Leclerc's 2019 Belgian win, dedicated to Anthoine Hubert

Charles Leclerc took the chequered flag first at Spa-Francorchamps on 1 September 2019. The weekend had been shaped by the death of Anthoine Hubert, and the race opened with a minute of silence.

Why did the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix feel so sombre?

Anthoine Hubert died in the Formula 2 feature race the day before, and the Grand Prix was run in his memory. A minute of silence was held before the start, and organisers arranged a standing ovation for lap 19, which matched the number on his car.

The podium reflected that mood. Leclerc, who had been close to Hubert, chose to give him the win, and the finishers celebrated in a notably muted way. Nobody sprayed champagne on the podium out of respect.

Leclerc dedicated the win to Anthoine Hubert, and the podium celebrated without champagne.

How did the grid look before the start?

Albon and Gasly had swapped seats: Albon moved into the Red Bull and Gasly went back to Toro Rosso. Several drivers started from the back for power unit and gearbox penalties, and Sainz took a 15-place grid penalty for power unit components.

Robert Kubica was outside the 107% limit in Q1 and was allowed to race at the stewards' discretion. He started from the pit lane after changing power unit components and a rear wing, so an extra five-place drop for a gearbox change made no difference. Nicholas Latifi drove for Williams in first practice in place of George Russell, and Marcus Ericsson travelled to Belgium in case Kimi Raikkonen could not race. Raikkonen, recovering from a leg injury picked up over the summer break, raced after all.

What went wrong at the start?

Carlos Sainz had a power failure and was slow to get away from the grid. At the first corner Kimi Raikkonen turned into the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, who had made a poor start, and Verstappen's car was left with suspension damage that sent him into the barriers at turn 4.

Hamilton had already attacked Vettel on the inside of turn 1 and pushed the Ferrari wide. Vettel got the place back on the straight after a poor run through turn 5, and Bottas settled into fourth behind Hamilton.

The collision brought out the safety car. Cars further back had to thread through the debris, and Lando Norris, who started 11th, moved into fifth, while Daniel Ricciardo was clipped at the rear by Lance Stroll. Sainz later stopped at the final chicane on his second lap, which kept the safety car out, and it was not called in until the start of lap 5.

Sainz and Raikkonen both pitted under the safety car, but both stops were slow. Sainz was suffering a power issue, and Raikkonen's crew failed to fasten the new front wing properly, so Raikkonen made another stop at the close of lap 2.

How did Vettel and Hamilton fight for second?

Vettel held second for much of the early race, helped by Ferrari's higher top speed on the straights, but Hamilton's Mercedes was stronger through the second sector. Hamilton did not pass him until lap 32, when he went into turn 7 past him.

Hamilton's radio messages to his engineer suggested he did not think Vettel was that quick, and he made several attempts on him before the first stops. The Mercedes trailed in the first and third sectors, where the main passing points were turn 7 and turn 19, so Hamilton closed on Vettel without finding the way past.

Who fought over the places behind the leaders?

Norris ran fifth early on and Romain Grosjean sixth, while Kevin Magnussen and Sergio Perez fought over seventh for several laps. That fight ended on lap 10, when Perez overtook Magnussen on the Kemmel straight, and Gasly and Stroll then went past the Haas.

The Haas dropped back quickly after that. Gasly passed Magnussen on the next lap, and Stroll did the same a lap later, so the midfield was reshuffled within three laps.

Why did pit-stop timing decide the order?

Gasly's early stop on lap 13 showed how strong the undercut could be, and Ferrari answered by pitting Vettel at the end of lap 15. Leclerc, Hamilton and Bottas, all on one-stop plans, stopped at the ends of laps 21, 22 and 23.

Hamilton lost a second in his stop to a slow left rear tyre and rejoined several seconds behind Leclerc. Vettel set a fastest lap on lap 17, and Leclerc set one on lap 23. Tyre wear was working against Vettel, and a second stop looked likely. Vettel pitted at the end of lap 33 for soft tyres and took the extra point for fastest lap on lap 36.

How did Albon recover from 17th on his Red Bull debut?

Albon started 17th after a grid penalty for exceeding his power unit quota. At the start he had to take evasive action around Sainz and lost a place, but he regained it almost at once, and he went on to finish fifth.

Albon stopped on lap 23, switching to soft tyres, and quietly gained places while the Mercedes and Ferrari duel played out at the front. He passed Gasly for ninth, tried and failed to pass Ricciardo at turn 10, then got by him at turn 11. On lap 38 he passed Kvyat at the start of the Kemmel straight to take seventh, more than ten seconds clear of the sixth-placed Perez.

How did the final laps decide the win?

Leclerc held off Hamilton over the final laps. Hamilton closed to less than one second on the last lap, but traffic slowed both drivers and he never got close enough to make a move.

Antonio Giovinazzi crashed into the wall at turn 12 as the leaders entered the second sector, which brought out yellow flags. Leclerc survived the last few corners to take the win, with Bottas third and Vettel fourth.

On the penultimate lap Albon closed on Perez at the final chicane, and the two drivers slowed so sharply at turn 1 that the move looked unusual. Perez kept his place, so Albon attacked with DRS after Raidillon and had to use the grass on the Kemmel straight to get past the Racing Point. The stewards looked into it after the race and took no further action.

It was a strong debut, made after swapping seats with Gasly for the weekend and despite losing a place at the start.

Race result highlights

Why does the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix still stand out?

Leclerc became the first Monegasque driver to win a Grand Prix, and his victory was the first maiden win at Spa since Michael Schumacher in 1992. It was also Ferrari's first win since Raikkonen at the 2018 United States Grand Prix.

Leclerc was the 39th winner for Ferrari, and Monaco became the 23rd nation to win a Formula One race. Bottas, third, claimed the last fastest lap of his career.

The day was shaped from the start by Hubert's death, and Leclerc chose to dedicate the victory to him. The podium's quiet celebration was a fitting response to a weekend that began in grief.