Tucked away in the forests of Belgium lies the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Here to welcome drivers back to the second half of the 2011 season, there is no better track suited for whipping drivers back into shape. Having already experienced the notorious weather here this weekend during practice and qualifying, the drivers still need to contend with one of the most challenging tracks of the calendar. Despite heavy modifications over the course of its history, Spa remains a fearsome track, a stark contrast to some of the newer and less exciting circuits.
2010 Race Summary
The race started with Mark Webber allowing the engine revs to drop too low, causing his RB6 to default to the anti-stall setting and resulting in a poor getaway that demoted him to sixth. At the same time Felipe Massa started slightly ahead of his grid slot, with his error going unpunished. Lewis Hamilton took the lead with Robert Kubica second, but Kubica's grip on the position relaxed quickly as Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel passed him. Although the early stages of the lap were clean, the end was considerably less so, with almost every driver in the top ten overshooting the braking zone for the Bus Stop chicane. Fernando Alonso was the only driver to hold on long enough to make the corner, but found himself on the receiving end of an out-of-control Rubens Barrichello, the Brazilian's 300th Grand Prix start ending there and then. Alonso was lucky enough to escape with minor damage, and quickly pitted to change onto wet tyres in anticipation of heavy rain.
The forecasted weather, however, never eventuated save for a few minor spots around the circuit in the early laps. Perhaps learning from the early stages in China, the majority of the field stayed out, predicting that the rain would end almost immediately. Those who were on intermediate or wet tyres were forced to pit again; Alonso was the big loser as he stayed out the longest and his subsequent pit stop shuffled him back down the order. This foreshadowed the rest of his afternoon as he would struggle to find his way through the field.
Bruno Senna was the second retirement of the afternoon, his Hispania F110 returning to the pits and staying there with a mechanical fault. His retirement was overshadowed by that of Jenson Button at the hands of Sebastian Vettel; on the approach to the Bus Stop, the Red Bull driver was spotted weaving aggressively behind the 2009 World Champion. He ran too deep into the corner and lost control, effectively throwing himself into a spin whilst still travelling in a straight line. In a collision similar to his collision with Webber in Istanbul, Vettel's inevitable trajectory saw him make contact with Button. Vettel was able to pit almost immediately, but the damage to Button's McLaren was catastrophic, destroying his sidepod, and with it his radiator. Vettel was subsequently handed a drive-through penalty his second in as many races for causing an avoidable accident. Button's retirement and Vettel's double pit stop promoted Robert Kubica back to second and a recovering Mark Webber up to third.
Whatever hopes Kubica might have had of reeling in Hamilton at the restart were quashed as the McLaren driver opened up a sizeable gap within minutes of the restart, and the race order quickly established itself. Further down the field, Ferrari's hopes rested on Felipe Massa as he battled with the Force India of Adrian Sutil. However, the biggest winners of the race were the Mercedes drivers and Vitaly Petrov. Despite their penalties and qualifying accidents respectively, Schumacher, Rosberg and Petrov spent the entire race from the restart running in the points. Others were not so lucky; Nico Hülkenberg made an unscheduled stop with a clutch problem, whilst several drivers explored the gravel traps around the circuit. Meanwhile, Vettel undid his dash through the field when he made contact with Vitantonio Liuzzi again at the Bus Stop chicane and developed a slow puncture. Where Liuzzi was able to pit straight away, Vettel was forced to limp around the circuit for the majority of a lap before having his delaminated tyre replaced.
The unpredictable Belgian weather reared its head once more towards the end of the race, with teams trying to balance the need to pit against the predicted rain; if they pitted too early, they risked wasting a pit stop, but if they stayed out on the circuit for too long, their tyres would eventually lose all grip. This strategy played into the hands of the Mercedes drivers, who elected to stay out as long as possible and thus preserve sixth and seventh place when the expected downpour arrived in spectacular fashion. The back half of the circuit was inundated within minutes, with the tricky conditions catching leader Lewis Hamilton out as he slid off the edge of the circuit at Rivage, brushing the outer wall with his left-front wheel; Pedro de la Rosa would have a similar experience several laps later at Stavelot. Fernando Alonso was the fourth and final retirement, making an uncharacteristic mistake as he exited the Les Combes-Malmedy complex. Alonso ran wide and strayed onto the artificial grass strip lining the outside of the corner where he lost all grip and spun into the wall, his Ferrari coming to rest perpendicular to the circuit and triggering the second safety car.
The final chapter of the race came with a twist as the race leaders pitted for wet tyres. Despite his off-track excursion, Hamilton was able to pit cleanly; the second-placed Kubica was less fortunate. Overshooting his pit box, the Renault mechanics were forced to scramble to realign themselves with Kubica's position and lost second place to Webber. The three drivers would remain in that order as they crossed the finish line. Massa finished fourth, ahead of Sutil and the Mercedes of Rosberg and Schumacher, who had a late position swap at Les Combes. Kamui Kobayashi claimed eighth ahead of Petrov, with Jaime Alguersuari taking the tenth and final points-scoring place on offer after de la Rosa's off-track excursion removed him from contention.
The effect of the race result was to stretch the field out even further; with Button and Alonso failing to finish and Vettel failing to score points, Hamilton and Webber were able to build a twenty-point buffer over the other drivers. And while the race result meant Red Bull retained their grip on the World Constructors' Championship lead, Hamilton's victory meant that lead was cut down to a single point. Kubica's podium and Petrov's two-point haul were not enough to claim any ground on Mercedes, whilst Force India further extended their lead over the non-scoring Williams drivers.
Circuit Info
[Click map for onboard lap]
Laps
44
Circuit length7.004 km (4.352 mi)
Race length308.052 km (191.410 mi)
Lap RecordKimi Räikkönen - McLaren - 2004 - 1:45.108
Most Wins (Drivers)Michael Shumacher (6)
Most Wins (Constructors)Ferrari (16)
Changes from 2010
-Turn 8, the open-radius hairpin after Les Combes, has been been made wider and asphalt has replaced the gravel run-off.
GP Facts
-One of the most memorable Belgian Grands Prix was the 1998 race, when a huge 14-car accident occurred on the first lap of the race. Seven cars were unable to take the restart and there was further incident on lap 25 when race leader Michael Schumacher's Ferrari hit David Coulthard's McLaren, losing a wheel and forcing Schumacher to retire after completing most of a lap on three wheels. Through the chaos the Jordans of Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher emerged to take the team's first victory, as a 1-2 finish.
-Some of the greatest names in motor racing have been multiple winners of the Belgian Grand Prix. Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher has won the race six times; triple champion Ayrton Senna won it five times; double champion Jim Clark was unbeaten from 1962-1965, while 2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen also won four times. 1996 world champion Damon Hill won three times, as did five-time champion Juan-Manuel Fangio.
No Belgian has ever won the race.
-The race, in fact, pre-dates the FIA Formula One World Championship, with the first Belgian GP held in 1925, at Spa-Francorchamps, and a further 10 held before 1950.
Videos Highlighting the Belgian GP
2008 duel between Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen.
Speed comparison between F1 and GT cars at Eau Rouge provided by mclaren777
Highlights and review from the 1970 Belgian GP.
1962 Belgian GP part 1 and part 2.
2000 duel between Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher. Onboard with Hakkinen.
Opening lap of the 1998 Belgian GP.
Previous Winners
Drivers Championship
Constructors Championship
Fantasy League Championship
Classic Spa Picture from Edmond Dantès
