Charles Leclerc dedicates first Formula One win to F2 driver who died at track

Charles Leclerc just held off Lewis Hamilton to win the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday, securing the first victory of his Formula One career and ending Ferrari’s long wait for a win.

Hamilton was within one second of Leclerc on the final lap, but the 21-year-old from Monaco held his nerve.

“He was catching very quickly so I had quite a bit of pressure,” Leclerc said after his win.

He dedicated it to French driver Anthoine Hubert, who died Saturday following a heavy crash during an F2 race held on the same track. Drivers paid their respects on Sunday.

Moments after winning, Leclerc pointed to the sky and then to Hubert’s name written on the side of his car.

Hamilton extended his championship lead because his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was third, finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

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Sept. 1, 2019

Ferrari had not won since former driver Kimi Raikkonen’s victory at the United States Grand Prix in October.

Vettel is 21 races without a win since last season’s Belgian Grand Prix as his miserable form continued.

Leclerc got away cleanly but Vettel was overtaken by Hamilton at the first turn before getting past Hamilton again.

Max Verstappen, winner of two of the past four races and a narrow second behind Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix, went out on Lap 1.

Tens of thousands of orange-clad Dutch fans watched in disappointment as Verstappen slid into the barriers, climbed out of his car and walked back to the garage.

The front left wheel of his Red Bull was damaged after contact with Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo, who started one place behind him on the grid in sixth. Verstappen finished in the top five of every other race this season and it was his first retirement since the Hungarian Grand Prix in July last year.

Raikkonen was fortunate to continue, considering the left side of his car lifted clean off the ground. But Renault driver Carlos Sainz Jr. had to abandon following an early collision.

The incidents caused the safety car to come out for four laps, and when the race restarted Vettel maintained his lead but with Hamilton starting to close on Vettel’s Ferrari.

Leclerc came in for his tire change exactly midway through the 44-lap race, putting Hamilton in front. But Mercedes called Hamilton in on the very next lap and made a slow stop of 3.6 seconds — which may ultimately have cost him the win.

Vettel obeyed team orders to let Leclerc go past him on Lap 27, and then twice held off Hamilton before Hamilton passed him on Lap 32 to take second place.

“I gave it absolutely everything,” Hamilton said. “It was a difficult race. I got as close as I could but maybe I needed another couple of laps.”