2020 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton delivered another assured victory at the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix, leading Valtteri Bottas home for a Mercedes one-two at Spa-Francorchamps. Max Verstappen finished third, while Renault enjoyed one of its strongest afternoons of the season through Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon.

Race Guide

Season: 2020 F1 World Championship
Race date: 30 August 2020
Race start time: 15:10 local time (UTC+02:00)
Circuit: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Laps: 44 laps
Circuit length: 7.004 km
2019 winner: Charles Leclerc

Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:41.252
Fastest lap
Driver	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault
Time	1:47.483 on lap 44
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Third	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
28 August 2020	Practice 1	11:00 – 12:30
28 August 2020	Practice 2	15:00 – 16:30
29 August 2020	Practice 3	12:00 – 13:00
29 August 2020	Qualifying	15:00 – 16:00
30 August 2020	Race	15:10

All times are local (UTC+02:00). The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

Hamilton led Verstappen by 37 points after his dominant Spanish victory. The long straights and fast corners of Spa-Francorchamps offered a different test, with Ferrari returning as the previous year’s winner but facing a far tougher competitive situation. The weekend also included tributes to Anthoine Hubert, who had died at the circuit a year earlier.

Race entries

All ten teams retained their regular race drivers. There were no additional substitute drivers in practice, allowing the usual pairings to complete the full weekend programme.

Free Practice

Valtteri Bottas led FP1 with a 1:44.493, only 0.069s ahead of Lewis Hamilton and 0.081s ahead of Max Verstappen. Both Haas drivers and Antonio Giovinazzi failed to set a time after technical problems.

Verstappen topped FP2 on a 1:43.744, narrowly ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Hamilton. Ricciardo later stopped with a hydraulic problem, while loose advertising material caused a brief red flag.

Hamilton led FP3 with a 1:43.255, followed by Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris. Renault‘s speed was encouraging, while Ferrari struggled badly, with Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel near the bottom of the times.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2020 Belgian Grand Prix FP1, 28 August 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:44.493	18
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.069s	17
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.081s	20
4	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+0.136s	22
5	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+0.375s	22
6	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+0.556s	22
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+0.606s	20
8	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+0.729s	24
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+0.732s	21
10	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.781s	28
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+0.954s	25
12	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+1.010s	17
13	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.211s	19
14	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+1.266s	18
15	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.686s	15
16	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+1.995s	19
17	63	George Russell	Williams	+2.077s	21
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas		1
19	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas		2
20	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing		2

Free Practice 2 Classification

2020 Belgian Grand Prix FP2, 28 August 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:43.744	21
2	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+0.048s	12
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.096s	23
4	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+0.390s	21
5	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+0.393s	23
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.418s	27
7	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.424s	22
8	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+0.464s	23
9	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+0.730s	23
10	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+0.856s	27
11	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+0.934s	23
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+1.082s	26
13	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.117s	29
14	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.152s	23
15	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+1.696s	19
16	63	George Russell	Williams	+1.719s	25
17	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.939s	21
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+2.030s	26
19	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.090s	12
20	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.498s	12

Free Practice 3 Classification

2020 Belgian Grand Prix FP3, 29 August 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:43.255	9
2	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+0.230s	9
3	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.386s	12
4	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+0.476s	13
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.558s	9
6	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.641s	10
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+0.718s	8
8	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+0.733s	12
9	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+0.751s	13
10	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+0.925s	12
11	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+1.253s	14
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+1.288s	14
13	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+1.516s	11
14	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.586s	10
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.589s	16
16	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.677s	11
17	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+1.892s	12
18	63	George Russell	Williams	+1.902s	11
19	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.935s	13
20	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+2.165s	12

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton claimed pole with a 1:41.252, a commanding 0.511s ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Max Verstappen missed the front row by just 0.015s, while Daniel Ricciardo qualified fourth ahead of Alexander Albon and Esteban Ocon.

Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll and Lando Norris completed the top ten. Ferrari failed to reach Q3 with either car: Charles Leclerc was 13th and Sebastian Vettel 14th, underlining how much its fortunes had changed since the previous Belgian Grand Prix.

Qualifying Classification

2020 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying, 29 August 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:42.323	1:42.014	1:41.252	15
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:42.534	1:42.126	1:41.763	17
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:43.197	1:42.473	1:41.778	17
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:43.309	1:42.487	1:42.061	11
5	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	1:43.418	1:42.193	1:42.264	15
6	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	1:43.505	1:42.534	1:42.396	15
7	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	1:43.322	1:42.478	1:42.438	15
8	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	1:43.349	1:42.670	1:42.532	15
9	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	1:43.265	1:42.491	1:42.603	15
10	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:43.514	1:42.722	1:42.657	17
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	1:43.267	1:42.730	—	12
12	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1:43.262	1:42.745	—	12
13	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:43.656	1:42.996	—	12
14	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:43.567	1:43.261	—	12
15	63	George Russell	Williams	1:43.630	1:43.468	—	11
16	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:43.743	—	—	6
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:43.838	—	—	6
18	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:43.950	—	—	6
19	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1:44.138	—	—	6
20	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:44.314	—	—	8

What happened in the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton led every lap to win at Spa-Francorchamps, with Valtteri Bottas second and Max Verstappen third. Behind the leading trio, Daniel Ricciardo took fourth and the fastest lap, while Esteban Ocon made a late pass to complete an excellent result for Renault.

Carlos Sainz could not start after a power-unit problem damaged his exhaust. Hamilton held the lead when the lights went out, and the front three quickly settled into an order that would remain unchanged to the finish.

The major interruption came when Antonio Giovinazzi crashed and a detached wheel struck George Russell‘s Williams. Both drivers retired, and the safety car allowed most of the field to make its tyre stop. Pierre Gasly and Sergio Perez stayed out, temporarily moving higher in the order.

Gasly and Perez then faced the task of stopping under green-flag conditions and recovering the lost positions. Gasly’s later switch to medium tyres gave him the pace to attack through the field, including passes on both Racing Point cars on his way to eighth.

At the front, Hamilton managed the long final stint carefully. Bottas stayed second and Verstappen third, with neither able to turn tyre concerns or strategy into a challenge for the win. Ricciardo maintained strong pace behind them and closed the gap in the final stages.

Ricciardo set the fastest lap on the last tour, while Ocon passed Albon for fifth. Norris finished seventh, followed by Gasly, Stroll and Perez. Kimi Räikkönen finished ahead of both Ferraris, with Vettel 13th and Leclerc 14th on a difficult day for the Italian team.

Hamilton extended his championship lead to 47 points over Verstappen. Renault‘s fourth and fifth places, plus the fastest-lap bonus, strengthened its position in the midfield fight as the teams headed directly to Monza.

2020 Belgian Grand Prix race results

The 2020 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 30 August 2020, with a scheduled start of 15:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	44	1:24:08.761	25
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	44	+8.448s	18
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	44	+15.455s	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	44	+18.877s	13
5	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	44	+40.650s	10
6	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	44	+42.712s	8
7	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	44	+43.774s	6
8	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	44	+47.371s	4
9	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	44	+52.603s	2
10	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	44	+53.179s	1
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	44	+70.200s	0
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	44	+71.504s	0
13	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	44	+72.894s	0
14	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	44	+74.920s	0
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	44	+76.793s	0
16	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	44	+77.795s	0
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	44	+85.540s	0
Ret	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	9	Accident	0
Ret	63	George Russell	Williams	9	Debris/Collision	0
DNS	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	0	Power unit/Exhaust	0

Daniel Ricciardo earned the additional point for fastest lap.

Carlos Sainz did not start the race, and his place on the grid was left vacant.

2020 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	44	16:38:09	1:47.483	234.589
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	28	16:08:47	1:47.758	233.990
3	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	29	16:11:26	1:47.839	233.815
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	26	16:06:07	1:47.840	233.813
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	27	16:07:03	1:47.983	233.503
6	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	32	16:17:17	1:48.048	233.362
7	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	37	16:26:30	1:48.083	233.287
8	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	27	16:07:06	1:48.305	232.809
9	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	20	15:54:55	1:48.389	232.628
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	44	16:38:31	1:48.540	232.305
11	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	39	16:29:24	1:48.552	232.279
12	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	27	16:07:25	1:48.736	231.886
13	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	34	16:20:18	1:49.136	231.036
14	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	28	16:09:27	1:49.822	229.593
15	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	28	16:09:26	1:49.832	229.572
16	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	31	16:15:01	1:49.958	229.309
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	28	16:09:34	1:50.018	229.184
18	63	George Russell	Williams	5	15:23:17	1:51.754	225.624
19	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	9	15:30:45	1:51.793	225.545

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h.

2020 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix.

2020 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	157
2	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	110
3	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	107
4	Alexander Albon	THA	Red Bull Racing	48
5	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	45
6	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	45
7	Lance Stroll	CAN	Racing Point	42
8	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Renault	33
9	Sergio Perez	MEX	Racing Point	33
10	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Renault	26
11	Carlos Sainz	ESP	McLaren	23
12	Pierre Gasly	FRA	AlphaTauri	18
13	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	16
14	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Racing Point	6
15	Antonio Giovinazzi	ITA	Alfa Romeo Racing	2
16	Daniil Kvyat	RUS	AlphaTauri	2
17	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	1
18	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing	0
19	Nicholas Latifi	CAN	Williams	0
20	George Russell	GBR	Williams	0
21	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	0

2020 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	264
2	Red Bull Racing	158
3	McLaren	68
4	Racing Point	66
5	Ferrari	61
6	Renault	59
7	AlphaTauri	20
8	Alfa Romeo Racing	2
9	Haas	1
10	Williams	0

Racing Point’s constructors’ total includes the 15-point deduction imposed over its rear brake ducts. The drivers’ points were unaffected.