Spa: step by step

It was a thrilling, frantic and at times confusing Belgian Grand Prix as the 2010 season continued to deliver lots of dramatic action. Lets try and piece everything together...

The Start: First up, a few people were wondering about Felipe Massa after he apparently overshot his box. It seems that you can get away with this. Mark Webber did something similiar in Bahrain without penalty. What i do know is that the sensors for picking up jump starts are able to track cars even if they are not in the perfect position. For Webber it was a shocking start and he was quite lucky that he got going to be about 5th into turn 1 because he could have got caught in the midfield and that would have hurt his race even more. Meanwhile i was very impressed with Jenson Button and Robert Kubica who avoided contact at La Source and kept it clean just like the pair had done in Valencia. The top 4 stayed the same up to Les Combes but the slipstreaming between the cars was an spectatular sight

Rain (part 1): As the cars worked there way round to sector 3, Button was looking to pass Kubica but as he made his move at the bus stop they both followed Hamilton in goign straight on as the rain began to fall. Rubens Barrichello had a early finish to his 300th race, hitting Alonso hard. The Spaniard recovered to the pits and put on intermediate tyres. However the safety car came out on lap 2 so most drivers stayed out as they could survive the rainy spell at reduced speed. Alonso should have pitted on lap 2 but didn't and still stayed out on lap 3 even when it had stopped raining. Poor call from the Ferrari team.

Kubica/Vettel: As the drivers struggled up the hill, Kubica ran wide. Button passed and then Vettel tried but ran onto the grass. There was enough space for him though and Kubica moved when he seen him so the stewards took no action.

Vettel/Button: My take on this is that as Vettel got up behind Button he didn't wnat to go on the outside as he felt he wuldn't get past that way. He holds to the inside but Button covers it. What Vettel is hoping is that as they approach the braking zone Button will shift towards the racing line but he waits too long. What he should have done is either commit to the outside or duck left in the hope Button would try and squeeze him and dummy back accross up the inside. He got it all wrong and deserved his drive through penalty. Costly day for both drivers.

Rain (part 2): As the showers rolled in again the top 3 stayed out as it got tricky and Hamitlon survived a near miss with the barriers. I can understand Webber staying out with the McLaren as he has the championship to think about. Kubica maybe could have gambled more, he would have put his podium on the line but it may have got him a race victory. It was a tight call at the time though and one which is much easier with hindsight. On intermediates, Fernando Alonso dropped it as his ragged season continued. A title blow for him as well and with the WMSC hearing to come he could suffer more pain. I do feel he will keep his 25 points form Hockenheim though.

Jarno Trulli: The Italian will require new overalls after spinning at Pouhon amongst the pack...

Alguersuari/Liuzzi: The FOM director spent lap 42 watching these 2 battle away but cut away before the run to the Bus Stop chicane. When he did the Spaniard was ahead but cut the chicane and was deemed to have gained an advantage, meaning he lost a point which went to the Force India driver.

Pedro de la Rosa: Getting from last to 10th was a good effort. Dropping it with 3 laps to go wasn't. Peter Sauber unimpressed and the Spaniard under pressure.

This could yet be a massive turning point in the championship with 3 of the 5 contenders failing to score but it isn't over for Messers Alonso, Vettel and Button. They will all strong scores in Monza though. If the gap gets to the 50 point mark then that equates to two wins and i think then it becomes too much especially as you may need four guys in front of you to have bad run ins.

The feeling amongst some is that the Red Bull front wing is not the same but i think it was not as effective in a low downforce configuration. I feel it will be the Monza floor tests that may force more of a change and the results will be more evident in Singapore and Sukuza. I also think that McLaren have put their attention on the blown diffuser and have improved the workings of it. They have also sussed the overrun on the gases with the retarded ignition i believe. This could prove a key improvement at this stage of the season. With that and a revised front wing for Red Bull, McLaren could yet have enough pace to give Hamilton the opportunity to fight at all tracks for wins and could prove to be enough.

Credit to Webber as well. Vettel is young and quick but has failed to learn lessons. However the Australian stayed calm yesterday when it went wrong off the line unlike the panic of Valencia. He kept his cool and to score 18 points was a huge result. It wasn't a flat out display of speed but nonetheless was gritty and determined from the 34 year old.

Six races to go and Button and Alonso need big points now. The reigning world champion was an innocent victim yesterday but now finds himself with a decent sized gap to make up, against a team mate driving superbly.

Vettel dominates as rookies shine

Red Bull were in their own battle for pole position today and Sebastian Vettel was supreme. He took pole position with ease with Mark Webber 4 tenths down in 2nd. The Australian was still three quarters of a second clear of Fernando Alonso. I think a good way of expressing the dominance Red Bull had is the reaction of BBC commentator during Q2 when he realised that Webber was upshifting through the challenging turn 11 whereas everybody else was downshifting. Felipe Massa was 4th and championship leader Lewis Hamilton was 5th. It was not so great for his team mate Jenson Button who went out in Q2 and will start 11th. He complained that he couldn't find a good balance in his car.

Pedro de la Rosa had a brilliant session, coming 8th on a twisty track with the longest wheelbase on the grid was a great effort from the Spaniard who had a personal best result of 2nd here in 2006. It was not such a good day for Kamui Kobayashi. He has showed glimpses of brilliance this season but a third Q1 exit of the season was not one of them. He was held up by Bruuno Senna on his last lap. Two other rookies though put in very impressive performances. Vitaly Petrov outqualified Robert Kubica as the two Eastern European drivers filled the 4th row. What the Russian nears to do is translate this excellent Saturday into good points tomorrow. Failure to do so puts his seat for 2011 in more jeopardy. Nico Hulkenberg pulled out a late flyer to make Q3 and qualify 10th, two places ahead of Rubens Barrichello.

McLaren and Mercedes asked for a clarification on the flexible front wings on the Red Bull and Ferrari cars after qualifying and the FIA have been examining them. They could deem them illegal but this is unlikely. What may happen is the tests applied to the wings are altered so that any loopholes being exposed are closed off. More information may emerge in the morning. The key really for the Red Bull drivers is the start. Vettel will want a smooth getaway after poor starts at Silverstone and Hockenheim. Webber will be concerned that on the dirty side of the grid he could be under threat from Alonso. If they can maintain a 1-2 then it should be comfortable for them. Their race pace isn't at the same level as their qualifying pace but they'll have more than enough to win. The Hungaroring can bite though, 70 laps int he heat could yet yield some unexpected drama. Just ask Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa from 2008. Race start is at 1pm BST

Race Rewind: Budapest 2006

It was a drama filled weekend in Budapest in 2006 with penalties, rain and a new winner in the sport...

The 2006 season had become a battle between two teams, Renault and Ferrari, and more potently a battle between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher. The Spaniard had started the season the way he finished 2005 with early season wins and podiums to build a big championship lead but Schumacher had started to lead a Ferrari revival and he arrived at Hungary 11 points behind the reigning world champion.

The title battle would already begin to develop during Friday practice. Alonso was held up coming out of the final corner by Robert Doornbos, who was getting a run out in the Red Bull. He overtook down the straight and approaching turn 1 brake tested the Dutch driver, who only just avoided a collison. Alonso was called in to the stewards office and penalised him for this and for another incident where he overtook another car through a yellow flag zone. The stewards awarded an unusual penalty, a two second penalty which would be added to each time that the Spaniard set during qualifying.



On a track like the Hungaroring this was a massive blow to Alonso's chances of a big points haul. More pre-qualifying drama was to follow. A red flag on Saturday morning after an engine failure for Jenson Button, which would mean a ten place grid penalty, meant all the cars returned to the pits. Alonso was returning pretty slowly and had debutant Robert Kubica right behind him. Coming into the penultimate corner, Schumacher passed both. Alonso was straight on the radio, relaying what had happened and making a case for a penalty. The stewards agreed and Schumacher was also given a two second penalty for qualifying.



Kimi Raikkonen took pole position for McLaren and was joined on the front row by Felipe Massa. Schumacher and Alonso took 12th and 15th respectively

The Grid

1. Raikkonen
2. Massa
3. Barrichello
4. de la Rosa
5. Webber
6. R Schumacher
7. Fisichella
8. Trulli
9. Kubica
10. Heidfeld
11. M Schumacher
12. Coulthard
13. Klien*
14. Button
15. Alonso
16. Monteiro
17. Liuzzi
18. Rosberg
19. Speed
20. Sato
21. Yamamoto
22. Albers

*Klien started from the pitlane

Raceday dawned wet and murky. Conditions were tricky and Pedro de la Rosa showed that by spinning on the parade lap. He did recover though. At the start Raikkonen held the lead while Barrichello took second, using a wide line through turn 1 which yielded more grip. Schumacher had an incredible start, exiting turn 1 in 6th but Alonso was also battling hard. Several moves on the opening laps took him to 6th and he then passed Schumacher around the outside of turn 5. The Renault was on Michelin tyres and they were working better in the conditions than the Bridgestone tyres which were on the Ferrari. Jenson Button was also making his way through the field and soon passed the struggling German. Meanwhile de la Rosa passed Barrichello to make it a McLaren 1-2

Things got worse for Schumacher when he slide into the rear of Giancarlo Fisichella and damaged the front wing. The Italian crashed out of the race soon after, along with Christian Klien and Robert Kubica, though the Polish driver recovered to the pits and changed the front nose of the car. A bigger crash would follow on lap 26 when Raikkonen ran into the back of Vitantonio Liuzzi whilst trying to lap the Toro Rosso. It was a big impact and put both men out. The safety car was also deployed. In the restart, Schumacher had a spin while Alonso pulled out a big lead. Button started to pull back towards Alonso as the track started to dry. Button decided to short fuel at his stop and keep his tyres on. This was a good decision as it was too soon for dry tyres whilst dark clouds were still looming.



Alonso was now in for his final stop and put the dry tyres on. As he emerged back on track he struggled to slow down for the first corner. It seem he was just getting the tyres up to temperature but into the next corner a wheel nut bounced off the car and a driveshaft failure pitched him into the barriers. Button now had a commanding lead and Schumacher was now second as he had stayed out on his intermediate tyres whilst de la Rosa and Heidfeld were on dry tyres. The McLaren was all over Schumacher and after several attempts he finally squeezed through. Heidfeld was next and there was slight contact. Schumacher had damage to his right front suspension ansd with only three laps to go was out. It was a major missed opprtunity. Ross Brawn would admit after the season that in hindsight he should have advised the German to bag some points and take less risks.



It was a brilliant race for the top three. Button took his first victory for himself and Honda whilst de la Rosa took his best ever result. Heidfeld came 3rd and gave BMW-Sauber their first ever podium finish. Robert Kubica came 7th on his debut but was later disqualified as his car was two kilograms underweight, believed to be because he finished on extremely worn tyres. This promoted Schumacher to 8th as he was classified 9th after his late retirement and meant he gained one point on Alonso in the championship battle.

The two men would continue to battle hard in a championship that had many twists. Schumacher announced in Monza that he would be retiring and took the championship lead in China. However, engine failure in Japan meant Alonso only needed a point in Brazil and he took second position to take a second consecutive world championship