You don’t have to ask whether the Belgian Grand Prix will be a good race or not like you do with many other circuits on the F1 calendar, you just know it will be. It always is. Any circuit as long as that, with so many corners, straights, twists, turns, uphills, downhills and not to mention unpredictable weather will always make for a fascinating Grand Prix and once against in 2010 all those elements played into this race and made it a classic. After surviving a late trip into the gravel when it began to rain, Lewis Hamilton clung onto a lead he took on the first lap to take the checkered flag and move back into the lead of the drivers championship standings.
I was unable to see qualifying this morning for one reason or another which may or may not be because I slept in after a long week at work and a lack of a decent nights sleep for the past number of weeks, but forget about that. So when I woke up this morning, reached for my phone and checked Twitter to see one of the many F1 people I follow to see who had gotten pole I read something about Lewis Hamilton being half a second faster than Button and a full second faster than everyone else. So, I got up and got on with my day under the assumption that Hamilton would be starting tomorrow from pole. Well, it’s 11.59 p.m. as I type this and I have just flicked up the BBC F1 website to read on any latest news from post-qualifying to see the headlines forcing their way out of my screen and into my confused eyes that Hamilton didn’t take pole; Championship leader Mark Webber did. Eah?
With the Belgian Grand Prix just a few days away, I thought I’d climb into the Delorian, spark up the flux-capacitor, speed up to 88 and zip back exactly ten years to the weekend of the 25/26/27 August 2000 and take a look at the Belgian Grand Prix which also happened to be the first ever Formula One race I attended.Read More»
Due to Formula One’s mega-tight copyright guff, the below YouTube clip might be gone before I even post this, but it’s worth a shot and what it shows is the incident on lap 66 of the Hungarian Grand Prix when Michael Schumacher almost ran Rubens Barrichello into the pit wall when the Brazilian was attempting to overtake the seven-time World Champion and former team-mate to Rubens.
I didn’t see qualifying this morning so there isn’t too much I can write about it other than to report the outcome but I have no doubt you didn’t come here to find out who went on pole, if you’re reading this and into your F1 you probably already know by now. Still, I should say something so I will say that Vettel ended on pole, Webber second, Hamilton third, Alonso forth, and Schumacher in 15th. Yes you read that right, the 1 was indeed meant to be in front of the 5. His team-mate outqualfied him in 12th but the story of this qualifying for me, isn’t that Red Bull are back on top after a one race absence, but rather the demise of the Mercedes car which instead of getting better, which many thought it might by mid-season, it is getting worse.
Vettel takes out Webber from the lead in dramatic fashion
When Webber put his car on pole there was the fear that the mighty Red Bull machine would pull clear at the start and ride off into the sunset because after all the last time anyone other than Webber lead a race was back in China. My fears of a procession proved to be unfounded though as the race threw up plenty of spills and drama that left us with a ton of talking points not least of all the collision between the two Red Bull cars when they seemed set to finish first and second.
For a while there was talk of rain and I was hoping it would come and spice up the race a little but as the time for the rain to start was put back further and further it turned out that the wet stuff would not be required to make it an interesting race … the Red Bull boys delivered the drama for us when Sebastian Vettel went up the inside of race leader and team-mate Mark Webber before preceded to turn into the side of him taking both drivers off the track. Vettel’s race ended at that point, Webber recovered to hang onto third place but while he tried to remain calm and orderly during the post-race press conference you could see in his eyes that he was absolutely furious and it would have been fun to be a fly on the wall of the Red Bull debrief sometime there after when Webber would confront Vettel.
The move infuriated me also … In my predictor pool I had Webber down for the win and Vettel’s moment of madness destroyed that. Still, the McLaren’s took full advantage and moved into the first/second spots which they would control for the rest of the race and as such move themselves to the top of the constructors standings. Once they took the first and second places the only question was who would come out the winner and when Jenson Button stormed round the outside of Hamilton out of nowhere it looked like the reigning World Champion might indeed spring the surprise. As he said himself after the race, he had to go for it, though Hamilton being Hamilton he was not going to bow so easily and so he kept tight to Button, kept on the inside and heading down into turn one was able to come past Button this time as both drivers touched wheels before Hamilton regained his lead. It was dramatic stuff but a display to Red Bull on how two team mates should race wheel-to-wheel. McLaren team principle, Martin Whitmarsh, must have been on the edge of his seat with fear as he watched his two drivers put on a fine display of overtaking racing. I’m not sure what was said in the radio’s but following this move both drivers were ordered to conserve fuel which was running low and so the dog-fight ended and the result was set. It’s certainly nice to see that team orders are not in place with either Red Bull or McLaren and that both teams are happy for their drivers to race, it’s just a shame only one team seemed capable of a clean fight. Still, a few collisions only add to the drama for us fans.
Perhaps Vettel is describing his own move as a little crazy
When both Red Bulls had collided it was Michael Schumacher driving in 5th that looked set to benefit almost as much as Hamilton … Webber looked like he might lose serious time with a damaged wing but managed to get in and get a repair and back out in 3rd before Schumacher could get in front of him. It was the closest the German legend has come to standing on the podium so far this season with his 4th place finish but he looked excellent in a car which is clearly slower than the two in front of him. McLaren and Red Bull look to be in a different class than the rest right now but lately Schumacher has been proving himself to be the best of the race as he kept his team-mate behind as well as the Ferrari’s and Renault’s. If only Mercedes could find a second or so per lap he would be right there mixing it with the other two and if he gets close to them on pace I feel race victories won’t be far behind. I said a few months ago that it would take Schumacher five or six races to get up to speed again after his three year absence … that has proven to be right, but now its just a matter of finding a car that allows him to compete rather than be the best of the rest.
The F1 circus moves to Canada next and I’ll have the pleasure of being there. Keep your eyes to the right of the site for plenty of Twitter updates from Montreal as I head up on the Thursday night for a weekends worth of car racing action as well as fun in and around that fine city. The F1 championship is nicely poised for me heading to Montreal … Webber leads the title with 93 points, Button is second on 88, Hamilton third on 84, Alonso forth on 79 with Vettel fifth on 78. Michael Schumacher is back in 9th with 34 but might be further up was it not for his demotion at Monaco two weeks ago. Look for him to climb the standings rapidly. Also Montreal will make for intriguing viewing as the two Red Bull boys take to the track side by side one again and Button looks to get the jump back on Hamilton in the fight for the Championship.
Button does what many didn’t think he could do and beats Hamilton – again
I hate to say I told you so… No, I love to say it. For all winter I heard people criticise Jenson Button for ever daring to sign for McLaren as World Champion and putting his title and his reputation on the line against F1 golden boy Lewis Hamilton, claiming that he would be beaten by Hamilton and struggle to get close to beating him to race wins. People called it a mistake and that he would have been much better taking a cosy drive at a team were he would be team leader and under less pressure. But now four races in Button has won two and is leading the drivers championship and I for one am delighted because I was quick to defend his move at the time and truly believed that the new regulations would play right into his hands. Button is one of the most intelligent drivers in the sport and proved it once against in China in all sorts of awkward conditions that required quick but correct decisions. More so though it was his smooth driving ability that set him apart from his rivals … he was able to manage his tyres better than the others, able to adapt to the changing conditions better and it kept him at the head of the race when it mattered and gave him a huge victory which he described as his best ever.
