F1: Ricciardo wins Belgium GP

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo followed up on his superb win in Hungary by clinching victory in the Belgium Grand Prix Sunday, but it was again tensions within the Mercedes camp that made the headlines.

It was Red Bull’s 50th victory, but the race will perhaps best be remembered for a crash between World Championship leader Nico Rosberg and his teammate Lewis Hamilton.

The crash, which Mercedes immediately blamed on Rosberg, eventually led to Hamilton retiring from the race whilst Rosberg finished second.

Rosberg was later booed by the crowd whilst standing on the podium.

“Completely unacceptable,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told AFP after the race.

“That was just an unacceptable race. It is unbelievable. You should not crash into your teammate. Lap number two of a long race and a crash between two teammates, we have often discussed the situation and it happened today.

“You don’t try to overtake with the knife between your teeth in lap number two and damage both cars. This is a decisive moment in the battle between the two of them and for the team.

“Lewis is very upset, we kept him out there for a long time with a damaged car. He will recover quickly. It is going to be handled.”

Mercedes’s Niki Lauda also apologized to Hamilton over the incident, which has placed Rosberg in pole position to win his first World Championship.

Rosberg, however, didn’t see that he had done much wrong.

“I got a good run on Lewis and tried to go round the outside and we just touched in the end, unfortunately, and it hurt both of our races, but that’s just how it goes,” he said after the race.

“I have not seen it yet so it wouldn’t be good of me to comment on it, I will have a look at it and then speak about it. I was pretty confident we could get a one-two – we had good race speed, but unfortunately it didn’t work out for us today.”

Hamilton and Rosberg, both 29 years old, have known each other since their karting days, but this season’s battle on the track has strained their relationship off it.

Tensions have bubbled up all season, coming to a head in Monaco following a controversial qualifying session in which Rosberg retired denying Hamilton a chance to claim pole.

More recently, Hamilton ignored a team order to let his teammate overtake in Hungary.

And the row will no doubt overshadow another incredible race from the Australian Ricciardo.

“Back home, there is a huge following for F1, but this is almost as many Aussie flags as there was in Melbourne!” Ricciardo said after the race.

“So thanks so much. It is a bit different when you lead the race for that long, it’s more about composure and trying to keep steady.

“Once Nico went in I knew he would be quick at the end so I had to keep my pace up to stay ahead of him. When you are leading the first thing is you hope everything holds together, mechanically you hope everything gets you to the finish line but certainly when you are in the lead the chequered flag can’t come soon enough.”

Ricciardo has now won three out of six races in his debut Red Bull season.

Williams’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas finished third.

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