English
Nederlands
Español
Italiano
GPUpdate
Hamilton wins dramatic rain-affected Belgian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton has moved back into the championship lead by winning Sunday’s wet and drama-filled Belgian Grand Prix from Mark Webber. However, with Robert Kubica third, the three other championship contenders – Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso – all failed to score.
With impromptu rain showers having affected every Formula 1 session so far this weekend at Spa, more looked almost certain as the 2pm start time dawned on Sunday although less sure was at what time the first drops would fall; although there may have been sunshine, several dark clouds surrounded the longest circuit in the sport.
Mark Webber started from pole position, having equalled the overall total of Australian hero Alan Jones, although the Red Bull driver suffered a terrible getaway when his car’s anti-stall mode kicked in - this promoted Hamilton’s McLaren to the top spot from a front row grid slot.
Drops of rain then began to fall before even the first lap was completed, with all of the front-runners running wide into the Bus Stop Chicane. However, it was Rubens Barrichello’s Williams which was most out of control as the Brazilian slammed into the back of Alonso’s Ferrari; with the latter spun but amazingly continuing, the Paulista was out of his 300th F1 race and also forced the deployment of the Safety Car.
With the restart coming on Lap 4, Bruno Senna’s race was soon over after the Hispania man performed a complete 360-degree spin at Paul Frère Curve. For Alonso, a choice to run on Intermediate tyres after his early pit-stop proved to be disastrous, with the former double title winner losing much time by having to come back in for Slicks once the rain passed over.
The following laps features several exciting moves, not least Vettel passing Kubica for third at La Source – to run behind a McLaren 1-2 and begin to close on Button – and Vitaly Petrov sweeping around the outside of Nico Rosberg at Les Combes; a similar move by Michael Schumacher at Malmedy resulted in contact between the two Mercedes, though, and a damaged front wing which caused lost downforce and therefore slower lap times for the younger German.
With Alonso storming up to the midfield by passing, at one point, five cars in two laps, Vettel then lost control of his Red Bull under braking for the Bus Stop; having swung towards the barrier before spearing back right and into Button’s left sidepod, the World Champion was instantly removed from the race as Vettel pitted for repairs.
The move could prove to be a particularly telling one come the end of the season, with – not just Button retiring – but Vettel duly being handed a drive-through penalty for the lurid moment, sinking him down the pack.
However, another aggressive move at the same corner resulted in contact with Liuzzi and a left-rear puncture for Vettel at the end of Lap 25, before continuing and having to drive a full lap of the track prior to pitting.
With just over ten laps to go, another rain shower – much-anticipated by the teams – looked to be throwing one last roll of the Spa dice before the end of the race. Hamilton chose not to pit immediately and the decision looked to have proven catastrophic for the 2008 Champion as he ran into the Rivage Hairpin gravel trap on Lap 35; thankfully, for his sake, the Tewin man was able to rejoin before pitting with Kubica, Webber and Massa, when a pit box overshoot for the Pole gift-wrapped second place for the Australian.
A late-race decision by Red Bull to put full Wet tyres on Vettel’s car backfired, however, meaning this was just one last error in a race which featured a catalogue of mistakes for the German. Believing the rain would stay and having destroyed his first set, Sebastian pitted again although the shower did indeed abate.
Alonso’s afternoon came to a depressing end when the Spaniard rode over the slippery kerbs of Malmedy, lost control of the Ferrari and struck the inside barriers; with the car coming to rest in the middle of the circuit, the Safety Car was called out for a second and final time before a four-lap sprint to the chequered flag.
With Hamilton picking up his first anxious Spa win from Webber, Kubica and Massa – who lost time during the race as back-marker Heikki Kovalainen yielded under yellow flags – Adrian Sutil enjoyed a very strong fifth for Force India ahead of the Mercedes works cars of Rosberg and Schumacher, with the former having passed the latter at Les Combes and contact having been made once again.
Kamui Kobayashi and Petrov were also points-scorers for Sauber and Renault, respectively, although the second Sauber of Pedro de la Rosa ran wide at Stavelot and threw away his chances of the final point with just over two laps remaining; this allowed compatriot Jaime Alguersuari to finish tenth for Toro Rosso after successfully holding off the second Force India of Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Update from Spa:
Alguersuari loses point with 20-second penalty
- Full Belgian Grand Prix results
- Post-race feelings from winner Lewis Hamilton
The Italian Grand Prix at Monza - Round 14 of 19 in the 2010 championship - will be staged in a fortnight's time
Related
Series
Formula 1
Personalities
Lewis Hamilton
Teams
McLaren
Comments
More news
- 9 Feb 2012
- F1 Latest F1 photos: Jerez testing - Day 3
- F1 Senna: FW34 has potential
- F1 There's a lot to learn, says van der Garde
- F1 Bianchi ‘very sorry’ after crashing Force India
- F1 Vettel: Lots of grip loss due to restrictions
- F1 Jerez testing - Day 3 results
- F1 Rosberg quickest on Day 3 in Jerez
- F1 Bianchi's accident ends Force India’s day
- F1 There's a lot of work to do, says Massa
- F1 Häkkinen’s manager joins Hamilton’s company
- 7 Feb 2012
- F1 Button: Promising signs with new McLaren
- 4 Feb 2012
- F1 Turvey completes MP4-27 shakedown
- 3 Feb 2012
- F1 GPUpdate TV: McLaren launch and driver interviews
- 2 Feb 2012
- F1 GPUpdate TV: McLaren MP4-27 launch highlights
- 1 Feb 2012
- F1 F1 photos: McLaren launches MP4-27 in Woking
- F1 No Hamilton response to Sutil’s ‘coward’ comment
- F1 F1 photos: McLaren MP4-27 studio shoot
- F1 McLaren: No plans to make our own engines
- F1 Michael proud of McLaren ‘strength and depth’
- F1 McLaren unveils MP4-27 in Woking
- F1 McLaren prepares to launch new MP4-27
- 24 Jan 2012
- F1 Hamilton unable to attend Sutil court hearing
More news
Join our community
Photos
| Lewis Hamilton | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| More Lewis Hamilton photos | |||