Postpublished at Lap 5/44
Ooof!
Just seen a replay of an early tussle between Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez. The two Force Indias came together down to Eau Rouge, banging wheels. Someone will be getting a ticking off there.
Summary
Hamilton wins Vettel second, Ricciardo 3rd
Force India team-mates collide twice
Alonso furious at "embarrassing" McLaren
Wehrlein, Alonso, Verstappen, Perez out
Postpublished at Lap 5/44
Team radiopublished at 13:12 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Alonso: This is embarrassing - really embarrassing.
Image source, EPAFernando is not happy how he is being passed easily...
Postpublished at Lap 6/44
And now Sergio Perez picks off the McLaren.
"Embarrassing," fumes Fernando Alonso.
Postpublished at Lap 5/44
After that gutsy move by Fernando Alonso he was not able to hold off the Renaults and Force Indias for long. He's back down to ninth with Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon ahead of him.
Image source, Getty ImagesPostpublished at 13:10 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Allan McNish
BBC Radio 5 live Formula 1 analystI think a one stop strategy is the best idea here. I would imagine they will all jump onto the soft tyre which is a very robust tyre.
Postpublished at Lap 4/44
Sebastian Vettel is feeling good, and rightly so. He's just popped down the fastest lap of the race so far with a 1:50.613. We know the Ferraris have the race pace, so Lewis Hamilton won't be feeling comfortable for some time yet.
Team radiopublished at 13:09 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Vettel: For the moment we can go with him, no problem.
Postpublished at Lap 3/44
Lewis Hamilton is getting down to business at the front of the pack. He's a second ahead of Sebastian Vettel.
Pascal Wehrlein, meanwhile, is into the pits. The Sauber is pulled into the garage and it looks like he might be our first retiree.
Image source, Getty ImagesPostpublished at Lap 2/44
Wow!
It's all about Fernando Alonso at the moment as he momentarily loses position to Nico Hulkenberg. The McLaren hovers behind the Renault and then uses the slipstream to slide back into seventh ahead of Hulkenberg with Esteban Ocon also in the mix.
Postpublished at 13:07 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Allan McNish
BBC Radio 5 live Formula 1 analystIt was very important Hamilton was able to keep that position in this first lap because if that Ferrari gets out in front, it gives it a chance to stretch it's legs...
Postpublished at Lap 1/44
Fernando Alonso is flying!
He's gained three places in the first few corners and is up to seventh, although he did appear to skip the apex at Turn 4.
Go! Go! Go!published at 13:03 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
LIGHTS OUT.
Sebastian Vettel makes a good start but Lewis Hamilton holds him off to stay out in front into Turn One!
Image source, Getty ImagesPostpublished at 13:03 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Here we go then. This is the longest lap on the F1 calendar which is good news for me and my typing fingers...
Postpublished at 13:01 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Everyone gets away OK for the formation lap.
Postpublished at 13:00 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
The tyre blankets go off and everyone down to 14th on the grid are on ultra-softs. The rest are on super-softs apart from Pascal Wehrlein (18). He's on softs.
Postpublished at 12:58 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Postpublished at 12:58 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Where does the time go!? Just a few minutes until lights out.
Postpublished at 12:57 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
BBC Radio 5 liveManaging Director of Motorsports for Formula One, Ross Brawn speaking to Radio 5 live: "Seeing Michael's car around the circuit today was really emotional - it really brought a lump to my throat.
"Mick is a lovely lad and it would be great if he could forge a career in Formula 1. "
What strategy to expect?published at 12:56 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa-FrancorchampsStrategy-wise, this is looking like a straightforward one-stop race, starting on the ultra-soft and switching to the soft after about 14 laps or so. For those not in the top 10, super-softs are an option for a starting tyre and running a bit longer, but this computes as slower. A two-stop, with one stint on the ultra-softs and two on the super-softs is also possible but is not only slower again but also means drivers will have to overtake more. This is not as hard in Spa as at many places but is still something teams tend to want to avoid.
Image source, Getty ImagesPostpublished at 12:56 British Summer Time 27 August 2017
Image source, .Laps: 44
Circuit Length: 7.004km
Corners: 19 (10 left, 9 right)
Top Speed: 319.6kph
Race Distance: 308.052km
Most victories: Michael Schumacher (6)