Drama, penalties and controversy at Spa Francorchamps!
It was a most dramatic day in the Ardennes once again and this time the action extended beyond the chequered flag. Rain ahead of the 44-lap Belgian Grand Prix and then in the final stages of the race turned the 13th round of the world championship on its head and effectively ended Kimi Raikkonen’s championship hopes. Lewis Hamilton slithered across the line to record what was to be his ninth victory of his career. However, this being Formula One, there would be a few more twists and turns before nightfall at Spa Francorchamps and Felipe Massa was later handed the race win by the race stewards.
It was Raikkonen who made the best of the tricky conditions on the first lap to move from fourth position on the grid to take the race lead at the start of the second lap as pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton spun his McLaren Mercedes at La Source.
Raikkonen took control of the race but was unable to shake Hamilton with the gap fluctuating between two seconds and six seconds throughout the bulk of the race. The turning point - in terms of racing - came three laps from home as light rain began to fall and immediately Raikkonen was forced to back off allowing Hamilton to close right in and challenge for the lead into the final turn with just over two laps remaining.
Hamilton attempted the pass around the outside of the right-left turn – formerly the ‘bus stop’ - but with no room as Raikkonen took his normal racing line, Hamilton was forced off track before rejoining on the main straight. Not deterred, Hamilton pounced and made a clean pass on the Ferrari driver into La Source.
This is the move that would later cost the McLaren driver the race victory as it was determined that he had in fact gained an advantage over his Ferrari rival on the run to the first turn.
With the rains now falling harder and the race just a lap and a half from its conclusion, Hamilton and Raikkonen pushed as hard as they dared in the conditions but both were forced to take avoiding action as Nico Rosberg’s Williams Toyota spun and rejoined in front of them. Hamilton took to the grass and rejoined while Raikkonen had a quick spin before resuming.
Seconds later Raikkonen lost the Ferrari for a second and final time and spun into the retaining wall on the approach to the final turn. Hamilton slithered around the final lap to take the chequered flag ahead of Felipe Massa . It was a sensational final few laps of the race only soured by the post race penalties.
Massa started the race from the front row of the grid but was not able to challenge leaders Hamilton and Raikkonen, but with the latter sliding into retirement on the penultimate lap and Hamilton being given a 25 second time penalty post race, the Brazilian was able to pick up ten points and keep his championship challenge on track.
Third position on track fell to Nick Heidfeld and BMW Sauber after they opted to pit ahead of the final lap and change to intermediate tyres in the tricky conditions. Lapping significantly faster than those who did not pit, Heidfeld cut through the pack to take the flag in third position, just 24 seconds behind Hamilton and 14 seconds behind Massa. Given another lap and Heidfeld could well have taken the race win. With the post-race adjustments, Heidfeld was declared the runner-up to Massa.
It was a similar situation for Fernando Alonso on the final lap as he finished in a strong fourth position for Renault beating the Toro Rosso Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel by a fraction of a second across the line to take the position.
Robert Kubica had a tough weekend in Belgium but will be relatively happy to at least pick up some points with sixth position ahead of Sebastien Bourdais who amazingly started the final lap in third position. In the wet conditions, there was no holding back those on the intermediate tyre but it remains to be seen how he lost position to Vettel and Kubica. With six points on the board, Toro Rosso Ferrari now move ahead of the struggling Honda team in the constructors’ championship.
Timo Glock finished in eighth position for Toyota but like Hamilton would later take a post-race penalty dropping him out of the points. It was a disappointing day for team-mate Jarno Trulli in the sister TF108. The Italian made a stunning getaway from the grid from 11th position, gaining more than half a dozen positions on the run to La Source. Sadly for the Toyota squad, Bourdais ran into the back of Trulli under braking and the Italian would suffer with handling issues for the remainder of the race.
Mark Webber finished ninth, eighth in the points, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen and there was some justice in that as the McLaren driver attempted a pass early in the race that sent Webber spinning down the order. Kovalainen, who made a dreadful start from third position on the grid, would serve a drive through penalty for his actions and then go off on the final lap at turn eight. Kovalainen now heads to Monza without adding to his points tally and sliding further down the points standings.
David Coulthard finished 11th in the second Red Bull Renault ahead of Nico Rosberg in the leading Williams. Adrian Sutil was 13th in his Force India Ferrari ahead of Kazuki Nakajima, Jenson Button, Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella. Rubens Barrichello retired from the race with a gearbox failure while Piquet spun off into the barriers early in the race.
For Raikkonen, his failure to finish effectively ends his title hopes making it a two-horse race heading to the Italian Grand Prix next weekend. That race has been made a whole lot closer with Massa being promoted winner of the Belgian Grand Prix. Hamilton still leads the championship but by just two points as the Ferrari team head home to Monza...
Earl ALEXANDER
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