At the start of the classic Spa-Francorchamps Belgian GP five drivers were in serious contention for the driver's title; with three of those drivers failing to score points in the race, suddenly the smart money has swung to a two car race to the finish of the season and Championship glory.
A straight fight, between the masters of winning at McLaren, and the upstarts - Red Bull.
The circuit and the changeable weather conditions at Spa often conspire together to produce drama and excitement, and such was certainly served up in abundance. For race winner Lewis Hamilton and second placed Webber the drama played out with them in the heroic lead roles, Button was the victim, Alonso the exciting but ultimate letdown character and Sebastian Vettel the villain.
It is easy to forget that Lewis Hamilton holds the record as the youngest driver to win the title, and whilst the drive of Sunday was not error free, it was almost so, and it was brilliant and majestic. Hamilton on a bad day is very good, and on Sunday he had a great day and was phenomenal, deserving the win and to sit atop the table. Hamilton has now recorded 14 Grand Prix wins, remarkable in just his fourth season, and is now equal in the all time standings with former world champions Emerson Fittipaldi, Sir Jack Brabham and Graham Hill.
Mark Webber is not in the upper echelons of great drivers, (he is not in Alonso's or Hamilton's league). Nevertheless, the results this season speak for themselves and illustrated he is driving with great aplomb in 2010; he must know this year is his best hope of winning the championship and probably his last, and surprisingly he is managing to deal well with the pressure of his dream turning into a reality. Red Bull has produced the best car of the season, and such is compensating for the Australian's relative lesser skills, but credit to Webber in taking advantage of the cars performance, and his consistency. A great second place in Belgium keeps Webber as Hamilton's greatest threat for the title, and significantly for Webber, Red Bull who are desperate for their first championship win, are know likely to direct all the resource firepower to the teams 'number two driver', even though Vettel is the real star of the team. (The same may well happen at McLaren, with Hamilton the beneficiary).
The first corner at Spa is the famous La Source, it has a wide run off area, but drivers were warned that any advantaged gained using such would result in a penalty; the changes of incident increased the tension. However, it was not a crash but an incredibly poor start by pole sitter Webber that was the talking point, Webber dropping to a potentially disastrous sixth.
Hamilton who had qualified second and Kubica in third pulled ahead of the chasing Jenson Button. As the rain began to fall, a slippery track contributed in Barrichello running into the back of Alonso at the Bus Stop Chicane, ending the Brazilian's 300th race. The safety car deployment allowed for an early tyre change, but the leaders chose to continue on slicks. The rain eased and with the safety car returning to the pits after a couple of laps, Button and then Vettel passed Kubica. Alonso also was making great progress up the field, having started in a disappointing tenth place and having the Williams rear end him.
Button, in second, had damaged his car, and was failing back from Hamilton, but was keeping Vettel off. But on lap 15 disaster struck, as Vettel lost control when braking on the increasingly damp track and ran into the side of the Brit, causing Button's immediate retirement and causing probable fatal damage to Button's chances of retaining his driver's title. Vettel managed to lurch the Red Bull into the pits for a new wing, but was penalised shortly afterwards by the stewards with a drive though for causing an avoidable collision.
Webber was now in third behind Kubica and the clear leader Hamilton, Vettel in 14th place was however the fastest on the track, but following an incident with Tonio Liuzzi had to pit again for new tyres and was down to 20th place.
Near catastrophe struck as the rain began to fall again, Hamilton lost control at Rivage, but by a miracle missed the barriers and maintained his lead, coming into the pits immediately for a set of intermediate tyres. Kubica and Webber both followed, but the Polish driver made a mistake overshooting his box, allowing Webber to emerge from the pit lane in second place.
The safety car was required again on lap 39 when Alonso spun on the exit to Les Combes and the Ferrari was stranded in the middle of the track. Alonso's 2010 season is littered with bad luck and poor judgement and the beached Ferrari is perhaps indicative of his season, his changes of regaining the title seem lost.
Hamilton's victory put him three points ahead of Webber in the standings, and the pair have opened a sizable gap to the other contenders, Button Alonso and Vettel.
Robert Kubica's third place in the Renault was a fabulous result for him and the team. The Pole is highly regarded in the paddock and this result will further enhance his reputation.
Robert Kubica first lap in Belgium Grand Prix 2010
The cavalcade moves on to Monza, but not before the FIA World Council hearing on the Ferrari/Hockenheim team orders nonsense. Hopefully the FIA will not impose a points deduction on Ferrari and will announce that the ridiculous team orders rule be re-examined to enable the teams to operate in a more open and straight forward manor.
Spa always produces a great spectacle of racing and in 2010 it might well have indicated the drivers title winner will once again be British, but a German an Australian and a Spaniard are unlikely to give up the fight just yet.
Has your comment not appeared? Try waiting a moment and then refresh the page. If it still doesn't appear and you've checked your comment meets the terms of our comment policy then contact afterabc admin with the details of your comment so we can look into it.
If you wish to complain about a comment please contact the editor directly.
Leave a comment
