The 2020 Belgian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Rolex Belgian Grand Prix 2020) was a
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
motor race
Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms ''automobile ...
held on 30 August 2020 at the
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a Race track, motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa, Belgium, Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One ...
in
Stavelot
Stavelot (; ; ) is a town and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Francorchamps and Stavelot.
It is best known as the home of Spa-Francorchamps Circuit a ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. The race was the seventh round in the
2020 Formula One World Championship
The 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 71st running of the Formula One World Championship. It marked the 70th anniversary of the first Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...
.
Background
A minute of silence was held before the race to mark the one year anniversary of
Anthoine Hubert
Anthoine Gérard Pol Hubert (; 22 September 1996 – 31 August 2019) was a French professional racing driver. He was the 2018 GP3 Series champion and a member of the Renault Sport Academy. He died following an accident during the feature rac ...
's death.
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Jean-Jacques Gasly (; born 7 February 1996) is a French racing driver who competes in Formula One for Alpine. Gasly won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix with AlphaTauri.
Born and raised in Normandy, Gasly began competitive kart racing age ...
, one of Hubert's closest friends wore a tribute helmet for Hubert and all teams and drivers sported a star sticker on their chassis and helmets in tribute to Hubert.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
The opening rounds of the championship were heavily affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Several Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed after the planned
opening round in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
was called off two days before the race was due to take place, prompting the
FIA to draft a new calendar. However, the Belgian Grand Prix was not impacted by this change and kept its original date.
In April 2020, the Belgian government extended a ban on mass gatherings until 31 August 2020 in a bid to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the race later received permission to be held
behind closed doors
Behind Closed Doors may refer to:
Film, television and radio Film
* ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1929 film), an early talkie starring Virginia Valli
* Behind Closed Doors (1961 film), ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1961 film), an Italian comedy film by Dino ...
.
Entrants
The drivers and teams were the same as those on the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for either the race or practice.
Tyres
Pirelli brought forward the C2, C3 and C4 tyres for the race weekend, the second, third, and fourth hardest tyre compounds available.
Practice
The first practice session took place without major incident and ended with
Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Viktor Bottas (; born 28 August 1989) is a Finnish racing driver, who serves as a reserve driver in Formula One for Mercedes. Bottas competed in Formula One from to , and twice finished runner-up in the World Drivers' Championship in ...
fastest for
Mercedes ahead of teammate
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
and
Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...
driver
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...
.
Haas drivers
Kevin Magnussen
Kevin Jan Magnussen (; born 5 October 1992) is a Danish racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for W Racing Team, WRT and the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, RLL as a factory driver f ...
and
Romain Grosjean
Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a French and Swiss racing driver, who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Lamborghini and serves as a reserve driver in the IndyCar Series for Prema. Grosjean competed under ...
and
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...
’s
Antonio Giovinazzi
Antonio Maria Giovinazzi (; born 14 December 1993) is an Italian racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Ferrari. Giovinazzi competed in Formula One between and . In endurance racing, Giovinazzi won the 24 Hour ...
were all unable to set a lap due to power unit issues for the Haas cars and unexplained issues for Giovinazzi's Alfa car.
In the second practice session, Max Verstappen was fastest for Red Bull, ahead of
Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
’s
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( , ; born 1 July 1989) is an Australian racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Ricciardo won eight Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons.
Born and raised in Perth to Italian-Australi ...
and Hamilton in the Mercedes. Daniel Ricciardo suffered a hydraulics issue on the Kemmel straight shortly after setting the second fastest time resulting in a virtual safety car. A short red flag period followed soon due to an advertising billboard coming loose and falling on the track at turn 1. In the third and final practice session, Hamilton was fastest followed by
Esteban Ocon
Esteban José Jean-Pierre Ocon-Khelfane (; born 17 September 1996) is a French racing driver who competes in Formula One for Haas F1 Team, Haas. Ocon won the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with Alpine F1 Team, Alpine.
Born and raised in Normandy to ...
for Renault and
Lando Norris
Lando Norris (; born 13 November 1999) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for McLaren. Norris was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with McLaren, and has won Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix ...
for
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
.
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
, who had won the previous Belgian Grand Prix struggled in third practice with
Charles Leclerc
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...
17th and
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...
last.
Qualifying
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
took pole, 0.511 seconds ahead of teammate
Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Viktor Bottas (; born 28 August 1989) is a Finnish racing driver, who serves as a reserve driver in Formula One for Mercedes. Bottas competed in Formula One from to , and twice finished runner-up in the World Drivers' Championship in ...
in Q3 (the third part of qualifying) with
Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...
’s
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...
only 0.015 seconds behind Bottas in third. Hamilton dedicated his pole position to
Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick Aaron Boseman (; November 29, 1976August 28, 2020) was an American actor. Through his two-decade career, he appeared in a number of projects spanning both blockbuster and independent films, and received various accolades, including ...
, who had died in the days preceding the race.
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( , ; born 1 July 1989) is an Australian racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Ricciardo won eight Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons.
Born and raised in Perth to Italian-Australi ...
finished fourth for
Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
with
Alexander Albon
Alexander Albon Ansusinha (; born 23 March 1996) is a Thai and British racing driver who competes under the Thai flag in Formula One for Williams.
Born in Westminster and raised in Suffolk, Albon is the son of English racing driver Nigel A ...
fifth and
Esteban Ocon
Esteban José Jean-Pierre Ocon-Khelfane (; born 17 September 1996) is a French racing driver who competes in Formula One for Haas F1 Team, Haas. Ocon won the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with Alpine F1 Team, Alpine.
Born and raised in Normandy to ...
sixth. The rest of the top 10 were
Carlos Sainz Jr. for
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
, the
Racing Point
Racing Point F1 Team, which competed as BWT Racing Point F1 Team and commonly known as Racing Point, was a British motor racing team and constructor that Racing Point UK entered into the Formula One World Championship. The team was based i ...
duo of
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990) is a Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Pérez was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Red Bull, and won Gr ...
and
Lance Stroll
Lance Strulovitch (; born 29 October 1998), commonly known as Lance Stroll (), is a Canadian racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin.
Born and raised in Montreal, Stroll is the son of billionaire businessman Lawrence Stroll ...
followed by
Lando Norris
Lando Norris (; born 13 November 1999) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for McLaren. Norris was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with McLaren, and has won Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix ...
in the other McLaren. The
AlphaTauri AlphaTauri or ''variant'', may refer to:
*AlphaTauri (fashion brand), fashion brand
*Scuderia AlphaTauri, Formula One team between 2020 and 2023; formerly Scuderia Toro Rosso, now Racing Bulls
See also
* Aldebaran, also known as Alpha Tauri (� ...
’s of
Daniil Kvyat
Daniil Vyacheslavovich Kvyat ( rus, Даниил Вячесла́вович Квят, p=dənʲɪˈil vʲɪtɕɪˈslavəvʲɪtɕ ˈkvʲat; born 26 April 1994) is a Russian racing driver who competes under a neutral flag in the IMSA SportsCar C ...
and
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Jean-Jacques Gasly (; born 7 February 1996) is a French racing driver who competes in Formula One for Alpine. Gasly won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix with AlphaTauri.
Born and raised in Normandy, Gasly began competitive kart racing age ...
were 11th and 12th, followed by the Ferrari’s of
Charles Leclerc
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...
and
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...
. This was the first time since the
2014 British Grand Prix that Ferrari took no part in Q3.
George Russell impressed in 15th, getting through to Q2 (the second part of qualifying) for the fifth time this season for
Williams. Out in Q1 (the first part of qualifying) were both
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...
s, both
Haas drivers and the Williams of
Nicholas Latifi
Nicholas Daniel Latifi (; born 29 June 1995) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to .
Born in Montreal and raised in Toronto, Latifi is the son of Iranian Canadians, Iranian-Canadian billionaire businessman ...
.
Qualifying classification
Race
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
’s
Carlos Sainz Jr. suffered a power unit issue which also damaged his exhaust, meaning he was unable to start the race. On lap 10,
Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi
Antonio Maria Giovinazzi (; born 14 December 1993) is an Italian racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Ferrari. Giovinazzi competed in Formula One between and . In endurance racing, Giovinazzi won the 24 Hour ...
lost control of his car coming out of turn 14 and crashed into the wall. One of his wheels detached from the car which subsequently hit the front right suspension of
George Russell's
Williams forcing both drivers to retire from the race.
This caused significant debris resulting in a safety car. All drivers except
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Jean-Jacques Gasly (; born 7 February 1996) is a French racing driver who competes in Formula One for Alpine. Gasly won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix with AlphaTauri.
Born and raised in Normandy, Gasly began competitive kart racing age ...
and
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990) is a Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Pérez was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Red Bull, and won Gr ...
pitted under safety car conditions.
At the end of the safety car period the top 6 were
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
,
Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Viktor Bottas (; born 28 August 1989) is a Finnish racing driver, who serves as a reserve driver in Formula One for Mercedes. Bottas competed in Formula One from to , and twice finished runner-up in the World Drivers' Championship in ...
,
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...
, Gasly, Pérez, and
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( , ; born 1 July 1989) is an Australian racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Ricciardo won eight Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons.
Born and raised in Perth to Italian-Australi ...
.
On older tyres and out of position due to not pitting under the safety car, Pérez and Gasly both began to fall down the field. Nonetheless, by the time Ricciardo had passed them a few laps later, he was over 10 seconds behind third placed Max Verstappen and despite a much praised race Riccardo would be unable to challenge for third.
Sergio Pérez pitted at the end of lap 18 for new hard tyres dropping him to 17th, the last of the runners still on track, before starting to gradually make his way up the field using his newer tyres.
On lap 26 Pierre Gasly pitted from 10th position and put on a set of medium tyres that were to see him to the end of the race.
He came out in 16th position, behind every driver other than
Charles Leclerc
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...
who had been forced to make a second pit stop due to a pneumatics issue.
Similarly to Pérez before him Gasly used his newer tyres to start to make his way though the field, by lap 36 he was in 10th position behind Pérez in 9th. Gasly passed Pérez on lap 39 before closing the gap to
Lance Stroll
Lance Strulovitch (; born 29 October 1998), commonly known as Lance Stroll (), is a Canadian racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin.
Born and raised in Montreal, Stroll is the son of billionaire businessman Lawrence Stroll ...
whom he passed on lap 42 to take 8th position where he finished.
Hamilton won the race, having led for every lap, followed by Bottas and Verstappen who had also held second and third respectively for the entire race.
Ricciardo completed the fastest lap, a 1:47.483, on the final lap of the race for an extra championship point and closing the gap to Max Verstappen in third to just over three seconds. He finished in fourth, a position he had held the entire race other than briefly during and immediately after the safety car due to Gasly and Pérez not pitting. Ocon was able to overtake Albon on the last lap. The race was also notable for
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One ...
finishing ahead of both Ferraris, including his former teammate Vettel.
Race classification
;Notes
* – Includes one point for fastest lap.
* –
Carlos Sainz Jr. did not start the race, and his place on the grid was left vacant.
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
*
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
See also
*
2020 Spa-Francorchamps Formula 2 round
*
2020 Spa-Francorchamps Formula 3 round
The 2020 Spa-Francorchamps FIA Formula 3 round was a motor racing event held on 29 and 30 August 2020 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium. It was the seventh round of the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship, and ran in support of ...
Notes
References
External links
{{F1GP 2020–29
Belgian
Grand Prix
( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to:
* Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition
** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship
*** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
Belgian Grand Prix
The Belgian Grand Prix (; ; ) is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship.
The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa region's race course, an area of the country that had been associated ...
Belgian Grand Prix