Vote for your 2015 Belgian GP Driver of the Weekend

2015 Belgian Grand Prix

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Which F1 driver was the best performer during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend?

Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most during the last race weekend.

Belgian Grand Prix driver-by-driver

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton – It felt like Hamilton was toying with Rosberg in qualifying – the pair looked closely-matched in Q1 and Q2, but come the pole position shoot out Hamilton suddenly produced the best part of half a second’s advantage, most of it found in the middle sector. After a clean start – his first in four races – Hamilton fended off a brief challenge from Perez which constituted the greatest threat he faced all race.

Nico Rosberg – Rosberg didn’t get the rub of the green on Friday: a power unit problem hampered his run in the first session and then, much more seriously, a tyre blow-out pitched him into a 300kph spin in the second. Nonetheless he was quicker than Hamilton in both sessions. But the positions were reversed on Saturday, and in the race he lost three places at the start which left him on the back foot. Despite passing Bottas and jumping ahead of Ricciardo and Perez, he had to settle for second again.

Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo – Red Bull said they wouldn’t be as quick on Saturday as they looked on Friday, and so it proved. Ricciardo was the only one of the pair to reach Q3, where he was the quickest non-Mercedes driver, starting a strong fifth. He started well, passing Bottas and Rosberg, and an early pit stop briefly got him in front of Perez. Having switched to the medium he was potentially in a strong position for the second half of the race, but a power unit problem forced him out on the 20th lap.

Daniil Kvyat – Was given a reprimand after cutting up Nasr in the pit lane during practice. Q2 was very tight and Kvyat missed the cut for the top ten by less than two-tenths of a second. But he made steady progress at the start and was third by lap three, then overhauled Massa. Like Ricciardo an early pit stop helped him continue his progress, and he was fifth at half-distance. After pitting for soft tyres he made his way back to the same position – taking Verstappen, Raikkonen, Massa and Perez – and gained another place when Vettel dropped out.

Williams

Felipe Massa – After a minor technical problem delayed his start to Q1, a poor final sector in Q3 left him sixth on the grid, promoted one place by Grosjean’s penalty. He lost three places at the start and was passed by Kvyat shortly afterwards as he struggled on the soft tyres initially. Lacking the expected performance on the straights, Massa was also passed by Kvyat before the end of the race and finished where he started.

Valtteri Bottas – Never higher than ninth in practice, Bottas brought it all together when it counted to take third on the grid. However Perez and Ricciardo beat him away at the start, then Rosberg and Vettel came past at the start of lap two. His race was effectively ruined when the team fitted a medium compound tyre to his car by mistake along with three softs, which earned him a drive-through penalty. He still came away with points for ninth.

Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel – Failed to improve on his Q2 time in the final session leaving him a sub-par eighth on the grid. However he started well and was up to fifth after passing Bottas on lap two. Staying out on medium tyres after making a single pit stop on lap 15 was undoubtedly a gamble, but one he might have expected would lead to a significant loss of pace at the end of the race, rather than an alarming high-speed tyre failure.

Kimi Raikkonen – Earned his second reprimand of the season after backing off on the racing line to perform a constant-speed aero test while Grosjean was close behind. In qualifying a power unit problem in Q2 left him 14th, which became 16th after a gearbox change penalty. He rose to seventh at the flag in unobtrusive fashion, fending off a late attack from Verstappen.

McLaren

Fernando Alonso – Having missed almost all of final practice due to yet more technical problems, Alonso lined up behind his team mate. He made the most of the start – rising from last to 14th – and kept in touch with the Saubers for the first half of the race before dropping back, finishing 13th.

Jenson Button – This was always going to be a weak track for McLaren and with little gain being realised from Honda’s revised power unit so far Button could do no better than 17th, one second off the next car, despite producing a lap he was proud of. However his ERS only worked intermittently during the race, periodically leaving him without full power, and after a lonely run he took the chequered flag in 14th.

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Force India

Nico Hulkenberg – Although he had the benefit of having raced at Spa in the World Endurance Championship earlier this year, Hulkenberg missed out on Q3 by less than six-hundredths of a second, making him the only Mercedes-powered driver outside the ten top in qualifying. “On my final lap in Q2 I made a small mistake going into turn one – I just locked the tyres and missed the apex,” he explained. “On top of that we had a small issue with the turbo, which cost us some speed and time down the straights.” His problems weren’t solved in time for the race – his car failed on the grid and he failed to start.

Sergio Perez – Was extremely pleased with his car’s balance and qualified fifth which became fourth after Grosjean’s penalty – his best since Bahrain last year. It got even better at the start as he passed Bottas and Perez – and nearly took Hamilton too. Ricciardo jumped him at the first round of pit stops but Perez used his grip advantage to pass him shortly afterwards. However his car proved too hard on its tyres and he eventually lost places to Grosjean and Kvyat. Nonetheless fifth was Force India’s best result so far this year.

Toro Rosso

Max Verstappen – Intended to drop out in Q2 due to his impending engine change penalty, but then suffered a power unit problem which forced him out anyway. Gained six places at the start and used a three-stop strategy to maximise his time on the faster soft tyres. That put him in a strong position at the end of the race: he managed to pass Bottas but a last-lap move on Raikkonen didn’t work out, and he finished eighth.

Carlos Sainz Jnr – Very pleased with his qualifying effort after sneaking the Toro Rosso into Q3. But for the fourth race in a row his car let him down, and after spending half the race toiling around at the back the team elected to retire him to save engine mileage.

Lotus

Romain Grosjean – His near-miss with Raikkonen in final practice compromised his flying lap, so his eventual speed in qualifying came as something of a surprise. Unfortunately for Grosjean a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change dropped him from the second row to ninth. He started well and came good in the middle stint, passing Ricciardo and Perez, which put him in contention for a podium place. He was gearing up to take a shot at Vettel in the final laps when the Ferrari driver’s tyre failed, handing him third.

Pastor Maldonado – Crashed on the approach to Pouhon during practice, much as he did last year, but made it into Q3 and eventually lined up seventh. However two laps into the race his car shut down – the team suspect it was triggered when Maldonado hit a kerb too hard.

Sauber

Marcus Ericsson – Had a substantial crash at Pouhon during second practice after losing control mid-corner, but rebounded on Saturday and beat Nasr into Q2. The pair ran in that order for most of the race, but were unable to make an impression on the rest of the midfield pack. Vettel’s retirement promoted Ericsson to the final points place.

Felipe Nasr – Looked quick in practice but was knocked out in Q3. Not for the first time this year he had braking problems in the race, and a slow puncture in the final stint delayed him further.

Manor

Will Stevens – Prevailed in the battle of the Manors in qualifying by little more than a tenth of a second. However contact at the start dropped him behind Merhi, where he finished.

Roberto Merhi – Another driver who raced at Spa earlier this year – in Formula Renault 3.5 – Merhi lost time in final practice due to a hydraulic problem and qualified behind his team mate. However he came out on top in the race, thanks in part to the team managing his strategy to limit the amount of time he spent letting the leaders past.

Driver of the Weekend: My choice

I had several drivers on my shortlist this weekend. First among which was Hamilton, who was peerless in the weekend’s competitive sessions, and once again left me wishing he had more serious opposition from his rivals.

Both Toro Rosso drivers could have had impressive weekends had they not been hampered by technical problems – Verstappen in qualifying, Sainz yet again in the race. Verstappen did well to salvage points from his starting position, depite a last-lap error.

And Perez was in excellent form for Force India, producing a superb qualifying effort and excellent start before tyre problems dropped him back.

However my pick of the drivers this weekend is Grosjean. The Lotus clearly needed a bit of sorting in practice, but his qualifying performance was excellent. He was unfazed by his gearbox change penalty and made the most of running a new set of soft tyres in the middle stint. Yes he inherited third place, but he might have taken it off Vettel anyway. This was top-drawer stuff on a weekend when Lotus badly needed a result.



Qualifying and race results summary

DriverStartedGap to team mate (Q)Laps leading team matePittedFinishedGap to team mate (R)
Lewis Hamilton1st-0.458s42/4321st-2.058s
Nico Rosberg2nd+0.458s1/4322nd+2.058s
Daniel Ricciardo5th-0.186s18/191
Daniil Kvyat12th+0.186s1/1924th
Felipe Massa6th+0.148s31/4326th-5.757s
Valtteri Bottas3rd-0.148s12/4329th+5.757s
Sebastian Vettel8th-0.024s41/42112thNot on same lap
Kimi Raikkonen16th+0.024s1/4227thNot on same lap
Fernando Alonso20th+0.442s40/42313th-43.918s
Jenson Button19th-0.442s2/42314th+43.918s
Nico Hulkenberg11th+0.329s0/00
Sergio Perez4th-0.329s0/025th
Max Verstappen18th+0.722s32/3238th
Carlos Sainz Jnr10th-0.722s0/322
Romain Grosjean9th-0.193s0/123rd
Pastor Maldonado7th+0.193s1/10
Marcus Ericsson13th-0.429s42/43210th-11.077s
Felipe Nasr14th+0.429s1/43211th+11.077s
Will Stevens15th-0.151s3/42216th+10.951s
Roberto Merhi17th+0.151s39/42215th-10.951s

Review the race data

Vote for your driver of the weekend

Which driver do you think did the best job this weekend?

Cast your vote below and explain your choice in the comments.

Who was the best driver of the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix weekend?

  • Roberto Merhi (0%)
  • Will Stevens (0%)
  • Felipe Nasr (0%)
  • Marcus Ericsson (1%)
  • Pastor Maldonado (0%)
  • Romain Grosjean (52%)
  • Carlos Sainz Jnr (0%)
  • Max Verstappen (14%)
  • Sergio Perez (7%)
  • Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
  • Jenson Button (0%)
  • Fernando Alonso (1%)
  • Kimi Raikkonen (1%)
  • Sebastian Vettel (7%)
  • Valtteri Bottas (0%)
  • Felipe Massa (0%)
  • Daniil Kvyat (3%)
  • Daniel Ricciardo (1%)
  • Nico Rosberg (0%)
  • Lewis Hamilton (13%)

Total Voters: 638

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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104 comments on “Vote for your 2015 Belgian GP Driver of the Weekend”

  1. Grosjean: Qualified 4th, Started 9th, Finished 3rd.

    Couldn’t have qualified higher, couldn’t have finished higher. Drove a clean race, had a brillant strategy. 10/10 for the Lotus driver.

    1. “Couldn’t have qualified higher”, sure of that? I don’t think Williams was faster than Lotus. It looked like Lotus was the second fastest car this weekend. Though very good weekend for Grosjean…

  2. Grosjean. Literally nothing he could’ve done better, phenomenal weekend.

    Credit to Hamilton, Ricciardo and Perez too.

    1. Whenever Grosjean, Raikkonen, Massa or Bottas get a good result, I always suspect what would have happened if another driver was in their seats….

    2. Did Grosjean get help from VSC by the way? I cannot remember how he pitted?

      1. He pitted during the VSC, was already 3rd when he did.

  3. ILuvSoundtracks (@)
    24th August 2015, 12:32

    I would vote for Fernando Alonso. I have a big fandom of him and I can’t say anything more than that.

    1. I am an Alonso fan, and I really hope you were sarcastic.

    2. Fernando Alonso said this: “I finished the race 40 seconds ahead of my teammate, almost a second faster per lap with the same equipment, when he won here a few years ago. The car performed well. It’s my best race at Spa.”
      LMAO

      1. The decadence of an ex world champion. Sad indeed.

    3. So being a fan trumps his actual performance on the day?

      Would you still vote for him if he qualified last, nineteen seconds behind everyone else, and crashed into the pitwall two seconds after the start, taking out his team mate in the process?

      1. Well if he came to a halt ahead of his team-mate and was classified ahead…

  4. Grosjean. He must’ve been thirsting for his first podium in what feels like ages after his supposed break-through in 2013. He was helped by Vettel’s timely puncture, as we cannot know if he would’ve caught the Ferrari in the two remaining laps, but we’ve seen less deserving drivers finish on the podium. Flawless race by the Lotus driver, I was happy for him.

    1. “as we cannot know if he would’ve caught the Ferrari in the two remaining laps”
      He was behind him for laps. If anything, it looked like he was falling behind out of DRS. Still dunno how Vettel does that.

      1. Gap evolution:
        Lap 38: 0.81
        Lap 39: 0.59
        Lap 40: 0.56
        Lap 41: 0.75

        Not really a sign of falling out of DRS range, even though his gap did spike just before the incident, but that was probably the consequence of a small mistake in the final chicane. Grosjean’s last lap in clean air had been a 1:54.8, while Vettel was lapping in the high 1:55s/low 1:56s.
        Yes, Grosjean hadn’t really threatened Vettel in the 3 laps after getting into DRS range, but Grosjean knew Vettel was on very old tyres, and it’s possible that he was not yet attacking 100%.
        Vettel was defending well, but Grosjean still had a chance. That’s why I said “we can’t know”.

  5. I voted for Perez, one of his best weekends this year. As much as I love Hulk, I had to give it to Perez.

    1. I chose Grosjean, but yeah Perez really had a lovely weekend, and to some extent Verstappen, maybe Kvyat too. Well and Hamilton did a very solid one off course

    2. @dragoll
      Yes Perez for me too, I’m surprised he has so few votes. Grosjean was more or less matched by Maldonado until he retired which would suggest Lotus were much quicker than expected at this track. Considering how he spent most of the race defending I would say Perez outqualified the car’s potential significantly, then held onto what places he could.

  6. Grojean for me, he had a bit of luck but despite a penalty he still managed to drive a great race and put his car much higher than anyone expected.

    There were alot of good drives this week.

    1. Why is it “much higher than anyone expected” though? I don’t get this. It’s like people think Mercedes is the fastest in each circuit, Ferrari is the second fastest, Williams is the third fastest, Red Bull is the fourth fastest and so on. I mean he did a stellar job. But I wouldn’t say “unexpected”.

      1. Did you predict 3rd for him? ;)

        Being serious though it was the first podium in 2 years for Lotus so I would class it as unexpected. Even Grojean didn’t think he would be on the podium. Third is like first this days for most teams…

      2. If you bothered reading any articles on the affair, you would know the team was expecting 5th to be the absolute best the machinery was capable of. Getting a podium is certainly higher than expected.

        1. @bforth and the teams are usually pretty optimistic in their expectations too, there are quite a few teams who would have expected to finish comfortably in front of the Lotuses.

  7. Grosjean for me. Never figured I’d see a Lotus driver on the podium this weekend. Great drive.

  8. Between Mad Max and Grojean for me, but the overtakes of Verstappen have to earn him DOTW – loved it. Well done Romain though, favorite podium for me for a long time :)

    1. Imo Kvyat was better than Verstappen. His overtakes were more exciting and he actually managed to keep the car on track. Especially the one on Massa, I let out a little scream when I thought he was about to rear-end him at such a high speed.

      1. I agree on that overtake by Kvyatt over Massa, I did find myself cheering him on too! Nice to have a race with so many doing such great stuff

      2. Ginja42,

        You think the overtakes from Kvyat were better then Verstappen’s? Wow…i mean, you are telling us that you love DRS overtakes more then overtakes that require some real skill and intelligence?

        Verstappen overtook Alonso and Nasr on Blanchimont….and i dont see any other driver in the field who has the same size of … or racecraft this boy has.

        1. I mean Merabella ffcourse ;)

    2. Max Verstappen. His last stint was faster than anybody else bar Mercedes. On lap 33-42 he was only 0.22 second off Lewis pace in average.
      Bonus point for all his exiting overtakes.

      1. Everything you said

      2. Very nice video (exciting overtakes), thanks!

  9. It has to be Vettel. The man was so fast he blew his tyres off

    1. Apparently he’s so good that he drives just as fast after the cliff as well. lmao

  10. Lacking the expected performance on the straights, Massa was also passed by Raikkonen before the end of the race and finished where he started.

    While it was sad enough for a Williams driver to be overtaken by a storming Red Bull on a power circuit, Massa was spared the humiliation of being overtaken by Räikkönen. They did swap positions early in the race, but that was due to Massa’s pitting.

  11. Clearly Alonso. Went from 75th to 12th on the first lap. Amazing.

    1. Sorry, only 14th. Still pretty decent ;)

  12. For me, obviously Romain Grosjean. He once again outqualified his teammate, and unfortunately had to serve a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. That didn’t affect him though! He drove a superb race, making his way up to 4th, all over the back of Vettel until his tyre exploded. He deserved 3rd more than anyone else IMO, including Vettel. If it wasn’t for the penalty, Vettel would be nowhere near Grosjean. Honorable mentions to Hamilton, the two Red Bulls and Perez.

    1. “If it wasn’t for penalty, Vettel would be nowhere near Grosjean.”
      How do you figure that? Did you run the race with Grosjean starting 4th. LOL. People love going overboard with their praise.

    2. He deserved 3rd more than Vettel? Really? Vettel was disadvantaged by VSC. He lost a chunk of time because of that. Watch more carefully.

  13. A lot of truly stand out performances This weekend. I could honestly have voted for Hamilton, Vettel, Grosjean, Perez or Verstappen.

    In the end the sheer gap Hamilton achieved in qualifying and the measured way he won the race by only as much as he needed to on during a weekend where tyres were a concern and his engine is probably nearing it’s end of life. The performance couldn’t have been any better.

  14. Fikri Harish (@)
    24th August 2015, 13:06

    Grosjean, Perez and Verstappen did great all weekend.
    Had a feeling Grosjean’s going to take the lion’s share of the vote, deservedly so, so I voted for Verstappen.

    Given the cards he was dealt with, I was anxious to see whether he’d pull of another bold move to grab some points, which he duly did on the Sauber on Blanchimont of all places.
    Experience and foresight would’ve probably helped when he overtook Raikkonen but was caught out by Massa being so close but that was a forgivable mistake in an otherwise exciting performance.

    Props for Kvyat and Vettel. Both had great races but those qualifying mistakes cost them brownie points on my book.

    1. Fikri Harish (@)
      24th August 2015, 13:07

      Ah right, I forgot Hamilton was on the race as well.
      He did great too.

      1. Is he still racing? lol

        1. geoffgroom44 (@)
          24th August 2015, 21:01

          he would be if he had someone to race with! lol. We could be forgiven,however, for thinking it is more like a stroll in the park for him.

  15. Has to be Grosjean, great weekend from him. You could say he lucked into third but who knows if he would have made the pass. Even without that, still a stellar weekend especially when you consider he missed FP1.

    1. And let’s not forget he unlucked down to 9th from the gearbox change. Let’s say it evens it out :)

      I picked Hamilton myself, but it could just as easily have been Grosjean, he drove exceptionally, and such a contrast to the low point of his career at Spa in 2012.

      (One could hope that he would be able to get his team mate on the right track as well, but somehow I don’t think Maldonado will listen to anyone)

  16. Sergio Perez.

    Got the most out of the car in qualifying, got the best out of it in the race. Admittedly close call between him and Grosjean, but personally I prefer Perez. So I voted for him.

  17. Grosjean, Perez, Hamilton and Verstappen all did great – I think Ricciardo also did very well, but he couldn’t prove it due to car trouble; Kvyat showed a great race, but missed out a bit on Saturday. I’d give it to Grosjean – but voted for Perez because I think he deserves to have more votes than Verstappen, as he didn’t seem to put a foot wrong, and Grosjean has a healthy lead already.

  18. Grosjean – drove like his late 2013 performance. Really up on his game through out the weekend.

    Honorable mentions to Perez, Verstappen, Kvyat and Hamilton.

  19. For me its Vettel, the way the way he drove in that old tyre and also keeping Grosjean at bay at the sametime is champion stuff.

  20. I was trying to figure out if it was Perez or Grosjean I would give it to, then I realised, if not for his tyre failure, Vettel had a spectacular weekend – I don’t think Grosjean would have overtaken. And if his tyre failure was caused by the long stint, well, he questioned that decision earlier than anyone else. I’m giving it to him.

    1. He was childishly driving on the racing line in everyones way after that though which puts a sour point on his weekend for me…

      1. @tdm what a stupid comment

        1. Ugh… How? Down the Kemmel straight he was off line, which was fine. However, he then did a series of corners with a puncture on the racing line with cars travelling at racing speeds racing each other diving left and right to avoid him. It was petulant and dangerous. I can only imagine it was because he was angry his race was ruined and wasn’t thinking straight.

          If you saw differently, fine. But it was also called out by Coulthard during the race.

          1. at no point did DC say anything like ‘Vettel was driving childishly’. I watched the exact same broadcast, and they merely commented on how hard it was for him to get out of the way, given the tight turns. In fact, SV’s dash across the track between cars to get out of the racing line showed true profesionalism – not anything close to what you’re inferring.

          2. I suggest you watch it again. He didn’t say childish but he did comment on the fact that Vettel wasn’t making it easy for other people and could have done more.

            Obviously, we have differing opinions. The comments section is for opinions. No point in arguing about it.

          3. @tdm Also, have you ever driven a car on three wheels? I have and they’re no easy to keep in a straight line especially when there are plenty of cars trying to pass you on a not so wide part of the track.

          4. As I say, I agreed with Coulthard, he could have done more and I’ve called it as I saw it. I would say that he is not without expertise in this area…

            I have driven on three wheels but I’m not sure that it even remotely compares to an F1 car in any way as the suspension design is completely different. But yeah, I’m sure it’s extremely difficult. Doesn’t change what I saw or how Coulthard saw it.

    2. “Spectacular weekend” lol

  21. Perez.
    Did not put a foot wrong, addressed FP1 to FP2 set up, did a very strong Quali in all sessions -great lap in Q2, started superbly, raced clean and brought it home in P5 (holding Massa back) – He got the most of the new-spec VJ and delivered. Not sure whether the VSC helped or hindered his cause, but gave excitement to the ‘best of the rest’ contest.
    Grosjean did a fantastic job as well.

  22. Really this race was a case for ferrari to see where the talent lays today. Grosjean was fast and hungry, Bottas had a good quali and finished not far from Kimi dispite winning the trophy of “man most likely to yell at a co-worker tonight” and this being a Kimi friendly track. Perez showed why he was a McLaren pilot once. That’s not even talking about the TR boys or the RB boys.

    As for the topic, Grosjean obviously.

  23. Grosjean was fast this weekend but did he really drove the wheels of the car? We’ve seen performances like this before where everything goes right as both Ricciardo and Vettel ahead of him were gone before he actually had to overtake them. The fact he could not take down Vettel on much older tyres whilst having a higher top speed made me not vote for him. Had he overtaken the Ferrari before his exploding wheel I would have. Next to that his performance was flattered by the awful choices made by Williams this weekend ranging from poor tyre selection to poor setup work.

    Verstappen had a good race sure but his overtakes liked by many don’t always impress me. Failed to overtake Massa properly and had to resort to off track to finalize it, same for his move on Nasr. Ballsy it was but illegal either way. His move on Alonso on the inside of Blanchimont was his best move if you ask me. His aproach to overtaking someone isn’t really my cup of tea although I do enjoy watching him on other occasions.

    Meanwhile Hamilton drove a normal race, nothing spectacular for him, Rosberg was again not fast enough. Leaves me with the choice of two men who did nothing wrong all weekend being Perez and Vettel. All votes for these two I can understand.

    1. Kvyat’s moves on the guys, especially Massa was heart to mouth stuff. It was so exhilarating to watch. And unbelievably he kept it on track.

    2. I think the reason why Verstappen’s overtakes look dodgy to many is because he goes for it in places where nobody would. When you compare one of his overtakes to those of others, you think, ‘wow, he went off the track, went a bit deep, etc.’

      But I think you should realize that an other driver in his stead would have probably not even gone for it. So the comparison is not “his maneuvers vs other maneuvers” but rather, “his maneuver vs no maneuver at all”.

      Of course if you make a pass stick in a place were other people would simply follow the other car until their tires wear off, it’s gonna look a bit dodgy and risky. What I like about Verstappen is that he doesn’t wait for the easy DRS pass. How many times do we see a driver who is quicker that the guy in front but just can’t pass (that’s the reason they introduced the DRS). I don’t remember Verstappen ever getting stuck behind someone (although he probable has been).

    3. “Driver of the weekend mate” Vet was not good except the race. Hamilton in qually was ridicolous and was good in the race. He was better than Vet this weekend. Lets be honest Vet had to do something unusual how rare do drivers do 1 stp and actually pull it off they are usually under threat. Vet does 2 stops he is nowhere near the podium. Im sure people look at Hams gap in race and thnk not impressive but they should look at the pace before the 2nd stop when he could rexxtend his lead at will. So many times Ham loses seconds to Ros after a stop. He clearly does not take too much from tyre. Yesterday Rosberg did not suddenly find seconds adv.

    4. Vettel made a mistake on his quali lap.

    5. Vettel was simply terrible in qualifying. It’s driver of the weekend, not the race.

      1. Terrible in quali? Wow. You must have a chip on your shoulder. rofl. He attracts the craziest anti-fans.

  24. Grosjean for me, but given he’s likely to scoop this one, and Hamilton’s 2nd place is also sure (and rightful), I give my vote to Perez to even out the odds between him and Verstappen and Vettel, currently also on 8%. Verstappen, in my eyes, threw the vote away with him cracking under pressure in the last lap, while Vettel made a mistake in qualifying. Perez, however, did not put a foot wrong all weekend.

  25. Vettel.

  26. Max Verstappen. Exactly the type of driver F1 can use.

  27. Verstappen, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Perez and Hamilton did all really well. I voted for Ricciardo. Red Bull’s pace and his in particulair surpriced me alot.

  28. Hammy, for that ultramagnificient pole lap and controlled race. Domination at it’s best.

  29. Kvyat had a standout performance aswell, he was passing cars for fun at the end. Overtakes 3-time grand prix winner and team-mate Ricciardo in the drivers’ standing. Following Hungary, that’s a fair amount of great results for the team.

  30. Voted for Vettel. I don’t think he was the driver of the weekend, but it was a brilliant drive on Sunday to put himself into a podium position in that Ferrari. On much older tires against a faster Lotus, Vettel defended brilliantly on the Kemmel straight. If the tire does fail, he gets 3rd in a car that didn’t deserve to be 3rd.

    That was a drive that was “Alonso-esque” getting more out of the car that what the car should be able to give. Chapeau.

  31. I’ve not voted for the guy who swept the weekend on occasion, perhaps because of a fumbled pit stop, or some ragged driving, or clumsy mistakes… But this weekend, Hamilton was simply untouchable.

    Hamilton showed up determined to improve, and mastered a track that until now, has been somewhat elusive for him in dry weather conditions.

    Nobody, including Rosberg, had an answer for him in the middle section, and his launch was flawless– if there was any fault to his race, it was going through Eau Rouge on lap one, which he rapidly recovered from.

    He’s driving like a world champion, in the championship winning car. He’s not going to get much competition right now.

    1. “He’s driving in a championship winning car”

      FTFY

  32. Went for Grosjean, brilliant stuff from him.
    Honoroble mention do Hamilton, perfect weekend.
    Vettel did well on the race, but failed in quali.

  33. Voted for Grosjean. Ultimately did the best he and his car could in both qualifying and the race. Verstappen and Perez did very well too, but with the race going the way it did, they ended up where I expected them.

    Vettel had a good race, but qualifying was an odd off beat lap from him in the end.

  34. My driver of the weekend was Grosjean.

    I thought Grosjean was impressive on both Saturday and Sunday when he ended up best of the rest behind the Mercedes for his first podium since 2013.

    Second would be Hamilton, quickest in qualifying yet again to get another pole and after a trouble free start he controlled the race to take the win.

    Perez was my third choice but it was close between him and Hamilton for second. It seems that Perez has been overshadowed by his teammate in recent races but this weekend it was Perez who impressed with good performances in both qualifying and the race.

    Verstappen also deserves a mention he was hampered by reliability problems in qualifying but put in another notable performance in the race.

  35. My vote goes on Grosjean, impressive 3rd, after handing him third place thanks to Ferrari’s tyre explosion. Yet it was USA GP 2013 he got his podium there but right now he’s back in form. Now I wonder if Maldonado would finish on podium too, I don’t think so. Even for Grosjean, I’m so happy for him. He deserves the driver of the weekend and top job for him!

  36. geoffgroom44 (@)
    24th August 2015, 20:52

    There were quite a few noteworthy drivers: Grosjean (who I had previously disliked) put in a good performance, I continue to be impressed,also, by the young Verstappen.
    However, modern F1 is not simply a measure of a driver’s racing skills, it is also a measure of the driver’s strategy and management skills. It is,nowadays, much more than simply ‘drive like hell’ and hope for the best.

    For this reason my vote goes to Lewis Hamilton.Yes, he dominated the race.Yes, some folks might find that unexciting.However, to observe the subtle and highly skilled ways in which he responded to such challenges as there were was a reminder of what champions are all about.

  37. Hamilton, because, I didn’t have better idea.

  38. Tough choice between Kvyat and Grosjean, but eventualy I picked Kvyat for his breathtaking moves before les Combes.
    Too bad Ricciardo retired, he looked even better…

  39. Really pleased for Grosjean and he deserved DOTW. Special mentions to Kyvat, Hamilton and Verstappen. Fantastic to see Verstappen with his daring overtaking, reminds me of a young Lewis back in the day when he would overtake in places no-one would. Good on him!

  40. A lot of drivers were impressive this weekend; Hamilton, Vettel, Perez, and Kvyat. Verstappen was impressive during the race, but Sainz greased him for qualifying. My pick is easily Grosjean, however. He continued to dominate Maldonado in every metric as he has done since the supposed qualifying ace became his team mate, and showed the same sort of form he displayed during the closing half of 2013. Indeed, watching a Lotus chasing down a Ferrari today may very well be even more outstanding than watching a Lotus keep up with a Red Bull two years ago.

    The podium was a humble reward for a skilled driver carrying a team by himself for almost two years, but I would have picked him even if Vettel hadn’t suffered a last minute blow out. Great stuff.

  41. Romain Grosjean DOTD. Was a standout this weekend and congrats to him for his 3rd place podium.

  42. I vote for Max verstappen, because he really deserved those 4 points! Max is always going for the Max, I love it!!!!

  43. It has to be between Hamilton, Grosjean, Perez and Kvyat. I cannot really understand why Verstappen, he got schooled by Sainz in qualy, dont think he deserves a DOTW vote.

    Out of the 4 candidates, it was Perez who did not do a single mistake during the weekend, pulled out a great lap in Q2 (and improved it in Q3), had a superb start (he is after all one of the best starters of F1), and managed to race with great craft a struggling car with tire degradation, also much slower than the Lotus and RB. Regardless he defended well and scored a P5. I have not seen the Hulk performing at this level with FI this year so far…

    Perez my choice!

    1. Jelle van der Meer
      25th August 2015, 8:44

      You obviously have not watched qualifying or bothered to read further than just the qualifying results. How did Sainz schooled Max?? Because Sainz started 10th on the grid and Max 18th? Did you realize both made it into Q2 and then Max didn’t run due to engine problems, on top of that Max had a 10 place grid penalty due to engine change.

      There are few weekends where DOTW is so clear, obviously it is Grosjean he performed well in qualifying and in the race. In terms of runners up I would say Kvyat and Max as yes Hamilton won, had pole and lead all laps but in the Mercedes and no pressure from Rosberg and Perez qualified well but in the race he lost places and not sure if he even overtook folks.

    2. Got schooled?
      He suffered issues with the Renault engine again in Q1.

      Hamilton was superior this weekend, outstanding Qualy and Race pace. so got my vote.
      If Verstappen completed the overtake of Raikonnen succesfully, he had my vote, but that tiny error in miscalculating the loss of dragg from Massa makes him not my DOTW.

      Mentions to Outstanding performance from Perez and Kvyat!

  44. I vote for Max!

    Amazing how he came back from P18 to to P8 and still kept on fighting for P7 with Kimi in the last round. And ofcourse his overtake action on Nasr at Blanchimant.
    Formula1 is back alive with Max!

    #GoMax

  45. Max verstappen. Gained the most positions during race, exciting manoeuvre on Nasr and almost P6 if not suprised by a slower Massa (tires) than anticipated during clean and rapid take over P7 on Raikonnen. Able to adjust on Massa and kept racingpace.

  46. Definitely Verstappen ! It was exciting to see him race and overtake ! From 18th to 8th says it all !

  47. ColdFly F1 (@)
    25th August 2015, 9:05

    I actually liked this race (scored it 8/10) and saw some good racing by various drivers. 4 could be DOTW.
    Hamilton – very solid weekend, and superb Sunday, and earliest pole position trophy winner ever ;)
    Grosjean – both he and the team deserved it, and Grossjean drove a very good Sunday.
    Verstappen – has to be on the list as he always shows us that overtaking does not need DRS, or being afraid of the big names.
    Perez – the only driver who was able to pass Hamilton on track during the race – well done.

  48. I voet for Max Verstappen to start at 18 and finish at the 8th almost 7….for such a young man wat an accomplishment.

  49. As Kvyat’s fan I would love to vote for him as I did enjoy his race. However, I have to be consistent and since he flopped on Saturday that rules him out. Grosjean it is then. He did well.

  50. Grosjean all the way.

    Honorable mention to Perez; per the driver notes he was so fast he passed himself :)

  51. Verstappen for me! He is pushing beyond limits on so many levels it’s uncomfortable for many!

  52. If it weren’t for his over-enthusiasm on the very last lap, it would be Verstappen for me as well.

  53. I wish I could vote for more than one :P

    1. Grosjean
    2. Verstappen
    3. Perez

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