The 2017 Belgian Grand Prix is in the books and it was mostly a walk in the park for Lewis Hamilton as the Mercedes driver led start to finish with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel trailing close behind for the majority of the race. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo benefited from an error by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen – who incurred a 10-second penalty for ignoring a yellow caution – and claimed the third and final podium position.
The top points undoubtedly have to go to Hamilton, who won the race comfortably but still had to withstand a couple challenges to his lead and constant – albeit, moderately distant – pressure from Vettel throughout the race. Vettel takes home the runner-up points for maintaining as much pressure as he could during the entire race and Ricciardo gets the single point for third for deftly taking full advantage of Raikkonen’s mistake. Vettel still leads AutoSportsNation’s overall standings by a healthy 12-point margin over Hamilton.
The Pastor Maldonado Driving Award unquestionably goes to Sergio Perez, who tried to make a twice-baked potato out of his Force India teammate, Esteban Ocon, by squeezing him into the wall not once, but twice – with the second maneuver sending both cars into the pit with damage. With that buffoonery, Perez now takes control of the lead in the Maldonado Award rankings.
The Kimi Raikkonen “Leave Me Alone! I Know What I’m Doing!” Award goes to Ocon for his completely understandable immediate reaction to Perez’s second maneuver consisting of the delicate phrase – “What the f-k is wrong with that guy!?!”
The Bernie Ecclestone Doofus Moment Award must go to Force India for not adequately quelling the simmering feud between Perez and Ocon despite at least three previous in-race incidents between the duo.
The 2017 ASN Formula One Driver Rankings – After Belgian Grand Prix
1] Sebastian Vettel – 25 points
2] Lewis Hamilton – 13
3] Valtteri Bottas – 12
4] Daniel Ricciardo – six
5] Esteban Ocon – four
6] Fernando Alonso/Kimi Raikkonen – three
8] Sergio Perez/Stoffel Vandoorne – two
10] Romain Grosjean/Lance Stroll/Max Verstappen – one
2017 Pastor Maldonado Driving Award [after Belgian Grand Prix]
1] Perez – three points
2] Daniil Kvyat/Carlos Sainz, Jr. – two
4] Grosjean/Magnussen/Palmer/Vandoorne/Verstappen/Vettel – one
2017 Kimi Raikkonen “Leave Me Alone! I Know What I’m Doing” Award [after Belgian Grand Prix]
1] Alonso/Vettel – two points
3] Bottas/Jenson Button/Grosjean/Hamilton/Mercedes [Bottas pit]/Ocon/Red Bull [Verstappen pit]/Ricciardo – one
2017 Bernie Ecclestone Doofus Moment Award [after Belgian Grand Prix]
1] Bernie Ecclestone – three points
2] Australian Grand Prix officials/Bottas/British Grand Prix officials/Canadian Grand Prix officials/Force India/Goodwood Festival of Speed/Mercedes marketing/Stroll/Williams – one