Charles Leclerc finally takes maiden race win in Belgium

Belgian GP

Leclerc finally takes maiden race win in Belgium

Third time's a charm!

Matthew Scott

Sunday 1 September 2019 16:39 Updated: 16:48

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Charles Leclerc clung on to secure his maiden Formula 1 race win at the Belgian Grand Prix despite a late charge from Lewis Hamilton.

Carrying tributes to former karting rival Anthoine Hubert, as all drivers did, Leclerc converted pole position to victory at the third time of asking after near-misses in Bahrain and Austria earlier this year, securing Ferrari's first win of 2019 in the process.

Having avoided the mechanical issues that hampered him in Sakhir, the late-race drama that saw Max Verstappen beat him in Spielberg almost threatened to make a return, but Hamilton just ran out of laps.

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Leclerc led from pole through much of the race and was the beneficiary of Ferrari team orders when Vettel had to let him through, having gained the lead after the pit-stops.

It represented a sharp turnaround after early-season form, which had seen Leclerc often ordered to help Vettel.

Leclerc had missed out on a podium in Hungary before the break when his tyres fell off, and it looked as through similar may happen when Hamilton suddenly closed the gap in the final laps.

A last-lap battle failed to materialise, though, allowing Leclerc to celebrate a breakthrough performance.

Valtteri Bottas joined them on the podium, with Sebastian Vettel fourth after questionable Ferrari strategy hampered his efforts, meaning his wait for a race win goes on, having last won here a year ago.

Hamilton extends his championship lead to 65 points over Bottas, with Verstappen's faint hopes likely being extinguished as he made contact with Kimi Raikkonen at Turn 1 and was deposited in the barriers before even making it to the orange-clad stand of fans bearing his name.

But the day belonged to Leclerc, who paid a warm tribute to Hubert after taking the chequered flag, saying over team radio: "My first victory in F1. This one is for Anthoine. It feels good, but difficult to enjoy a weekend like this."

Behind Vettel was Alexander Albon, who secured a career-best fifth place on his Red Bull debut from 17th place on the grid.

He was aided by Lando Norris breaking down on the last lap from fifth, while Antonio Giovinazzi also crashed on the final tour when set to finish ninth.

Sergio Perez was an impressive sixth for Racing Point ahead of Daniil Kvyat, Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly – a points-scorer following Red Bull demotion – and Nico Hulkenberg.