Formula One: Hamilton wins the Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps
The drama at the Belgium Grand Prix this Sunday saw Lewis Hamilton gain top spot on the driver’s standings for the 2010 – 2011 Formula One season.
The British driver opted for a soft – hard – intermediate tyre strategy for the 44 lap race, finishing 1.5 seconds clear of second place Mark Webber followed by Robert Kubica of Renault.
However, the celebrations didn’t end there for Hamilton as the likes of Alonso, Button and Vettel adding no points to their credit at the end of the race. Vettel finished in 14th, 4 shy of any possible point scoring position while Alonso and Button retired from the race.
Fernando Alonso dominated Practice Sessions 1 and 2 but failed to get his cards right, as he managed to qualify at the bottom end of Q3. However, despite starting in 10th, the Spaniard was confident he could still push for a podium finish owing to Ferrari’s dominance on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the past. Things went downhill as early as lap 2 following a crash with Barichello and had to forgo any possible opportunity of a good early start by heading into the pits.
With the track drying off, the gamble with intermediaries didn’t pay off which meant another trip to the pits for slicks. Alonso’s determination was clear, as he was still pushing for a point scoring position despite earlier setbacks. However, after crashing into the sidewall on lap 38 and damaging his car’s front wing and suspension, there was virtually nothing that could be achieved from a stock-still car and the Ferrari driver finally had to accept defeat.
Button who started from 5th, made good inroads and climbed up to make it a McLaren 1-2 behind Hamilton. The promotion was short-lived as radio coverage suggested that there was minor damage to his front wing. With a struggling Button, third place Vettel was catching up rapidly. On the 17th lap, the reigning champion had to bid his race farewell after making contact with the Red Bull due to no fault of his own.
Vettel who occupied 3rd spot before crashing into Jenson Button not only had to dive back to the pits for a new front nose but also had to incur a drive-through penalty for the reckless move that cost the McLaren Mercedes driver the race. Having to drive aggressively to make up some time on the cars ahead of him, things got a little too close for comfort, as his rear tyre came into contact with Force India driver Liuzzi’s front wing. Vettel had to go the entire length of the track virtually limping on a punctured tyre and eventually was unable to get anywhere near a point after rejoining the race in 20th spot as he finished 14th in the end.
Webber’s second place means that he scores 7 points less than Hamilton, who got a ten-out-of-ten score with 25 points to his credit. This puts the 2007 champion three points ahead of Mark Webber in the driver standings.
The top five drivers: Lewis Hamilton 182 points – Mark Webber 179 points – Sebastian Vettel 151 points – Jenson Button 147 points – Fernando Alonso 141 points.
With Alonso, Button and Vettel unable to score any points, does this mean that it is effectively a two-horse race? The McLaren has been making good use of the F-ducts and thus has an advantage in straight line speed over the Red Bull. However, the gap may seem misleading to those used to the old F1 point system. The Race Winner now gets 25 points for a race, followed by 18 points for second and 15 for third. With six more races to go, wouldn’t it be rather naïve to assume that the top 2 stand little competition.
The Belgium Grand Prix saw many top drivers go away disappointed. Is it a long shot not to even consider that either Webber or Hamilton could suffer the same fate as the lower end of the top 5? The Italian Grand Prix is up next, the home team, Ferrari have a realistic shout to make-up ground in the constructors standings.
It is still a wide open championship and Formula One is an unpredictable sport!
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