Sebastian Vettel says he managed his opening lap move to take the lead of the Belgian Grand Prix “perfectly”, having missed out 12 months ago.
Vettel shadowed Lewis Hamilton last year but was unable to overhaul the Briton, who deliberately backed off the throttle prior to Eau Rouge to deny Vettel a run.
Vettel again followed Hamilton this year and catapulted himself into the lead with a strong run through the opening corners on the first lap.
Vettel used that move as a platform for victory and was never headed thereafter as he reduced Hamilton’s advantage in the championship to 17 points.
“First lap, yeah, I had a great start and then I’m not sure Lewis saw me,” said Vettel.
“He pushed me quite far to the left, but I knew my chance would be later on, up the hill. I think I timed it quite well.
“Obviously last year I was always ending up short, so yeah, it seems like it was better this year.
“Timing is crucial and I managed that perfectly I thought but then the Force India came as well, so… But as soon as I was ahead I was quite relieved.
“Obviously with the safety car it was the other way round. So I thought ‘well, I got that done, and now I get the safety car’.
“But I had a very good re-start; I had a very good exit out of the first corner, kept it clean, it was tricky with the tail wind braking for the first turn.
“Lewis pushed very hard, especially in the first stint, towards the end he was very fast.
“In the second stint I could turn everything down a little bit and control the pace. But yeah, a great weekend.”
Vettel’s win at Spa-Francorchamps was Ferrari’s first victory at the circuit since 2009.
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