Daniel Ricciardo lifting his trophy on the winners’ podium.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo won the Belgian Grand Prix for Red Bull yesterday while Mercedes title rivals Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton provided the drama of the day by colliding on the second lap.

Hamilton failed to finish after fighting with a damaged car but Rosberg, booed by the crowd on the podium, finished second to extend his championship lead to 29 points with seven of the 19 races remaining.

The victory, on a surprisingly dry afternoon at a circuit famed for rapid changes in weather conditions, was Ricciardo’s second in succession and third of his first season with the reigning champions.

Finland’s Valtteri Bottas was third for Williams.

Ricciardo’s win was almost a sideshow to the major talking point, a further stirring up of already troubled waters at Mercedes.

The two team-mates had been expected to dominate the race after qualifying on the front row but the intense rivalry between them blew up in their face.

Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolf slammed the incident as ‘absolutely unacceptable’ and blamed Rosberg.

“Lap number two of a long race and a crash between two team-mates, we have often discussed the situation and it happened today,” he said.

“You don’t try to overtake with the knife between your teeth in lap number two and damage both cars.”

Hamilton reckoned Rosberg had done it on purpose.

“We just had a meeting about it and he basically said he did it on purpose. He said he did it on purpose,” repeated the Briton after the race.

“He said he could have avoided it. He basically said ‘I did it to prove a point’. And you don’t have to just rely on me, go and ask Toto (Wolff) and Paddy (Lowe) who are not happy with him as well,” said Hamilton.

“I was gobsmacked when I was listening to the meeting. You need to ask him what point he was trying to make.”

Hamilton had passed pole-sitter Rosberg at the start but his race was effectively over moments later when Rosberg tried to retake the lead in a misjudged move that could prove costly for Hamilton.

The German’s front wing made contact with Hamilton’s rear tyre and punctured it, leaving the Briton having to nurse his car back to the pits in a trail of tyre debris.

He rejoined a minute adrift of Rosberg. After complaining that he had no downforce and repeatedly asking the team to save the engine, the Briton was recalled to the pits five laps from the end.

Mercedes have been struggling to keep the peace between the team-mates and arrived at Spa after a controversy in Hungary in July, where a ‘team orders’ controversy left Rosberg aggrieved.

Hamilton had started last in that race and finished third, with Rosberg going from pole to fourth and complaining that his team-mate had not let him through.

Then, as happened yesterday, the team made clear their support for Hamilton and they will have their work cut out again in the days ahead.

“This is a decisive moment in the battle between the two of them and for the team. Lewis is very upset, we kept him out there for a long time with a damaged car. He will recover quickly. It is going to be handled,” said Wolff.

Rosberg has 220 points to Hamilton’s 191 with Ricciardo moving closer on 156.

Mercedes remain comfortably in front in the constructors’ standings with 411 points to Red Bull’s 254.

Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth for Ferrari, the first time he has beaten Spanish team-mate Fernando Alonso this season, with Vettel fifth.

GP result and standings

Note: Magnussen finished sixth but got a 20-second post-race penalty.

Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg, 1:50.511, lap 36.
Next race: Italian Grand Prix (Monza) – September 7.

Drivers: 1. Rosberg 220; 2. Hamilton 191; 3. Ricciardo 156; 4. Alonso 121; 5. Bottas 110; 6. Vettel 98; 7. Hulkenberg 70; 8. Button 68; 9. Massa 40; 10. Raikkonen 39; 11. Magnussen 37; 12. Perez 33; 13. Vergne 11; 14. Grosjean 8; 15. Kvyat 8; 16. Bianchi 2.

Constructors: 1. Mercedes 411; 2. Red Bull 254; 3. Ferrari 160; 4. Williams 150; 5. McLaren 105; 6. Force India 103; 7. Toro Rosso 19; 8. Lotus 8; 9. Marussia 2.