Hamilton wins Belgian GP in 200th race of F1 career

Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), Aug 27 (IANS) Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday, crossing the line first in a tight finish after completing 44 laps of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Starting from pole in the 200th GP of his career, the Briton snatched the 25 Championship points from rival Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, reports Efe.

"The team did a great job. Seb put a great fight on," said Hamilton after his victory.

Vettel finished a close second, followed by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari, and Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes.

The German driver, who narrowly missed out on a win on Sunday and who has just signed a new three-year contract with Ferrari, remains in the top spot in the Driver Standings, on 220 points.

Hamilton's win puts him just seven behind, on 213 points.

"It was really intense. I was waiting for Lewis to do a mistake but he didn't. I was too close at the restart," said Vettel after the race.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso of McLaren had to throw in the towel due to engine trouble, and Max Verstappen of Red Bull was also forced to pull out of the race early in his sixth retirement of the season.

And Sergio Perez of Force India lost a front tyre in a clash with teammate Esteban Ocon.

Hamilton made history during qualifying on Saturday when he secured the 68th pole of his F1 career, equalling the all-time record set by racing legend Michael Schumacher.

Prior to Sunday's race, Schumacher's son Mick took to the track in a 1994 Benetton for two honorary laps, making the 25th anniversary of his father's first win at the circuit.

While Mick races in the European F3, Schumacher has not competed since he was seriously injured in a 2013 skiing accident in the French Alps.