Lewis Hamilton will seek to cut Sebastian Vettel’s Drivers’ Championship lead at the Belgian Grand Prix today.
Mercedes driver Hamilton starts on pole after recording a record-equalling 68 top grid position in qualifying yesterday.
In doing so Hamilton matched Michael Schumacher’s haul of pole positions.
But behind him sits Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in second and the German will hope to get off to a quick start in Spa.
Valtteri Bottas starts third on the grid, with Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari fourth.
The Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo complete the third row.
Follow all the Belgian Grand Prix action LIVE below…
BELGIAN GRAND PRIX LIVE: Lewis Hamilton targets victory from pole
Belgian Grand Prix starting positions
12:02: Stoffel Vandoorne has decided to take a number of hits today, resulting in a 65-point grid place drop.
A number of gearbox changes means there’s plenty of change at the bottom of the grid.
Here’s how they line up: 1 Lewis Hamilton 2 Sebastian Vettel 3 Valtteri Bottas 4 Kimi Raikkonen 5 Max Verstappen
6 Daniel Ricciardo 7 Nico Hulkenberg 8 Sergio Perez 9 Esteban Ocon 10 Fernando Alonso
11 Romain Grosjean 12 Kevin Magnussen 13 Carlos Sainz 14 Lance Stroll 15 Jolyon Palmer
16 Felipe Massa 17 Marcus Ericsson 18 Pascal Wehrlein 19 Daniil Kvyat 20 Stoffel Vandoorne
Sebastian Vettel deal
11:57: It was a busy dar for Ferrari yesterday as Sebastian Vettel pledged his future to the team amid speculation he could join Mercedes.
“Ferrari announces that Scuderia Ferrari has extended its technical and racing agreement with driver Sebastian Vettel for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 racing seasons of the Formula One World Championship,” Ferrari announced.
The Italian team should be commended for getting that done and dusted.
The more rumours rumble on the worse it gets.
Fans stream into Spa
11:50: Fans were queuing up at Spa at 6am this morning to get into the circuit.
Plenty of supporters have camped over the long weekend to make sure they get the best spot.
It was packed for qualifying yesterday and this iconic track is likely to boast a full house today.
Spa circuit
11:14: Overtaking is one of the key characteristics of Spa – and that could save the Mercedes duo if they get stuck tactically.
It’s a long straight down to Turn 1 that Hamilton, leading from the start, will hope to get through without any trouble.
After that there is a huge run through the Eau Rouge wiggle and down to the Kemmel Straight.
That’s the distance out of the way and from then on its down to grip and driver nous to navigate through the 10 corners until a swooping bend and a chicane brings you back to the start.
The end of the Kemmel Straight requires a good bit of braking to slow down into the 90-degree right into Les Combes.
That is where we should hopefully see overtaking today.
Hamilton v Vettel
11:00: The Drivers’ Championship is firmly between Hamilton and Vettel now. Bottas and Raikkonen are battling for scraps.
Hamilton is 14 points off Vettel and the gap could well close today.
However, German Vettel will be hoping to snatch the lead from Hamilton in Turn 1.
The Ferrari driver has enjoyed some good starts off the grid this year, while Hamilton doesn’t always get that grip he needs.
Last time out in Hungary was a near-perfect race from Hamilton and he will want a repeat start in front of the Spa paddock.
Welcome
10:30: Welcome to our live coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton is the name of everyone’s lips (and the shortcut on my keyboard) for what should be a crashing race at Spa.
It’s pretty much Hamilton v Vettel today. So much better than the all-Mercedes Hamilton v Rosberg of last season.
Hamilton came third in Belgium in 2016 and three years ago retired.
The pole sitter will hope for a routine victory today and if he gets out of Turn 1 ahead of Vettel that will be a massive boost for his chances.