<img title="Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the Belgian GP yesterday. Pic/AFP" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/aug/Lewis-Hamilton-two.jpg" alt="Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the Belgian GP yesterday. Pic/AFP" /> Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the Belgian GP yesterday. Pic/AFP
Lewis Hamilton soaked up the pressure from championship rival Sebastian Vettel to celebrate his 200th Formula One start with victory in yesterday&rsquo;s Belgian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver crossed the line 2.3 seconds ahead of his Ferrari rival with Red Bull&rsquo;s Daniel Ricciardo, who pulled off a spectacular overtaking move on two cars to vault into third, completing the podium.
Yesterday&rsquo;s win was the 58th of Hamilton&rsquo;s career and fifth this season and caps a weekend during which the Briton equalled the legendary Michael Schumacher&rsquo;s record haul of 68 pole positions with a dominant qualifying display.
It also allows him to close the gap to championship leader Vettel to seven points from 14 in the overall standings, with eight of 20 races still to run.
&ldquo;It's been a strong weekend for myself and the team,&rdquo; said Hamilton on the podium.
&ldquo;The team have done a great job and I'm really grateful for all the hard work. Sebastian put a great fight on but this is what I said I was coming to do so I did it.&rdquo;
The fast sweeps and long straights of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit were expected to play to Mercedes&rsquo; strengths but Ferrari put on a stronger challenge than many might have expected.
Vettel held on to second off the line and, never more than two seconds adrift of Hamilton, appeared to be able match the Mercedes for speed.
He came close to seizing the lead particularly after the safety car, which turned the closing stages of the race into a ten-lap sprint, going wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton into the Les Combes corner.
But Hamilton covered the move off after which Vettel&rsquo;s best chance lay in forcing the Briton into a mistake.
&ldquo;It was good fun,&rdquo; said Vettel, winner of four races this year.
&ldquo;It was really intense because every lap I was waiting for Lewis to do a mistake - he didn't - he was probably waiting for me to do a mistake - I didn&rsquo;t."
&ldquo;It was really intense. I was waiting for Lewis to do a mistake and he didn&rsquo;t. He was probably waiting for me to do a mistake, I didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth. The Finn got a good start getting the jump on Valtteri Bottas&rsquo; Mercedes. But a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for not slowing down for yellow warning flags dropped him back.
Bottas, the biggest loser in the three-car wheel-to-wheel battle that saw Ricciardo vault to third, finished fifth. Elevated to third by Raikkonen&rsquo;s penalty, the Finn found himself sandwiched between his compatriot and Ricciardo and was forced to take the escape road.
Nico Hulkenberg in the Renault finished sixth, ahead of Romain Grosjean in the Haas and Williams&rsquo; Felipe Massa.
Esteban Ocon salvaged points for Force India with ninth after twice colliding with team-mate Sergio Perez who was forced to retire. The second instance of contact, which resulted in front wing damage for Ocon and a punctured tyre for Perez, scattered debris across the track which prompted the deployment of the safety car.
Tensions between the pair, whose relationship is already frosty after two previous collisions, are sure to rise after yesterday&rsquo;s race, with Ocon erupting in an expletive-laden outburst in the heat of the moment over the car-to-pit radio.
Max Verstappen also endured a frustrating end to his race, his sixth retirement in ten races, after his Red Bull ground to a halt with an apparent engine problem.
The 19-year-old Dutchman, for whom the Belgian Grand Prix is like a home race, returned to the pits on the back of a scooter, shaking his head, much to the disappointment of his legions of orange-clad fans packing the grandstands.
Fernando Alonso, who had vaulted up to seventh at the start, also retired his McLaren. The Spaniard repeatedly expressed his frustration with its Honda engine&rsquo;s lack of power over the team radio.

Lewis Hamilton soaked up the pressure from championship rival Sebastian Vettel to celebrate his 200th Formula One start with victory in yesterday&rsquo;s Belgian Grand Prix

F1: Lewis Hamilton wins Belgian GP in his 200th race

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Lewis Hamilton soaked up the pressure from championship rival Sebastian Vettel to celebrate his 200th Formula One start with victory in yesterday&rsquo;s Belgian Grand Prix

F1: Lewis Hamilton wins Belgian GP in his 200th race

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F1: Lewis Hamilton wins Belgian GP in his 200th race

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