Part 1: Belgian Grand Prix – 1 race, 24 different reactions!
With Formula One being a competitive sport with relative performance measures, it wasn’t a surprise hearing unique, individualistic reviews of the 24 drivers involved.
McLaren Mercedes
Race winner, Lewis Hamilton was ecstatic after recording a victory in what he perceives as one of the trickiest tracks in the formula one calendar. The British driver was also grateful for a 100 percent score especially after a ‘Did Not Finish’ in Hungry. The McLaren Mercedes driver also thanked his good fortune after going wide on turn 8 and rejoining the track still in front. He was also sorry for his team-mate who was unable to finish the race.
Jenson Button unfortunately did not have the luxury of ‘living in the moment’ unlike his McLaren Mercedes compatriot. Button made a very good start, making it a McLaren 1-2 in the earlier stages of the race and weighed up his chances considering how well his McLaren was performing before the incident with Vettel. He was doing a fine job, soaking in all the pressure from pursuing traffic while nursing a slightly damaged front wing. It was good to see the McLaren driver being sensible about it as he admitted that he didn’t feel that the Red Bull Racing driver didn’t do it on purpose. However, he did see it as an unusual and potentially risky over-taking maneuver considering the weather conditions and the wet patches on the track. Button concluded that despite it being a massive blow to his bid for successfully defending his title, he’s looking forward to Monza; a track he rates highly.
Red Bull Racing
Second placed Mark Webber admitted that his start was a ‘mess’. The Red Bull got off to a terrible start after qualifying at the first spot in qualifying. However, owing to his slow start, the number of retirements, the weather conditions and the demanding nature of Spa - the Aussie considered second place as a good result. He was also able to see the lighter side, commenting on how the top three drivers in qualifying finished on the podium despite periodic juggling for places on the track.
A crestfallen Sebastian Vettel was trying to come to terms with reality as he commented that the race was a thing of the past and undoing the past isn’t in his control. He was sorry for Jenson Button and like him, is trying to put this race behind him and look forward to the next races.
Renault
Renault has been labeled as ‘best of the rest’ by many formula one pundits. Finishing Spa on the podium was a top, top result for the team and Robert Kubica. The fact that little was expected of them against any of the big boys made the podium finish all the more sweet. The Renault driver did recognize his momentary distraction that caused him to collide with some of the mechanics – nobody was hurt fortunately – but Kubica lost second spot to Mark Webber. The Polish driver concluded that on a track where it was very easy to make a mistake, being able to maintain his position from then onwards is a little victory in itself.
Vitaly Petrov, the second Renault driver had started the race on the back-end of the grid but was still able to finish in a hard fought ninth. The gamble with the extended stay on slicks was what helped him most, making up a lot of places in the process suggested Petrov. The driver was relatively happy with the f-ducts this weekend and conceded that it really helped him in his battle with Rosberg and sees a bright future for the Renault F1 team.
Ferrari
Felipe Massa of the Ferrari F1 team had no qualms in admitting that Red Bull and McLaren were stronger than the Ferraris this weekend but commended the Ferrari camp for their team work. Qualifying sixth and finishing fourth was deemed as a positive result by the Brazilian. Massa commented that their setup was more suited to the dry weather conditions, probably why the Ferrari struggled in the middle sector during wet conditions. However, with Monza being a home race, this season’s Ferrari number 2 wants to do well on a track where speed and stability under braking is essential.
Fernando Alonso called it ‘the first of the seven finals’ and conceded that he and the team will have to make up for lost ground in the remaining six races. The Spaniard had a promising start, as he sling-shot into 8th place but received a setback when Rubens Barrichello could not control his car under braking and crashed into the scarlet Ferrari. Alonso admitted that the team’s gamble to go for intermediates – expecting persistent and harder rain - did not quite pay off. Following his performance in rainy P2, the Ferrari driver was hoping for rain but it came all too late to be of much use, on the contrary it further hampered overtaking – it was the rainy conditions that led to his downfall as he went over a kerb which prematurely ended his race. The upbeat Spaniard admitted that despite what he would have scored potentially not being enough as compared to title rivals, scoring a zero is a bad result in any sense of the game. “But it does not mean I have given up on my chances of winning," concluded an even more determined Fernando Alonso.
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