Lewis Hamilton holds off Sebastian Vettel to win Belgian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has won the Belgian Grand Prix after holding off a Sebastien Vettel fightback in the closing stages.

The Mercedes driver was two seconds ahead of his rival until a safety car came out with 13 laps remaining after a collision between Force India’s Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez.

That set up a nervy finish for Hamilton, with the gap down to just a second after the safety car went back in with Vettel on faster tyres.

Vettel set the fastest lap of the race just before the end with a 1:46.577 but Hamilton did just enough to finish 2.3 seconds ahead.

A mistake from Valterri Bottas let Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen through on lap 35 and the Mercedes driver never recovered to finish fifth.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo finished third with Raikkonen in fourth.

Fernando Alonso’s race ended early after a collision with Britain’s Jolyon Palmer, while Max Verstappen and Pascal Wehrlein had to retire early in the race after technical problems.

Hamilton’s win has reduced the gap at the top of the Championship table to just seven points.