2015 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton won at Spa-Francorchamps, while Romain Grosjean delivered a memorable podium for Lotus. Sebastian Vettel‘s late tyre failure ended Ferrari‘s attempt to reach the finish on a one-stop strategy.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Pole time	1:47.197
Fastest lap	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Fastest-lap time	1:52.416 on lap 34
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Third	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
21 August 2015	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
21 August 2015	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
22 August 2015	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
22 August 2015	Qualifying	14:00
23 August 2015	Race	14:00

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

Championship background

Lewis Hamilton arrived at round 11 leading the 2015 F1 World Championship on 202 points, with Nico Rosberg on 181. Mercedes headed the constructors’ standings with 383 points.

Race entries

The 10 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Belgian Grand Prix. Jolyon Palmer also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Nico Rosberg overcame an early power-unit problem to lead FP1, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo. The session was interrupted when Pastor Maldonado crashed on the exit of Les Combes, damaging the front-right corner of his Lotus. Repairs to the barriers cost around ten minutes of running on the demanding Spa circuit.

Nico Rosberg remained fastest in FP2, but his afternoon ended with a high-speed rear-tyre failure on the approach to Blanchimont. He spun without hitting the barriers, bringing out the red flags and putting tyre safety firmly in the spotlight. Pirelli attributed the failure to an external cut; Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo again completed the top three.

Lewis Hamilton moved ahead in FP3, finishing almost half a second clear of Nico Rosberg as Ferrari followed the Mercedes pair. Force India also looked competitive, placing both cars in the top eight. The session was largely straightforward, although Romain Grosjean had an uncomfortable moment avoiding Kimi Räikkönen at Turn 16, nearly spinning his Lotus.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2015 Belgian Grand Prix FP1, 21 August 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:51.082	19
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.242s	24
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.291s	18
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.396s	23
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.784s	21
6	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+0.878s	18
7	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+1.076s	27
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.339s	26
9	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.341s	20
10	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.429s	19
11	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+1.457s	15
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.532s	20
13	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+1.558s	16
14	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.571s	22
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.344s	16
16	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.420s	15
17	30	Jolyon Palmer	Lotus F1	+2.717s	23
18	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+3.143s	14
19	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	+4.419s	16
20	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	+5.004s	17

Free Practice 2 Classification

2015 Belgian Grand Prix FP2, 21 August 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:49.385	19
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.302s	23
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.751s	15
4	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+1.014s	18
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.076s	23
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.076s	21
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.104s	21
8	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+1.324s	18
9	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+1.543s	24
10	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.555s	23
11	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.586s	21
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.652s	24
13	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+1.732s	25
14	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.865s	25
15	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+1.932s	16
16	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+2.203s	26
17	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.469s	16
18	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+3.185s	14
19	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	+4.680s	17
20	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	+4.868s	14

Free Practice 3 Classification

2015 Belgian Grand Prix FP3, 22 August 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:48.984	15
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.498s	19
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.645s	17
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.880s	19
5	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+0.882s	15
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.946s	20
7	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+0.996s	19
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.016s	15
9	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.195s	15
10	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.463s	15
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.568s	20
12	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+1.601s	17
13	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+1.615s	21
14	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+1.706s	17
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.070s	20
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+2.203s	18
17	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.997s	12
18	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	+5.278s	16
19	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	+5.297s	9
20	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	No time	1

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Nico Rosberg second and Valtteri Bottas third.

Lewis Hamilton took pole ahead of Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas. Romain Grosjean qualified fourth but received a gearbox penalty, while Kimi Räikkönen stopped in Q2 with a loss of oil pressure.

Qualifying Classification

2015 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying, 22 August 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:48.908	1:48.024	1:47.197	16
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:48.923	1:47.955	1:47.655	17
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:49.026	1:49.044	1:48.537	19
4	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:49.353	1:48.981	1:48.561	17
5	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:49.006	1:48.792	1:48.599	16
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:49.664	1:49.042	1:48.639	17
7	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:49.688	1:48.806	1:48.685	15
8	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	1:49.568	1:48.956	1:48.754	17
9	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:49.264	1:48.761	1:48.825	17
10	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:49.109	1:49.065	1:49.771	12
11	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:49.499	1:49.121	—	12
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	1:49.469	1:49.228	—	11
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:49.523	1:49.586	—	12
14	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:49.288	No time	—	8
15	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:49.831	No time	—	10
16	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:49.952	—	—	6
17	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:50.978	—	—	6
18	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:51.420	—	—	6
19	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	1:52.948	—	—	6
20	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	1:53.099	—	—	7

Romain Grosjean and Kimi Räikkönen both received a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.

Max Verstappen received a ten-place grid penalty for using his sixth power unit during the season.

Jenson Button received a fifty-place grid penalty for a variety of changes made to his power unit.

Fernando Alonso received a fifty-five-place grid penalty for a variety of changes made to his power unit.

What happened in the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix?

An aborted start caused by Nico Hülkenberg‘s stalled car shortened the race by one lap. Hamilton led away when the lights finally went out, while Rosberg dropped behind Sergio Pérez, Daniel Ricciardo and Bottas before beginning his recovery.

Rosberg regained second through the opening phase and the stops. Bottas’ race was compromised when Williams fitted mixed tyre compounds at one stop, bringing a drive-through penalty, while Grosjean passed rivals to move into podium contention.

Vettel tried to finish with a single tyre change, leaving Grosjean chasing the Ferrari late in the race. A rear tyre failed on Vettel’s car with fewer than two laps remaining, ending the gamble and giving Grosjean third.

Hamilton won ahead of Rosberg, with Grosjean securing Lotus‘ first podium since 2013. Daniil Kvyat used fresher tyres to charge into fourth, ahead of Pérez and Felipe Massa, while Vettel was classified outside the points.

Further down the points places, Kimi Räikkönen, Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas and Marcus Ericsson completed the scoring positions. Nico Rosberg set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2015 rules.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton headed the drivers’ standings with 227 points, followed by Nico Rosberg on 199. Mercedes led the constructors’ table on 426, with Ferrari on 242.

2015 Belgian Grand Prix race results

The 2015 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 23 August 2015, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	43	1:23:40.387	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	43	+2.058	18
3	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	43	+37.988	15
4	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	43	+45.692	12
5	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	43	+53.997	10
6	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	43	+55.283	8
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	43	+55.703	6
8	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	43	+56.076	4
9	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	43	+1:01.040	2
10	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	43	+1:31.234	1
11	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	43	+1:42.311	0
12	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	42	Tyre failure	0
13	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	42	+1 Lap	0
14	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	42	+1 Lap	0
15	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	42	+1 Lap	0
16	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	42	+1 Lap	0
Ret	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	32	Power unit	0
Ret	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	19	Electrics	0
Ret	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	2	Power unit	0
DNS	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	0	Power unit	0

Sebastian Vettel was classified because he completed over 90% of the race distance.

2015 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	34	15:13:38	1:52.416	224.295
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	34	15:13:33	1:52.504	224.120
3	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	29	15:04:41	1:53.032	223.073
4	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	36	15:18:12	1:53.276	222.592
5	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	34	15:15:19	1:53.692	221.778
6	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	29	15:05:20	1:53.991	221.196
7	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	30	15:07:11	1:54.022	221.136
8	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	23	14:52:59	1:54.093	220.998
9	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	30	15:06:26	1:54.517	220.180
10	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	23	14:53:12	1:54.646	219.932
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	25	15:01:15	1:54.680	219.867
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	37	15:19:40	1:54.779	219.677
13	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	29	15:04:27	1:54.796	219.645
14	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	29	15:04:15	1:55.316	218.654
15	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	38	15:23:48	1:55.533	218.244
16	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	2	14:10:55	1:56.263	216.873
17	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	33	15:14:36	1:58.150	213.410
18	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	32	15:12:29	1:58.174	213.366

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

2015 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix.

2015 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	227
2	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	199
3	Sebastian Vettel	German	Ferrari	160
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	82
5	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams	82
6	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	79
7	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	Red Bull Racing	57
8	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing	51
9	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	38
10	Max Verstappen	Dutch	Toro Rosso	26
11	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Force India	25
12	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	24
13	Felipe Nasr	Brazilian	Sauber	16
14	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Lotus F1	12
15	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	11
16	Carlos Sainz	Spanish	Toro Rosso	9
17	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Sauber	7
18	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	6
19	Roberto Merhi	Spanish	Manor Marussia	0
20	Will Stevens	British	Manor Marussia	0
–	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	McLaren	0

2015 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	426
2	Ferrari	242
3	Williams	161
4	Red Bull Racing	108
5	Lotus F1	50
6	Force India	49
7	Toro Rosso	35
8	Sauber	23
9	McLaren	17
10	Manor Marussia	0

2015 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2015 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	15 March
2	2015 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	29 March
3	2015 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	12 April
4	2015 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	19 April
5	2015 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	10 May
6	2015 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	24 May
7	2015 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	7 June
8	2015 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	21 June
9	2015 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	5 July
10	2015 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	26 July
11	2015 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	23 August
12	2015 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	6 September
13	2015 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	20 September
14	2015 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	27 September
15	2015 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	11 October
16	2015 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	25 October
17	2015 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	1 November
18	2015 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	15 November
19	2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	29 November