Lewis Hamilton brought himself back to within seven points of championship leader Sebastian Vettel after taking victory in the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team racer held onto the lead at the start, and only on the restart following the safety car period did he come under threat from Vettel, and was able to withstand the attack to retain the lead into Les Combes.
Hamilton was critical about the pace of the safety car, feeling it was going to slowly, but once he got into the groove again, he kept his foot to the floor to secure his fifty-eighth career victory on his two-hundredth race start.
“It’s amazing to come back into the season and start on the right foot,” said Hamilton. “The Ferrari was very strong today and they put on a fantastic fight.
“We were both pushing every single lap and there was no room for error or mistake. The Safety Car was driving so slow that keeping tyre temperature was very difficult. On the restart, Sebastian got a good tow, it was very close.
“It is fun to be racing against another team and Sebastian at his best and the car at its best – that’s what racing is all about. I want to thank the team, I would not have been able to win today without them.”
