sec. With 3 laps left, Hamilton gets 3rd from Massa and gives chase to Hulkenberg, seeking his maiden podium, who is 3.3sec ahead. There are just 13 runners left now and a points finish for one of the bottom 2 teams is almost guaranteed since all 4 are still running and almost completed 90% distance.

Hamilton takes a massive 2sec out of Hulkenberg to be only +1.3 down with 2 laps remaining. But Bottas is on his final lap now with a 1:12sec lead, having lapped Nasr in 8th. Watching him complete his final lap, Hamilton gets past Hulkenberg into Les Combes, then Bottas comes through the bus stop onto the straight, and WINS! Others pass the line but Massa is under huge pressure from Kvyat but just holds on for 4th, with Ricciardo a few seconds behind in 6th. Now Esteban Gutierrez is coming up the hill, onto the pit straight and takes 7th place for Haas! Sauber get another double points finish, they have only had double points finishes this season and Renault get another couple of points.

Result
1.Bottas
2.Hamilton +1:12.059
3.Hulkenberg +1:13.446
4.Massa +1:17.725
5.Kvyat +1:18.694
6.Ricciardo +1:26.898
7.Gutierrez +1:52.453
8.Nasr -1 lap
9.Magnussen -1 lap
10.Ericsson -1 lap
11.Wehrlein -1 lap
12.Grosjean -2 laps
13.Haryanto -2 laps
R.Palmer - Loose Wheel
R.Raikkonen - Oil Leak
R.Sainz - DNF
R.Button - DNF
R.Verstappen - DNF
R.Alonso - DNF
R.Rosberg - DNF
R.Perez - DNF
R.Vettel - DNF

Fastest Lap Top 3: Bottas, Rosberg, Hamilton


Championship Standings after Round 11
Drivers
1.Rosberg - 171pts
2.Vettel - 158pts
3.Hamilton - 130pts
4.Raikkonen - 103pts
5.Bottas - 90pts
6.Massa - 68pts
7.Kvyat - 68pts
8.Ricciardo - 60pts
9.Hulkenberg - 47pts
10.Alonso - 46pts
11.Button - 36pts
12.Verstappen - 36pts
13.Sainz - 32pts
14.Perez - 32pts
15.Nasr - 14pts
16.Gutierrez - 6pts
17.Ericsson - 6pts
18.Magnussen - 3pts
19.Wehrlein - 2pts
20.Palmer - 2pts
21.Grosjean - 1pt
22.Haryanto - best finish 12th

Constructors
1.Mercedes - Mercedes - 301pts
2.Ferrari - Ferrari - 261pts
3.Williams - Mercedes - 158pts
4.Red Bull - Tag Heuer - 128pts
5.McLaren - Honda - 82pts
6.Force India - Mercedes - 79pts
7.Toro Rosso - Ferrari - 68pts
8.Sauber - Ferrari - 20pts
9.Haas - Ferrari - 7pts
10.Renault - Renault - 5pts
11.Manor - Mercedes - 2pts