2.50pm “We are a bit confused here because the crowd are booing
and cheering and I’m not sure why,” a bemused Vettel adds. Sounds like
those Greenpeace protesters are making themselves heard away from the
cameras.
Coulthard shoots the breeze with a thoroughly non-plussed Alonso. “We had
to recover some places, we were not okay yesterday,” says the Spaniard. “But
today it was a little bit boring, we get second place but no threat to
Sebastian Vettel and had no threat from behind. It is important weekend for
us and the team and we arrived full motivated and in Monza we would like to
give some smiles to our fans.”
2.45pm David Coulthard joins the top three on the podium. Booing breaks
out. I’ve no idea what David did, but I get the impression something may be
happening out of shot. “It was a fantastic race for us from start to
finish,” Vettel tells the Scot. “It was very good tactics and it
helped to get past Lewis on the first lap. We were a bit afraid of the rain
coming but it was a great race.”
2.35pm What does all that mean for the drivers’ championships
standings, I hear you ask? Read on:
1 Vettel (Red Bull) 197pts
2 Alonso (Ferrari) 151
3 Hamilton (Mercedes) 139
4 Raikkonen (Lotus) 134
5 Webber (Red Bull) 115
6 Rosberg (Mercedes) 96
7 Massa (Ferrari) 67
8 Grosjean (Lotus) 53
9 Button (McLaren) 47
10 Di Resta (Force India) 36
2.30pm A masterful peformance from Sebastian Vettel, who extends his
drivers’ championship lead over Alonso, Hamilton and Raikkonen, who was
forced to retire. “Nice one boys,” the reigning world champion
tells his pit crew. “This car was so nice to drive, unbelievable. Thank
you guys.”
Nico Rosberg came home fourth ahead of Mark Webber, while Jenson Button
finished as he started in sixth. Rounding out the points: Massa in seventh,
Grosjean in eighth, Sutil in ninth and Daniel Ricciardo doing his prospects
of a drive with Red Bull next season no harm with the final point on offer
in 10th – and that from 19th on the grid.
Lap 44 It’s all done and dusted. ‘Bring it home’, Vettel hears in his
ear. Bringing it home is what the German does best.
SEBASTIAN VETTEL WINS THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX!
It’s a fifth victory of the season for Vettel. A sterling drive from Fernando
Alonso as well, scything past the field from ninth on the grid to finish
second, and Hamilton is back on the podium in third.
Lap 42 New fastest lap by Vettel. He’s so quick his own team is telling
him to take it easy. Behind him, Alonso is coasting in second – he won’t
catch the Red Bull, but he won’t be caught by Hamilton in third. But Nico
Rosberg’s tussle with Mark Webber has brought the pair up behind Lewis. That
said, it looks like we have our top five.
Lap 41 Wind picking up, temperature dropping…but it looks like we’re
going to get a dry Belgian Grand Prix. Now Gutierrez gets a drive-through
for gaining an advantage by leaving the track. He’s 14th. How much can he
possibly gain?
Lap 39 This race might not be the foregone conclusion we think it is:
Lap 38 Six laps remaining, and here’s your top 10: Vettel, Alonso,
Hamilton, Rosberg, Webber, Button, Grosjean, Massa, Sutil, Perez.
Lap 36 There’s a 10-second stop-go penalty waiting for Maldonado after
that double-tap on the Force India boys. Get the sense that his reputation
precedes him.
Lap 35 If McLaren are conceding a podium position, Mark Webber
certainly hasn’t given up hopes of putting two Red Bulls up there. The
Australian is flying, zoning in on the rear wing of Nico Rosberg in fourth.
Lap 34 Commentator’s curse #2. Button pits. Up front, Vettel is giving
it everything. He set the fastest lap on the race on lap 32, a 1min
50.885sec. That’s taken him six seconds clear of Alonso.
Lap 33 Is Jenson going for a 2012 repeat? The McLaren garage ask him
whether he’s up for ‘Plan A’. He is. Is that a one-stopper, his winning
strategy 12 months ago? We’ll see…
Lap 32 Max Chilton gets a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue
flags. Seems a bit harsh for the man running last, but rules is rules.
Lap 31 Is rain on the way? Red Bull are looking warily at the skies,
telling Vettel to do what he can to build a decent cushion at the front
after his second pit stop.
Lap 30 The marshalls have shifted Di Resta’s striken Force India from
the bus stop, meaning the safety car can stay put for now.
Lap 29 Alonso pits, so we’ve got a Red Bull one-two, at least until
Webber pits. The purple-pyjama’d pit crew are readying themselves.
Lap 28 Contact – CONTACT! Pastor Maldonado has had the proverbial mare
at the bus stop. Not only was he passed by Esteban Gutierrez in the first
turn of the chicane, but as he tried to slip in behind the Sauber he clips
not one, but two Force Indias. Adrian Sutil escapes with a minor shunt, but
Paul di Resta bears the brunt of the impact and is wiped out. A sad end to
the Scot’s weekend after that inspired qualifying performance.
Lap 26 Commentator’s curse, and the Ice Man goeth. Raikkonen overshoots
the bus stop while trying a move on Massa, and that’s enough for today. That
front brake has cost him his 38-race perfect finishing streak – he pits and
retires. If you think he’s going to lose any sleep over that, though, you
don’t know Kimi Raikkonen.
Lap 25 Raikkonen and Massa are having a ding-dong for seventh. The
former Ferrari man’s Lotus looks healthier now as he tracks down the
Brazilian.
Lap 23 Remember those Greenpeace protesters? They’re demonstrating
about Arctic drilling – or at least they were. Now, having made their point
by abseiling from the roof of the main grandstand, they’re now apparently
just hanging there, watching the race.
Lap 22 Grosjean finally limps into the pits after dropping a heap of
time on tyres that checked out some time ago by the looks of things.
Lap 21 Going by the history, there’s a 75% chance of the safety car
making an appearance at the Belgian GP, but the cars are proving remarkably
hardy at one of the most testing tracks on the race calendar. Only Charles
Pic, who started from dead last, has quietly retired his Caterham in the
opening laps. The remaining 21 cars are all still running.
Lap 20 An eight-second lead effectively puts Vettel in a different race
right now. Hamilton trails Alonso by 2.6sec while Rosberg is tied up with
Mark Webber in a battle for fourth. And there’s rain in the valley – but not
yet on the track.
Lap 19 Sebastian Vettel – remember him? – is motoring clear at the
front ahead of Alonso. Hamilton is back up to third ahead of Mercedes
team-mate Rosberg. Raikkonen – whose Lotus has been spluttering an alarming
amount of brake smoke in the first half of the race – is back up to ninth,
while Grosjean, who is still to pit, is running sixth.
Lap 18 Button pits – and sticks on a hard pair of boots, potentially
enough to see him to the end of the race. A bold move, given the changeable
microclimate in the Ardennes valley, but I’ll trust that McLaren know
something I don’t. Many things, actually.
Lap 17 Webber’s back on the charge, capitalising on an error from
Grosjean coming out of La Source to move up to sixth.
Lap 16 In the meantime, Jenson Button has nestled in behind race leader
Sebastian Vettel, who re-takes the lead following his trip to the pits in
the bus-stop chicane at the end of the lap. Rosberg is up to fifth after
cruising past Grosjean.
Lap 14 Alonso drops into the pits and emerges just behind Hamilton, who
has just set the fastest lap of the race. But he’s overshot La Source and
the Ferrari is through to move back up to third!
Lap 13 Vettel first, Alonso second and Webber – after that sluggish
start – third.
Lap 12 The Mercedes boys are in for new rubber as well. Rain strategy,
perhaps?
Lap 11 Jenson Button won here in 2012 on a one-stop strategy, but it
looks like we might see a few three-stoppers today. Massa, Hulkenberg and
the Force India drivers among the first stoppers.
Lap 10 Di Resta and Vergne pit – looks like a switch to hard tyres.
Sergio Perez will be heading to the pits soon too: he’s been given a
drive-through penalty for that move on Grosjean.
Lap nine That was quick – race incident involving Grosjean and Perez
under investigation… as Raikkonen hops past Hulkenberg and up into eighth.
Lap eight Romain Grosjean has made it beyond the first lap at Spa for
the first time in three years, but he’s still not exactly the gentleman
driver. Sergio Perez tries a move up the inside of the Frenchman down the
straight and Grosjean is forced to bail into the run-off. Massa takes
advantage and jumps up to 11th behid Perez as the Lotus slips to 12th.
Lap six The greatest trick Fernando Alonso ever pulled was convincing
the grid he didn’t exist. And like that, he’s gone,* past six drivers and up
to third. *Sorry, Usual Suspects fans. If you think you can do better,
drop me a line – best movie quote on your favourite driver: go.
Lap four Ah Marussia, it all started so well – at least until the
lights went out. Having started in 15th and 16th they’re now back in
familiar territory at the back of the grid.
Lap three Massa’s still not happy – now his Kers isn’t playing ball.
But Alonso is flying, slingshotting past Button and up to fourth. Up front,
Vettel has put some air between himself and Hamilton. The championship
leader is now 2.8sec clear.
Lap two Felipe Massa has dropped to 12th after some jostling at the
start, but is assured by his pit crew that the front wing is fine. His
Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso is past Webber and up to fifth.
Lap one A tale of two Red Bulls: the dream start for Sebastian Vettel,
who rockets past Hamilton after the entire pack survives La Source, but Mark
Webber is going backwards. Button’s up to fourth, tucking in behind Rosberg.
1.03pm Red, red, red, red, red…LIGHTS OUT! We’re underway!
1pm Formation lap time. So what are you looking for today? Thrills,
spills, daring shootouts at the end of the straights and wheel-to-wheel
action in the technical third sector? A second Lewis Hamilton win for
Mercedes? A solid one-two for the Red Bulls? A mercurial display from Alonso
or Raikkonen? Some demonstrators getting the treatment from the burly
Belgian security shortly after the start? Email me or tweet anothermikeyb
and you may see your name flash up in Telegraph-branded pixels.
12.55 Britwatch time, and it’s been a good weekend so far in Spa.
Hamilton has his fourth consecutive pole, while Paul di Resta – who was top
of the timesheets until the final four cars each out-qualified one another
in the dying seconds – can take some consolation in a career-best grid
position of fifth.
Jenson Button, last year’s winner, has put his McLaren on the third row of the
grid – which, given the year the team has had, is a step in the right
direction. And a tip of the hat to Max Chilton, who helped Marussia reach Q2
for just the second time in four years. He starts from 16th place on the
grid.
12.45 Word is getting round of a Greenpeace protest planned for the
start of the race. There are protesters sat on top of the roof of the main
grandstand, getting set for a spot of abseiling, and microlights are
circling the track. Watch this space.
12.35 And here’s you’re drivers’ championships standings:
1 Vettel (Red Bull) 172pts
2 Raikkonen (Lotus) 134
3 Alonso (Ferrari) 133
4 Hamilton (Mercedes) 124
5 Webber (Red Bull) 105
6 Rosberg (Mercedes) 84
7 Massa (Ferrari) 61
8 Grosjean (Lotus) 49
9 Button (McLaren) 39
10 Di Resta (Force India) 36
12.30 A half-hour until lights-out. Here’s your grid:
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
3 Mark Webber (Red Bull)
4 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
5 Paul Di Resta (Force India)
6 Jenson Button (McLaren)
7 Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
8 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
9 Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
10 Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
11 Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
12 Adrian Sutil (Force India)
13 Sergio Perez (McLaren)
14 Giedo Van Der Garde (Caterham)
15 Jules Bianchi (Marussia)
16 Max Chilton (Marussia)
17 Pastor Maldonado (WIlliams)
18 Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)
19 Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
20 Valtteri Bottas (WIlliams)
21 Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber)
22 Charles Pic (Caterham)
12.20 As for those anxious minds… Pirelli were back in the dock on
Friday after Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso experienced punctures in
the dry conditions during practice. The tyre manufacturers were pushed for
reassurances that the structural changes made to the tyres after British
Grand Prix were up to the strains of one of the fastest and most demanding
circuits on the F1 calendar. Here’s hoping we’re not talking about blowouts
and safety in a few hours’ time.
Because Spa is something special – a beast of a track, with classic corners
like the full-throttle dash over the blind-crested Eau Rouge and La Source,
the tight hairpin that awaits the grid at the end of the first straight. The
drivers will have their foot hard down for over 70% of the lap, with 11 of
the 14 corners taken in fourth gear or higher and a 1.84km dash between
turns one and five spent on the red line. Little wonder, then, that it is a
drivers’ and fans’ favourite alike.
12.10 Formula 1 Is back, the sun is shining in the Ardennes valley and
the Belgian Grand Prix is set to start on a dry track.
Those who know the microclimate around the 7.004km Spa Francorchamps circuit
will know what’s coming next: it’ll never last. And that’s a good thing,
both for fans of Lewis Hamilton and anxious minds in the pit lane.
Hamilton, whose last-gasp dash at the end of Saturday’s qualifying session
landed him pole as the track dried around him, will surely be hoping the
conditions are as changeable as possible. The Mercedes man is the first to
admit he cannot match the raw pace of the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel,
alongside him on the front row of the grid, and Mark Webber, starting third
– but throw rain into the equation and the Briton’s chances of victory grow
with every wet lap.