2013 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Sebastian Vettel took control at Spa-Francorchamps with an opening-lap pass and never looked back. Fernando Alonso recovered to second ahead of Lewis Hamilton, while Kimi Räikkönen‘s long points-scoring run ended with brake failure.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Pole time	2:01.012
Fastest lap	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Fastest-lap time	1:50.756 on lap 40
First	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Second	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Third	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
23 August 2013	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
23 August 2013	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
24 August 2013	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
24 August 2013	Qualifying	14:00
25 August 2013	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Sebastian Vettel arrived at round 11 leading the 2013 F1 World Championship on 172 points, with Kimi Räikkönen on 134. Red Bull Racing headed the constructors’ standings with 277 points.

Race entries

The 11 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Belgian Grand Prix. Heikki Kovalainen also took part in practice.

Free Practice

A wet start to FP1 gradually gave way to slick-tyre running, with Fernando Alonso taking the fastest time during the improving window. More rain then interrupted progress. Drivers had to judge conditions around Spa’s long lap carefully, and the changing surface left teams with only limited representative dry preparation.

Dry FP2 allowed proper tyre and race-simulation work, with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber comfortably ahead. Lewis Hamilton lost early running to a technical problem, while Sebastian Vettel later returned with a shredded rear tyre. Van der Garde crashed at the Paul Frère corner, adding another setback before the session ended.

Sebastian Vettel led FP3 after late medium-tyre runs, but the earlier hard-compound work produced several moments. Lewis Hamilton locked up and later spun at the final chicane, while Felipe Massa narrowly avoided the barrier after running wide. Fernando Alonso stayed close to the Red Bulls as teams completed their final qualifying rehearsal.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2013 Belgian Grand Prix FP1, 23 August 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:55.198	11
2	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.026s	10
3	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+0.175s	11
4	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+0.320s	14
5	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.416s	10
6	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.438s	14
7	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+0.756s	18
8	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+0.912s	11
9	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.572s	14
10	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.660s	18
11	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.665s	10
12	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1.883s	14
13	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.886s	17
14	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.083s	14
15	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+2.160s	10
16	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+2.623s	16
17	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+2.689s	16
18	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+3.402s	14
19	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+3.731s	12
20	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+4.011s	12
21	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+4.243s	11
22	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+7.978s	15

Free Practice 2 Classification

2013 Belgian Grand Prix FP2, 23 August 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:49.331	22
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.059s	34
3	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.818s	34
4	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.833s	27
5	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+0.922s	28
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.987s	33
7	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.179s	21
8	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.205s	27
9	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.270s	33
10	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.280s	27
11	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.298s	30
12	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+1.420s	27
13	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+1.641s	33
14	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1.660s	28
15	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.864s	28
16	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+2.116s	26
17	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.237s	28
18	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+2.313s	26
19	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+3.826s	21
20	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+3.920s	29
21	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+4.151s	28
22	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+5.087s	12

Free Practice 3 Classification

2013 Belgian Grand Prix FP3, 24 August 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:48.327	16
2	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.105s	14
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.206s	16
4	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+0.449s	15
5	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.461s	15
6	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.555s	13
7	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+0.603s	18
8	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.640s	14
9	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.666s	16
10	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.681s	17
11	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+0.708s	15
12	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.719s	17
13	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+0.795s	15
14	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+0.850s	15
15	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.899s	14
16	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.090s	14
17	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+1.151s	19
18	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.091s	14
19	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+3.089s	15
20	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+3.473s	18
21	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+3.894s	17
22	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+5.180s	18

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Sebastian Vettel second and Mark Webber third.

Lewis Hamilton took pole in a changing-weather session, ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. A well-timed switch to slicks in Q1 helped Giedo van der Garde and both Marussia drivers progress to Q2.

Qualifying Classification

2013 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying, 24 August 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	2:00.368	1:49.067	2:01.012	22
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	2:01.863	1:48.646	2:01.200	19
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	2:01.597	1:48.641	2:01.325	20
4	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	2:01.099	1:48.552	2:02.251	20
5	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	2:02.338	1:48.925	2:02.332	22
6	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	2:01.301	1:48.641	2:03.075	21
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	2:02.476	1:48.649	2:03.081	22
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	2:01.151	1:48.296	2:03.390	22
9	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	2:00.190	1:48.309	2:03.482	21
10	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	2:01.462	1:49.020	2:04.059	21
11	11	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	2:01.712	1:49.088	—	17
12	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	2:02.749	1:49.103	—	17
13	6	Sergio Pérez	McLaren	2:02.425	1:49.304	—	16
14	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	2:00.564	1:52.036	—	15
15	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	2:02.110	1:52.563	—	16
16	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	2:02.948	1:52.762	—	17
17	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	2:03.072	—	—	10
18	18	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	2:03.300	—	—	10
19	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	2:03.317	—	—	10
20	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	2:03.432	—	—	10
21	12	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	2:04.324	—	—	10
22	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	2:07.384	—	—	8

What happened in the 2013 Belgian Grand Prix?

Vettel used the run through Eau Rouge and along the Kemmel Straight to pass Hamilton on the first lap. Webber lost ground with clutch trouble, while Alonso made a strong start and began working forward.

Alonso passed Nico Rosberg and later Hamilton to take second, but Vettel had already established a decisive advantage. The Ferrari‘s recovery could not bring the leader within realistic reach.

Räikkönen’s front-brake problem forced him to retire, ending his sequence of 27 consecutive points finishes. Contact involving Pastor Maldonado and Paul di Resta also ended the Force India driver’s race.

Vettel won ahead of Alonso and Hamilton, with Rosberg resisting Webber for fourth. Jenson Button finished sixth, followed by Felipe Massa and Romain Grosjean. Vettel extended his championship lead to 46 points.

Further down the points places, Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean, Adrian Sutil and Daniel Ricciardo completed the scoring positions. Sebastian Vettel set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2013 rules.

After the race, Sebastian Vettel headed the drivers’ standings with 197 points, followed by Fernando Alonso on 151. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 312, with Mercedes on 235.

2013 Belgian Grand Prix race results

The 2013 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 25 August 2013, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	44	1:23:42.196	25
2	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	44	+16.869	18
3	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	44	+27.734	15
4	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	44	+29.872	12
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	44	+33.845	10
6	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	44	+40.794	8
7	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	44	+53.922	6
8	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	44	+55.846	4
9	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	44	+1:09.547	2
10	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	44	+1:13.470	1
11	6	Sergio Pérez	McLaren	44	+1:21.936	0
12	18	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	44	+1:26.740	0
13	11	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	44	+1:28.258	0
14	12	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	44	+1:40.436	0
15	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	44	+1:47.456	0
16	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	43	+1 Lap	0
17	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	43	+1 Lap	0
18	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	43	+1 Lap	0
19	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	42	+2 Laps	0
Ret	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	26	Collision	0
Ret	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	25	Brakes	0
Ret	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	8	Oil leak	0

2013 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	40	1:50.756	227.657
2	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	36	1:50.823	227.519
3	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	38	1:50.967	227.224
4	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	36	1:51.383	226.375
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	31	1:51.397	226.347
6	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	39	1:51.582	225.971
7	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	39	1:51.596	225.943
8	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	30	1:51.849	225.432
9	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	40	1:52.182	224.763
10	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	35	1:52.226	224.675
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	34	1:52.497	224.133
12	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	35	1:52.579	223.970
13	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	31	1:52.688	223.754
14	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	29	1:53.065	223.008
15	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	41	1:53.110	222.919
16	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	34	1:53.472	222.208
17	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	20	1:53.688	221.785
18	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	43	1:53.995	221.188
19	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	21	1:54.757	219.719
20	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	37	1:54.894	219.457
21	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	31	1:54.924	219.400
22	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	7	1:57.330	214.901

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2013 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2013 Belgian Grand Prix.

2013 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	197
2	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	151
3	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	139
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus F1	134
5	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	115
6	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	96
7	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	67
8	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	53
9	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	47
10	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	36
11	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	25
12	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	McLaren	18
13	Jean-Éric Vergne	French	Toro Rosso	13
14	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Toro Rosso	12
15	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Sauber	7
16	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	1
17	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	0
18	Esteban Gutiérrez	Mexican	Sauber	0
19	Jules Bianchi	French	Marussia	0
20	Charles Pic	French	Caterham	0
21	Giedo van der Garde	Dutch	Caterham	0
22	Max Chilton	British	Marussia	0

2013 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	312
2	Mercedes	235
3	Ferrari	218
4	Lotus F1	187
5	McLaren	65
6	Force India	61
7	Toro Rosso	25
8	Sauber	7
9	Williams	1
10	Marussia	0
11	Caterham	0

2013 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2013 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	17 March
2	2013 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	24 March
3	2013 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	14 April
4	2013 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	21 April
5	2013 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	12 May
6	2013 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	26 May
7	2013 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	9 June
8	2013 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	30 June
9	2013 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	7 July
10	2013 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	28 July
11	2013 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	25 August
12	2013 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	8 September
13	2013 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	22 September
14	2013 Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam	6 October
15	2013 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	13 October
16	2013 Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida	27 October
17	2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	3 November
18	2013 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	17 November
19	2013 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	24 November