Kimi Raikkonen dominated the 44-lap Belgian Grand Prix to record his third straight win at the classic Belgian venue. With Felipe Massa following home five seconds back to record a Ferrari one-two, the Italian team have wrapped up the 2007 constructors’ championship.
Starting from the pole position, Raikkonen was never seriously challenged but Massa at least kept the pressure on to the chequered flag. The result closes Raikkonen to within 13 points of championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
This weekend the McLaren Mercedes duo had no answer to the pace of Ferrari. Fernando Alonso finished a distant third with Hamilton ten seconds back in fourth position. The start of the Grand Prix saw Alonso and Hamilton run wheel to wheel exiting La Source and for a few seconds it seemed that Hamilton would try and go side-by-side through Eau Rouge.
Hamilton made the sensible decision and backed off and the order was set. Alonso’s third position moves him within two points of Hamilton with three races remaining.
Starting sixth, Nick Heidfeld got the jump on Nico Rosberg in the first round of pit stops and was able to finish in a lonely fifth position, half a minute behind Hamilton and 25 seconds ahead of Rosberg who again drove a fine race for the Williams Toyota team.
Mark Webber started and finished in seventh position, showing good race pace in the Red Bull Renault.
Team-mate David Coulthard’s RB3 suffered another hydraulics failure whilst running 12th.
he final point went to Heikki Kovalainen and Renault. The Finn, as expected, opted for a one stop strategy and despite massive pressure from Robert Kubica in the closing stages, held on to continue his run of top eight results. Giancarlo Fisichella did not have such a good day and retired at the end of the first lap after going off track and damaging his suspension. The Italian veteran had started the race from the pit lane in the spare Renault.
Kubica fought hard race-long and will be disappointed not to score a point. Starting 14th he made progress early on but could not find a way to get ahead of Kovalainen in the closing stages.
Toyota had hoped to score some much-needed points in Belgium with Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher starting eighth and tenth. As is often the case, Trulli slipped back on the first lap and was unable to regain the ground. Schumacher finished tenth, 15 seconds clear of Trulli.
Tonio Liuzzi finished 12th for Toro Rosso Ferrari while team-mate Sebastian Vettel was an early retirement with a mechanical issue. Rubens Barrichello took the flag 13th for Honda while a hydraulics issue eliminated team-mate Button. Adrian Sutil ran 12th early on in the race in his Spyker Ferrari and put in a fine drive on a two-stop strategy to finish 14th in what has been his strongest race for some time.
Super Aguri Honda expected a tough race and they got it with Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson finishing 15th and 16th ahead of Sakon Yamamoto in the second Spyker.
Alex Wurz was one of five retirements in his Williams Toyota and at a time when he needed a strong showing, his race was a disaster. Starting 15th the Austrian veteran spun to the back of the field and then later on had another off track moment before retiring from the event. With Rosberg showing so well, Wurz will be leaving Spa Francorchamps feeling the pressure.
So a red-wash in a less than thrilling Grand Prix. The title battle is closing up nicely however as the teams get ready for a trip to Fuji Speedway in two weeks…
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
1. K.Raikkonen
2. F.Massa
3. F.Alonso