Spa Francorchamps, a phrase which is drenched in F1 history. Iconic? Yes. Historic? Yes. Exciting? Yes. Scenic setting? Yes. It has ALL the boxes ticked.
F1 returned from a 4 week break, and what a track to make its return. F1 fans were eagerly awaiting the end of the summer shut down, where teams closed their factories for 2 weeks, the time finally arrived and the heartache of F1 fans ended.
Check out my review of the whole Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix.
The weather for the weekend was as unpredictable as ever. But it was safe to say that Friday was wet.
FP1
The first practice session of Formula 1 for 4 weeks was a wash out, pure and simple. Similar to free practice sessions of the past, there was little action in the early stages.
In the first half of the 1 hour 30 minute session, just Kamui Kobayashi ventured out onto the saturated circuit to explore. Despite FOM graphics labelling him German, the Japanese driver ended the session on top with a time of 2m11.389. Pastor Maldonado, despite a scary moment at Eau Rouge, ended the session 5 tenths off the Sauber in 2nd. Both Toro Rosso drivers ended the session within 1.5 seconds off Kobayashi in 3rd and 4th, with Ricciardo leading Vergne.
Title challengers Webber, Vettel and Hamilton ended the wet session 5th, 9th and 15th respectively, with the other McLaren of Button finishing 16th. Despite the slippery conditions, the majority of the field completed laps into double figures.
Alonso completed 4 laps and finished the session in 22nd, 29 seconds off the pace, and Massa failed to complete a timed lap. He did experience an engine failure on the last of his 2 laps. Drivers struggled with brake locking, especially at Les Combes. There were many off track excursions during the 90 minutes of track time, but non resulted in a crash.
FP2
We all thought FP1 was bad, but the weather failed to clear up for the second 1 hour 30 minute session. In fact, it got worse. The fans were getting not only a soaking, but also a battering from strong winds and rain. Poor pit lane reporters dived for shelter as the heavens opened, and failed to stop.
There was a 48 minute wait before Rosberg took to the track for an installation lap. A few other cars followed, including Heikki Kovalainen who spun his Caterham. We all thought it would be a session with no timed laps set, the first since 2005's second practice session.
However, confusion rained at the end of the session when lap times started coming in. Many drivers had crossed the line, but had gone through the pit lane and back out. Whether they could be classified or not, Charles Pic topped the session with a time of 2m49.354. Just 10 drivers set a time, the gap from 1st to 10th being 23 seconds. All but 6 cars completed installation laps.
FP3
Conditions at the Spa circuit were heavy contrasts to Friday's running, with sunshine and blue sky lining the Ardennes forest. With the first chance to run in the dry, and qualifying looking to be held in similar conditions, the last hour of practice was packed.
Fernando Alonso managed to finish the session on top, after leading early on. After losing the top spot, he regained it in the low run stages at the end of the session, with a time of 1m48.542. Kimi Raikkonen, a 4 time winner at Spa, finished 2nd and was narrowly beaten by Alonso. Perez, Kobayashi and Button rounded out the top 5.
Webber and Vettel had mixed sessions to finish 7th and 9th. Meanwhile Hamilton ended the day down in 12th. He was 1 place behind Pastor Maldonado, Williams happy with their upgrades despite Senna finishing in 17th. Marussia briefly popped up at the top of the time sheets, Glock once lying 2nd in the table. However, they slipped to 19th and 20th by the sessions end. They were happy with their progress. Rosberg ended the session last, after pulling off the track early on with a suspected transmission or gearbox problem.
Qualifying
Starting at the front is essential to stay clear of the chaos at La Source, but fortunately Spa gives us a number of overtaking places. With the F1 break closing, F1 was back.
Q1
A dry qualifying session at Spa Francorchamps started with the 20 minutes of Q1. Drivers were slow to get out, but Pic started the time sheets up. By the half way point, Webber, Vettel and Raikkonen were yet to emerge from their pit garages.
A number of drivers struggled, Massa and Grosjean both running onto the AstroTurf. With half of the session gone, Perez leaded on a 1m49.642 ahead of Hamilton and Alonso, who was throwing the car round the corners.
Alonso soon surpassed that mark on a 1m49.401, with Hamilton also moving up. Button was complaining (again) about his car set-up, how we have missed the complaining. However he managed to put a tidy lap together, going top with 6 minutes left. Vettel put his first lap in to go provisionally 6th. The usual suspects were in the drop zone, with Schumacher also joining them momentarily.
By the time we saw the chequered flag, the time's were very different as drivers switched to the medium tyre compound. Maldonado managed to end the 20 minute session on top, with Button staying 2nd after not emerging on the softer tyre compound. Nico Rosberg was the one who faltered, finishing the session out in 18th. Kovalainen finished 19th, with Petrov, Glock, De La Rosa, Pic and Karthikeyan rounding out the drop zone.
Q2
Q2 was highly anticipated, this is where it got interesting. Perez was the first to set a time in the 15 minute session, on the softer tyre compound, with a 1m48.880. Mark Webber soon shaved 2 tenths off that, to go fastest. Alonso soon surpassed that to top the time sheets. McLaren fixed a small issue with Button's rear wing and were out to impress.
The times were tumbling as first Hamilton, and then Raikkonen moved ahead. Despite the long circuit length, the times were as close as ever. Jenson Button stunned, going top by 7 tenths of a second. A brief yellow flag went out as Senna half spun at Pouhon. A fair few drivers decided to sit in the garage, feeling confident.
As the time ticked away, drivers emerged on new tyres to take on the challenge of Spa yet again. Only Raikkonen and Button felt safe to stay in the pits, and rightly so for the Brit after that stunning lap time.
As the chequered flag fell, Perez closed the gap on Button to bring him out of the drop zone. However, that pushed Sebastian Vettel out. Vettel qualified 11th, Hulkenberg, Schumacher and Massa followed close behind. Vergne, Ricciardo and Senna rounded out the drop zone.
That qualification left Vettel in the danger zone for the first corner.
Q3
The last 10 minute session of qualifying heated up, without Vettel it was game on. There was an absence of a German driver in Q3, as all the Brits progressed to the last session. Button, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Grosjean and Maldonado emerged first on a 2 run strategy.
The first driver to put in a lap was Raikkonen with a 1m48.205. Hamilton and Grosjean pitted before they completed their lap times, but Button put in a cracking time to go top on a 1m47.686. Lewis abandoned his lap time after running wide at Rivage.
With just 3 minutes remaining, cars emerged to set their first times. Di Resta, Maldonado, Kobayashi and Alonso emerged to start their sole runs. Button and Raikkonen also emerged for their 2nd runs, with Grosjean and Hamilton also needing to set a time after abandoning their first runs. Kobayashi went 3 tenths behind Button's time, as did Maldonado. Di Resta failed to better Raikkonen's time. The latter failed to improve, as Grosjean went 5th and Webber then took him off that spot. Alonso then went 5th, as Button went faster again by 1 tenth. Hamilton only managed 7th, as Button set pole.
Jenson Button claimed his 1st pole position for the McLaren with a 1m.47.573. Kobayashi qualified a stunning 2nd, with Maldonado 3rd. Raikkonen and Perez were next up, ahead of Alonso, Webber and Hamilton. Grosjean and Di Resta rounded out the top 10. However, Webber has a 5 place penalty. However Maldonado was involved in controversy (as always) after being given a 3 place grid penalty for blocking Hulkenberg. Raikkonen narrowly avoided a penalty after he was put under investigation for cutting Eau Rouge.
Pos Driver Car Time Gap
1. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m47.573s
2. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m47.871s + 0.298s
3. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m47.893s + 0.320s**
4. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m48.205s + 0.632s
5. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m48.219s + 0.646s
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m48.313s + 0.740s
7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m48.392s + 0.819s***
8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m48.394s + 0.821s
9. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m48.538s + 0.965s
10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m48.890s + 1.317s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m48.993s Gap *
11. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m49.722s + 0.472s
12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m49.362s + 0.112s
13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m49.742s + 0.492s
14. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m49.588s + 0.338s
15. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m49.763s + 0.513s
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m49.572s + 0.322s
17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m49.958s + 0.708s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m50.126s Gap **
18. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m50.181s + 1.188s***
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m51.739s + 2.746s
20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m51.967s + 2.974s
21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m52.336s + 3.343s
22. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m53.030s + 4.037s
23. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m53.493s + 4.500s
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m54.989s + 5.996s
107 per cent time: 1m56.622s ** 3 place penalty *** 5 place penalty
The Race
The stunning Spa Circuit was glowing under beaming sunshine, with no rain expected. Jenson Button performed well in qualifying, with a stunning last lap to extend his pole advantage. McLaren had split their strategy, with Hamilton running more downforce and regretting it immediately. Strong showing's from Sauber meant a good result was on the cards.
After 4 weeks of summer break, fans, drivers and teams alike were desperate for some F1 action, and Spa was the perfect place to come.
The rev's rose, the red lights came on and we were racing. Off the line, Button had a decent start but there was mayhem after Hamilton was pushed onto the grass. He collected Grosjean, Perez and Alonso, with no way of stopping. The safety car was obviously deployed with a graveyard of cars left at turn 1. Kobayashi, De La Rosa and Maldonado pitted at the end of lap 1.
On the replay, it showed Grosjean pushed Hamilton on to the grass. As Hamilton spun, Lewis pushed Grosjean over Perez as Grosjean was launched over Alonso. Hamilton then collected Kobayashi and also hit Alonso as he was spinning. Debris was spread across the track. It was clear that Maldonado's start was a jump. Behind the Safety Car the order was Button, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Di Resta, Schumacher, Ricciardo, Vergne, Senna and Webber. Kovalainen ran in 10th or Caterham after the mayhem.
The Safety Car came in at the end of lap 4 and Button got a good restart. A mixed field meant top drivers like Webber and Vettel were out of position. Cars swamped past the slow Kovalainen as Hulkenberg got past Raikkonen. Maldonado parked his car at Les Combes with no front wing. As lap 6 started, Button had a 3 second lead over Hulkenberg. Schumacher was also on the move, passing Di Resta for 4th.
The midfield battle was shaping up as Button extended his lead at the front. With DRS being enabled on lap 7, the fight was on. Kovalainen had a short and brief spin at the back of the pack, after dropping back from a stunning start.
Sebastian Vettel was shaping up Massa and passed him at the bus stop chicane, moving in to 10th place. The Red Bull drivers were being backed up behind Senna, but their slow straight line speed was hurting them. Vettel asked to be pitted as soon as a gap emerged on lap 9. He then barged his way past team mate Mark Webber at the bus stop chicane. Di Resta was passed by Daniel Ricciardo thanks to abit of DRS help on lap 10.
Schumacher was also on a charge, passing Kimi Raikkonen for 3rd place. Di Resta pitted on that same lap for a change of tyres. Raikkonen and Webber pitted a lap later, tyre wear slightly higher than expected. Ricciardo pitted on lap 13, as did Massa, with the new tyres showing a big boost in performance. The pit stop window was in full flow as Hulkenberg also pitted, emerging behind Raikkonen. Vettel finally passed Senna at the bus stop chicane.
Drama in the pit lane after Kovalainen was released into the path of a HRT, damaging the Caterham's nose cone. Rosberg was a sitting duck on old hard tyres, Ricciardo and Webber disposed of him in the same lap. A very competitive and aggressive looking Sebastian Vettel attempted to pass Michael Schumacher, but the 7 time world champion had to switch across to pit, leading to a close escape. On lap 20 the race leader, Button, pitted for the first time, a clock work 2.6 second stop.
Strategies were split across the field, with some attempting a 1 stop and some going for the 2 passes through the pit lane. On the turn 1 incident, Perez said "I was just on the braking for turn 1 and there was a big hit. We basically pay the mistake for 1 driver".
The second stops started with Webber on lap 28, with Raikkonen covering Hulkenberg. Raikkonen emerged behind Schumacher but was soon past him. However, with DRS help Michael was soon back past. Raikkonen got him back at Eay Rouge, a stunning pass which almost replicated Alonso and Webber from the previous year. Hulkenberg swept past the 91 GP race winner but Schumacher had the DRS and tactically moved ahead again on lap 35.
There was a brief yellow flag after Karthikeyan was spun into the barrier at Stavelot, reporting a breakage on the car. Mercedes switched Michael to a 2 stop strategy, dropping him down the field. The battle for the minor points heated up with 5 laps remaining. Senna dropped behind Vergne, struggling for tyres, but pitted before he could become the pray of Ricciardo and Di Resta.
With just a few laps remaining, Button was relaxed out front. Both he and Vettel managed to make a 1 stop strategy work, when others could not.
Jenson Button became the first driver to lead an F1 race from start to finish this season. After a hectic start and a safety car period, Jenson moved away from the fighting pack behind. He nursed his tyres to perfection and pulled off a tricky 1 stop strategy, to win by 14 seconds. Sebastian Vettel took 2nd place after starting from 10th, benefiting from a 1 stop strategy too.
Kimi Raikkonen was highly predicted to win, and moved up at the first turn. However, he reacted to the people around him and went for the 2 stop strategy. It did not pay off, leaving Lotus to score another podium, but missing out on that elusive win.
Hulkenberg showed strong form to finish 4th, after benefiting from the turn 1 mayhem. He was consistently fast and put did some strong overtakes, benefiting from a high top speed. Felipe Massa finished 5th for Ferrari, the sole scorer for the famous team. Mark Webber ended the day in 6th, after Red Bull split strategies. He still gained points on Alonso, but it was lower than expected. Schumacher ended the day wounded with a gearbox problem, but finished in the points like he promised on the grid.
Toro Rosso scored some welcome points, with Vergne in 8th and Ricciardo in 9th. They moved up on lap 1 and dropped back during the race, but a late charge leaped them into the points. Di Resta rounded out the points after a quiet race, slipping from his 4th spot early on.
Rosberg and Senna ended up just outside the points, as did Kobayashi after that contact at turn 1. Petrov ended a lap down in 14th, ahead of Glock and Pic who had a good mid race scrap. Kovalainen had a torrid day, ending it in 17th, ahead of De La Rosa. There were 6 retirements, including Karthikeyan, Maldonado, Hamilton and Alonso.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h29:08.530
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 13.624
3. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 25.334
4. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 27.843
5. Massa Ferrari + 29.845
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 31.244
7. Schumacher Mercedes + 53.374
8. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 58.865
9. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:02.982
10. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:03.783
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:05.111
12. Senna Williams-Renault + 1:11.529
13. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:56.119
14. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
15. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
16. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
17. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
18. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
19. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 30
20. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 5
21. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1
22. Alonso Ferrari + 1
23. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 1
24. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 1
Fastest lap: B Senna 1:52:822
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Check out my review of the whole Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix.
The weather for the weekend was as unpredictable as ever. But it was safe to say that Friday was wet.
FP1
The first practice session of Formula 1 for 4 weeks was a wash out, pure and simple. Similar to free practice sessions of the past, there was little action in the early stages.
In the first half of the 1 hour 30 minute session, just Kamui Kobayashi ventured out onto the saturated circuit to explore. Despite FOM graphics labelling him German, the Japanese driver ended the session on top with a time of 2m11.389. Pastor Maldonado, despite a scary moment at Eau Rouge, ended the session 5 tenths off the Sauber in 2nd. Both Toro Rosso drivers ended the session within 1.5 seconds off Kobayashi in 3rd and 4th, with Ricciardo leading Vergne.
Title challengers Webber, Vettel and Hamilton ended the wet session 5th, 9th and 15th respectively, with the other McLaren of Button finishing 16th. Despite the slippery conditions, the majority of the field completed laps into double figures.
Alonso completed 4 laps and finished the session in 22nd, 29 seconds off the pace, and Massa failed to complete a timed lap. He did experience an engine failure on the last of his 2 laps. Drivers struggled with brake locking, especially at Les Combes. There were many off track excursions during the 90 minutes of track time, but non resulted in a crash.
FP2
We all thought FP1 was bad, but the weather failed to clear up for the second 1 hour 30 minute session. In fact, it got worse. The fans were getting not only a soaking, but also a battering from strong winds and rain. Poor pit lane reporters dived for shelter as the heavens opened, and failed to stop.
There was a 48 minute wait before Rosberg took to the track for an installation lap. A few other cars followed, including Heikki Kovalainen who spun his Caterham. We all thought it would be a session with no timed laps set, the first since 2005's second practice session.
However, confusion rained at the end of the session when lap times started coming in. Many drivers had crossed the line, but had gone through the pit lane and back out. Whether they could be classified or not, Charles Pic topped the session with a time of 2m49.354. Just 10 drivers set a time, the gap from 1st to 10th being 23 seconds. All but 6 cars completed installation laps.
FP3
Conditions at the Spa circuit were heavy contrasts to Friday's running, with sunshine and blue sky lining the Ardennes forest. With the first chance to run in the dry, and qualifying looking to be held in similar conditions, the last hour of practice was packed.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Fernando Alonso managed to finish the session on top, after leading early on. After losing the top spot, he regained it in the low run stages at the end of the session, with a time of 1m48.542. Kimi Raikkonen, a 4 time winner at Spa, finished 2nd and was narrowly beaten by Alonso. Perez, Kobayashi and Button rounded out the top 5.
Webber and Vettel had mixed sessions to finish 7th and 9th. Meanwhile Hamilton ended the day down in 12th. He was 1 place behind Pastor Maldonado, Williams happy with their upgrades despite Senna finishing in 17th. Marussia briefly popped up at the top of the time sheets, Glock once lying 2nd in the table. However, they slipped to 19th and 20th by the sessions end. They were happy with their progress. Rosberg ended the session last, after pulling off the track early on with a suspected transmission or gearbox problem.
Qualifying
Starting at the front is essential to stay clear of the chaos at La Source, but fortunately Spa gives us a number of overtaking places. With the F1 break closing, F1 was back.
Q1
A dry qualifying session at Spa Francorchamps started with the 20 minutes of Q1. Drivers were slow to get out, but Pic started the time sheets up. By the half way point, Webber, Vettel and Raikkonen were yet to emerge from their pit garages.
Alonso soon surpassed that mark on a 1m49.401, with Hamilton also moving up. Button was complaining (again) about his car set-up, how we have missed the complaining. However he managed to put a tidy lap together, going top with 6 minutes left. Vettel put his first lap in to go provisionally 6th. The usual suspects were in the drop zone, with Schumacher also joining them momentarily.
By the time we saw the chequered flag, the time's were very different as drivers switched to the medium tyre compound. Maldonado managed to end the 20 minute session on top, with Button staying 2nd after not emerging on the softer tyre compound. Nico Rosberg was the one who faltered, finishing the session out in 18th. Kovalainen finished 19th, with Petrov, Glock, De La Rosa, Pic and Karthikeyan rounding out the drop zone.
Q2
Q2 was highly anticipated, this is where it got interesting. Perez was the first to set a time in the 15 minute session, on the softer tyre compound, with a 1m48.880. Mark Webber soon shaved 2 tenths off that, to go fastest. Alonso soon surpassed that to top the time sheets. McLaren fixed a small issue with Button's rear wing and were out to impress.
The times were tumbling as first Hamilton, and then Raikkonen moved ahead. Despite the long circuit length, the times were as close as ever. Jenson Button stunned, going top by 7 tenths of a second. A brief yellow flag went out as Senna half spun at Pouhon. A fair few drivers decided to sit in the garage, feeling confident.
As the time ticked away, drivers emerged on new tyres to take on the challenge of Spa yet again. Only Raikkonen and Button felt safe to stay in the pits, and rightly so for the Brit after that stunning lap time.
As the chequered flag fell, Perez closed the gap on Button to bring him out of the drop zone. However, that pushed Sebastian Vettel out. Vettel qualified 11th, Hulkenberg, Schumacher and Massa followed close behind. Vergne, Ricciardo and Senna rounded out the drop zone.
That qualification left Vettel in the danger zone for the first corner.
Q3
The last 10 minute session of qualifying heated up, without Vettel it was game on. There was an absence of a German driver in Q3, as all the Brits progressed to the last session. Button, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Grosjean and Maldonado emerged first on a 2 run strategy.
The first driver to put in a lap was Raikkonen with a 1m48.205. Hamilton and Grosjean pitted before they completed their lap times, but Button put in a cracking time to go top on a 1m47.686. Lewis abandoned his lap time after running wide at Rivage.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Jenson Button claimed his 1st pole position for the McLaren with a 1m.47.573. Kobayashi qualified a stunning 2nd, with Maldonado 3rd. Raikkonen and Perez were next up, ahead of Alonso, Webber and Hamilton. Grosjean and Di Resta rounded out the top 10. However, Webber has a 5 place penalty. However Maldonado was involved in controversy (as always) after being given a 3 place grid penalty for blocking Hulkenberg. Raikkonen narrowly avoided a penalty after he was put under investigation for cutting Eau Rouge.
Pos Driver Car Time Gap
1. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m47.573s
2. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m47.871s + 0.298s
3. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m47.893s + 0.320s**
4. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m48.205s + 0.632s
5. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m48.219s + 0.646s
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m48.313s + 0.740s
7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m48.392s + 0.819s***
8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m48.394s + 0.821s
9. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m48.538s + 0.965s
10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m48.890s + 1.317s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m48.993s Gap *
11. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m49.722s + 0.472s
12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m49.362s + 0.112s
13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m49.742s + 0.492s
14. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m49.588s + 0.338s
15. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m49.763s + 0.513s
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m49.572s + 0.322s
17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m49.958s + 0.708s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m50.126s Gap **
18. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m50.181s + 1.188s***
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m51.739s + 2.746s
20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m51.967s + 2.974s
21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m52.336s + 3.343s
22. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m53.030s + 4.037s
23. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m53.493s + 4.500s
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m54.989s + 5.996s
107 per cent time: 1m56.622s ** 3 place penalty *** 5 place penalty
The Race
The stunning Spa Circuit was glowing under beaming sunshine, with no rain expected. Jenson Button performed well in qualifying, with a stunning last lap to extend his pole advantage. McLaren had split their strategy, with Hamilton running more downforce and regretting it immediately. Strong showing's from Sauber meant a good result was on the cards.
After 4 weeks of summer break, fans, drivers and teams alike were desperate for some F1 action, and Spa was the perfect place to come.
The rev's rose, the red lights came on and we were racing. Off the line, Button had a decent start but there was mayhem after Hamilton was pushed onto the grass. He collected Grosjean, Perez and Alonso, with no way of stopping. The safety car was obviously deployed with a graveyard of cars left at turn 1. Kobayashi, De La Rosa and Maldonado pitted at the end of lap 1.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
On the replay, it showed Grosjean pushed Hamilton on to the grass. As Hamilton spun, Lewis pushed Grosjean over Perez as Grosjean was launched over Alonso. Hamilton then collected Kobayashi and also hit Alonso as he was spinning. Debris was spread across the track. It was clear that Maldonado's start was a jump. Behind the Safety Car the order was Button, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Di Resta, Schumacher, Ricciardo, Vergne, Senna and Webber. Kovalainen ran in 10th or Caterham after the mayhem.
The Safety Car came in at the end of lap 4 and Button got a good restart. A mixed field meant top drivers like Webber and Vettel were out of position. Cars swamped past the slow Kovalainen as Hulkenberg got past Raikkonen. Maldonado parked his car at Les Combes with no front wing. As lap 6 started, Button had a 3 second lead over Hulkenberg. Schumacher was also on the move, passing Di Resta for 4th.
The midfield battle was shaping up as Button extended his lead at the front. With DRS being enabled on lap 7, the fight was on. Kovalainen had a short and brief spin at the back of the pack, after dropping back from a stunning start.
Sebastian Vettel was shaping up Massa and passed him at the bus stop chicane, moving in to 10th place. The Red Bull drivers were being backed up behind Senna, but their slow straight line speed was hurting them. Vettel asked to be pitted as soon as a gap emerged on lap 9. He then barged his way past team mate Mark Webber at the bus stop chicane. Di Resta was passed by Daniel Ricciardo thanks to abit of DRS help on lap 10.
Schumacher was also on a charge, passing Kimi Raikkonen for 3rd place. Di Resta pitted on that same lap for a change of tyres. Raikkonen and Webber pitted a lap later, tyre wear slightly higher than expected. Ricciardo pitted on lap 13, as did Massa, with the new tyres showing a big boost in performance. The pit stop window was in full flow as Hulkenberg also pitted, emerging behind Raikkonen. Vettel finally passed Senna at the bus stop chicane.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Strategies were split across the field, with some attempting a 1 stop and some going for the 2 passes through the pit lane. On the turn 1 incident, Perez said "I was just on the braking for turn 1 and there was a big hit. We basically pay the mistake for 1 driver".
The second stops started with Webber on lap 28, with Raikkonen covering Hulkenberg. Raikkonen emerged behind Schumacher but was soon past him. However, with DRS help Michael was soon back past. Raikkonen got him back at Eay Rouge, a stunning pass which almost replicated Alonso and Webber from the previous year. Hulkenberg swept past the 91 GP race winner but Schumacher had the DRS and tactically moved ahead again on lap 35.
There was a brief yellow flag after Karthikeyan was spun into the barrier at Stavelot, reporting a breakage on the car. Mercedes switched Michael to a 2 stop strategy, dropping him down the field. The battle for the minor points heated up with 5 laps remaining. Senna dropped behind Vergne, struggling for tyres, but pitted before he could become the pray of Ricciardo and Di Resta.
With just a few laps remaining, Button was relaxed out front. Both he and Vettel managed to make a 1 stop strategy work, when others could not.
Jenson Button wins the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Kimi Raikkonen was highly predicted to win, and moved up at the first turn. However, he reacted to the people around him and went for the 2 stop strategy. It did not pay off, leaving Lotus to score another podium, but missing out on that elusive win.
Hulkenberg showed strong form to finish 4th, after benefiting from the turn 1 mayhem. He was consistently fast and put did some strong overtakes, benefiting from a high top speed. Felipe Massa finished 5th for Ferrari, the sole scorer for the famous team. Mark Webber ended the day in 6th, after Red Bull split strategies. He still gained points on Alonso, but it was lower than expected. Schumacher ended the day wounded with a gearbox problem, but finished in the points like he promised on the grid.
Toro Rosso scored some welcome points, with Vergne in 8th and Ricciardo in 9th. They moved up on lap 1 and dropped back during the race, but a late charge leaped them into the points. Di Resta rounded out the points after a quiet race, slipping from his 4th spot early on.
Rosberg and Senna ended up just outside the points, as did Kobayashi after that contact at turn 1. Petrov ended a lap down in 14th, ahead of Glock and Pic who had a good mid race scrap. Kovalainen had a torrid day, ending it in 17th, ahead of De La Rosa. There were 6 retirements, including Karthikeyan, Maldonado, Hamilton and Alonso.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h29:08.530
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 13.624
3. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 25.334
4. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 27.843
5. Massa Ferrari + 29.845
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 31.244
7. Schumacher Mercedes + 53.374
8. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 58.865
9. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:02.982
10. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:03.783
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:05.111
12. Senna Williams-Renault + 1:11.529
13. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:56.119
14. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
15. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
16. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
17. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
18. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
19. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 30
20. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 5
21. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1
22. Alonso Ferrari + 1
23. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 1
24. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 1
Fastest lap: B Senna 1:52:822
1 comment:
Man that Mercedes has horrible reliability..
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