F1 2017: Hamilton cuts Vettel's championship lead with Belgian Grand Prix win

Given that the high-speed, 19-turn, 7.004 km Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps was expected to favour Mercedes AMG F1 and Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari running them close in the Belgian Grand Prix was encouraging for the Italian squad. However, running close doesn't equal a victory, and Hamilton got the all-important win today despite Ferrari's strategy of saving ultra-soft tyres in qualifying to use for the race.

Hamilton repelled Vettel's efforts to get at the lead of the race at the start and then at the restart following a safety car period with just ten laps left in the 44-lap race. 

Ferrari briefly tried to use Kimi Raikkonen to slow Hamilton down when Vettel made his first tyre stop. However, the Briton ended up using the tow from the Finn all the way through the run from the La Source hairpin and through Eau Rouge and Radillon. 

Hamilton passed Raikkonen and with the 2007 champion being given a ten second stop-and-go penalty, he ceased to be a factor in the race.

That left the door open for Red Bull-Renault's Daniel Ricciardo to grab a sensational podium by hanging with Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas and then jumping both Finns at the safety car restart.

With Max Verstappen retiring due to an engine failure in his Red Bull, the door was left open for a driver outside of the big three of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull to sneak into the top six.

Renault F1's Nico Hulkenberg made good use of the French manufacturer's improvements to do just that ahead of Haas F1's Romain Grosejan and Williams-Mercedes' Felipe Massa. Force India-Mercedes' Esteban Ocon was ninth and Toro Rosso-Renault's Carlos Sainz completed the top ten.

Vettel and Hamilton are now separated by just seven points heading to the Italian Grand Prix at the super-fast Autodromo Nazionale Monza, the fastest circuit on the F1 calendar. Mercedes' power and straight-line speed advantage are expected to give Hamilton the edge and he could emerge from the race - to be held on the 1st to 3rd September weekend - in the lead of the driver's world championship.