2020 Belgian Grand Prix – Race

KEY MOMENTS

• Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix from pole, stopping just once to switch from Yellow medium to White hard tyres on lap 11 under a lengthy safety car period. All three podium finishers used an identical strategy.
• The safety car heavily influenced the strategy, with all the drivers apart from two stopping to change tyres. Of the drivers who stopped, only Red Bull’s Alex Albon didn’t switch to hard for the second stint (instead choosing medium).
• The drivers who didn’t stop were AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Racing Point’s Sergio Perez. Gasly was the only driver to start the race on the hard tyre, and he swapped to the medium on lap 26, eventually finishing eighth from 12^th on the grid. Perez switched from Red soft to hard after 18 laps, also finishing in the points.
• The top four in the race all finished in grid order, with the top nine all having stopped just once under the safety car.
• Only three drivers stopped twice: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Williams driver Nicholas Latifi, and Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.
• Despite earlier predictions of rain, the race remained dry from start to finish.

HOW EACH TYRE PERFORMED

• HARD C2: Used by all the drivers for the final stint apart from Albon, Gasly, Leclerc, Latifi and Magnussen. Completed 33 laps with most drivers after the safety car and set fastest lap with Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo on the final lap.
• MEDIUM C3: A popular choice to start the race with, selected in particular by the top three on the grid (and final podium) who used these to get through Q2. Albon did a 33-lap stint on this compound.
• SOFT C4: Completed a long opening stint with Sergio Perez, who didn’t stop under the safety car. Although this was a soft compound that wasn’t brought here last year, it demonstrated plenty of consistency throughout its running.

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING

“The safety car dictated the strategy for most drivers today, pushing them towards a longer final stint than was expected on the hard tyre. This meant that they had to manage the compound carefully towards the end of the race in particular, on a notoriously demanding track. However, they all accomplished this perfectly and some drivers also chose a different strategic approach. Pierre Gasly showed plenty of pace with his unique hard-medium strategy and we also saw Sergio Perez choose not to stop under the safety car and try something different. All three nominated compounds played an important role today, and were well suited to the conditions here at Spa – one of the biggest tests for tyres of the year.”