Grosjean storms to podium as Hamilton wins

Star of the race

Romain Grosjean was the undoubted star of the Belgian Grand Prix as he rose up the order from ninth on the grid to take the final podium place with a tremendous carefully constructed drive which demonstrated that despite the problems Lotus have had over the last 18 months he is still a driver of the top drawer and one that deserves a crack at a top team.

He qualified a brilliant fourth but was forced to take a five place grid penalty due to a gearbox problem that relegated him to ninth. A fine start ensued he was mixing it with the Red Bull's, Williams' and Ferrari's as soon as the lights went out.

He made some great DRS assisted moves along the Kemmel Straight into Les Combes, particularly on Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo, always leaving them enough room but giving them no opportunity to get back at him. They were sweetly executed, he really is one of the finest overtakers currently in the sport.

After the rounds of pit stops, most going for a two stop strategy, Grosjean lay in fourth place behind Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari which was attempting to just pit the once. Vettel questioned the decision but with two laps left and the Lotus hunting him down his right rear Pirelli let go shredding itself down Kemmel, Grosjean swept past to take his first podium since 2013. 

It was a starring drive which offered the cash strapped team a well deserved fillip. Rumours go Renault are looking to buy back Lotus and make them a works team once again, although there are further stories linking Renault with Force India. Both teams are currently using the dominant Mercedes power unit so surely a switch to the rather lame Renault unit would be a step back, at least until they get it right, if they do.

For now though the team can bask in a fantastic performance, which might have been even better had Pastor Maldonado not encountered an engine problem.

The winner

World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton extended his lead to 28 points over his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg after a dominat win. This race was the first with the new start rules which forbid the teams from telling the drivers to alter the clutch settings after they leave the pit lane to go to the grid. It made little difference, although Rosberg did get a poor start which left him down in fifth.

Hamilton made a good enough start to lead into the first corner. The only slight wobble in his whole afternoon was on the first lap when he came over the top of Raidillon, getting just slightly out of shape which allowed Sergio Perez's Force India to slip stream him up the hill getting slightly ahead before having to back out.

Hamilton was away and clear and never looked back. Rosberg fought his way through and used good strategy to get into second but once again never looked like troubling his team mate. Rosberg really has sadly slipped into the role of Mark Webber against Vettel at Red Bull. Any real threat of a title battle between the two is just an illusion and one which is getting increasingly easy to see through.

Vettel was an outside bet to challenge and as he lay third in the closing laps it looked like he had plucked an unlikely result out of the air after starting just eighth. After his tyre let go he fell out of the points and now lies 67 points adrift.

Lewis is one of those drivers who if put in the best will clear up and currently he's doing just that.

The battles

There were a number of alternative stars of the race, in particular Max Verstappen who was sensational in his on track fights. His move on Felipe Nasr around the outside of Blanchimont at nearly 200mph was sensational. He was rewarded with eighth place after starting just 18th after a grid penalty.

Perez was another who starred, particularly early on, but the Force India driver couldn't hold on to a podium spot, slipping to fifth at the end of the race. Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull was again fighting as hard as anyone out there. Powered by Renault they were running the car with very little wing but yet he was a podium contender throwing the car round the long fast turns, but an electrical problem shut down his car taking him out of the race and causing a virtual safety car.

The Williams' of Felipe Massa started sixth and finished sixth but was involved in plenty of scraps along the way while Valtteri Bottas started third but was soon pushed down the order and suffered a drive through penalty after his team sent him out with one medium compound tyre on his right rear with the other wheels fitted with softs. Not a great afternoon as he fell to ninth. Bottas is an outstanding driver but he often seems to lose out in wheel to wheel confrontation. Both Williams cars seemed to be losing out down the straights, surely a case of the car running too much wing on a circuit that they were expected to star at.

Daniil Kvyat in the second Red Bull charged through at the end of the race to finish fourth which saw him go above his team mate Ricciardo in the drivers standings which after his tepid start to the season is quite the achievement.

Kimi Raikkonen ended up seventh after starting 16th, he was involved in plenty of fights but couldn't make the progress he'd have wanted. Still, he's signed up for another year at Ferrari now so hopefully his luck will change soon if he wants a final hurrah in what will surely be his final season in Formula 1.

Marcus Ericsson got Sauber back in the points with tenth after a solid drive. 

Things of note

Honda brought an upgraded engine to Belgium that was hoped would match the power output of Ferrari. It seemed to fall way short of that target in what is becoming an increasingly laughable campaign for the Japanese manufactuer and McLaren. In fact Jenson Button seemed to let off a bit of steam by calling the race embarrassing and confessing to not enjoying his Formula 1 that day. 

He was with his electrical energy through most of the race, so there was little he could do to fight after he had out qualified his team mate Fernando Alonso by over half a second with what Button described as a lap to equal his pole position in 2011.

Lotus are in further troubles with a threat to have their cars impounded due a contractual dispute with former reserve driver Charles Pic. This comes after other money issues which has meant development has been scarce this season. A reunion with Renault couldn't come soon enough to ensure their longevity but as mentioned earlier it seems a link up with Force India and Renault may scupper that too.

The title fight

Vettel's tyre letting go has almost certainly destroyed any chance of a title fight emerging this season. The German was justifiably furious at the incident, seemingly blaming Pirelli who themselves say they were surprised that Ferrari went for a one stop strategy. 

Whatever, it has taken away a threat from Hamilton who when everything runs smoothly has Rosberg firmly under control. This is Lewis' title to lose. 

Result

1. Hamilton - Mercedes

2. Rosberg - Mercedes

3. Grosjean - Lotus

4. Kvyat - Red Bull

5. Perez - Force India

6. Massa - Williams

7. Raikkonen - Ferrari

8. Verstappen - Toro Rosso

9. Bottas - Williams

10. Ericsson - Sauber

11. Nasr - Sauber

12. Vettel - Ferrari

13. Alonso - McLaren

14. Button - McLaren

15. Mehri - Marussia

16. Stevens - Marussia

R. Sainz - Toro Rosso - Power Unit

R. Ricciardo - Red Bull - Electrical

R. Maldonado - Lotus - Transmission

R. Hulkenberg - Force India - Did not start

all photos taken from autosport.com

Ricciardo takes another win as Kimi shines

So the 2014 seasons return from the summer break opens with a bang with some sensational racing, a brilliantly crafted victory and a controversial clash between the title rivals Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton which you can read about here. It was a fine way to start the second half of the season with Daniel Ricciardo taking his second consecutive victory and third in six races with another brilliant drive.

He had a scruffy opening lap but settled down and was soon ahead of Alonso and slipped by Vettel when his Red Bull team mate ran wide. Once through he chased down the damaged Rosberg and took the lead when the Mercedes pitted.

From there it looked like the race was his, there were brief moments when it appeared that Kimi Raikkonen or Valtteri Bottas might be in range and I’m sure there were nervous moments when Nico Rosberg closed him down by several seconds a lap towards the end, but he held something back and took the win.

It puts Ricciardo only 64 points back from Rosberg, that’s under three race wins away. I’m pretty sure it won’t happen but at the moment with the way things are at Mercedes you do wonder if they could manage to throw the drivers championship away. Whatever though, Ricciardo is driving a fantastic season and in my opinion took his best win of the year so far; lead from the front and never looked troubled.

Rosberg started from pole position but fell to third at the start. He passed Sebastian Vettel as the Red Bull ran off the road during the first lap and was second behind Hamilton as lap 2 started. He went for the lead at Les Combes but hit his team mate causing Lewis a puncture and himself a broken front wing in what was a clumsy manoeuvre but one which he and the stewards labelled a racing incident. He half heartedly stuck his front wing alongside and then just left it there knowing Lewis would stick to the racing line.

He stopped early on lap 8 to change his front wing and had to make a three stop strategy work for him to get him back onto the podium. It says a lot about the Mercedes advantage that another lap or so and he might have won. 

Hamilton circulated at the back as he tried to recover, but his car was damaged from the flailing carcass of his tyre. He retired five laps from the end way off a points finish. Understandably there is a lot of friction at the Mercedes team right now.

Bottas completed the podium with third for Williams including a great move on Vettel at Les Combes, showing Rosberg how it should be done by being almost fully alongside his opponent. Bottas and Ricciardo really are the drivers of the season so far. Bottas’ team mate Felipe Massa suffered more poor luck with debris from Hamilton’s car clogging his front wing meaning he was seconds off the pace because of a major loss of downforce. Once the team cured it at his second pit stop he was the fastest car on track, another case of what might have been.

My drive of the race though has to go to Kimi Raikkonen. What a great drive from someone who is still not comfortable in the car. James Allison, Ferrari technical director, has basically admitted the car will not suit Kimi this year and there’s nothing they can do about it, so to keep his foot flat to the floor at a circuit like Spa was a tremendous performance.

He made a two stop strategy work including his last stint being longer than anyone else at 23 laps on the medium compound, over half the race distance. He started eighth and was around sixth when he pitted fairly early on lap 8, after Rosberg the first major player to pit. He then put in a number of fastest laps to undercut a lot of the front runners. In fact he ran second before Rosberg got him and then Bottas worked his way by, but they had to work for it. It was a great drive and a reminder that he can still deliver.

Vettel started third and in front of Ricciardo for the second consecutive race. Of course as is the way in 2014 he could not keep up the pace during the race. He can’t seem to make the tyres last as well resulting in a three stop strategy.

The opening half a lap when he challenged for the lead was like old times but then two mistakes dropped him back and it was only a fight past Kevin Magnussen, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button that earned him a top five result.

But that scrap was fantastic in the dying laps. Magnussen had been defending brilliantly from Alonso for what felt like the majority of the race. The Ferrari driver had earned a five second penalty for his team coming back on the grid after the 15 second warning had been sounded as the cars were about to leave for the formation lap. This left him fighting for the top six rather than a podium.

As always though Alonso is relentless and was trying all sorts to get by the McLaren, but Magnussen matched him and coming onto the Kemmel Straight closed the door firmly on the Ferrari, but it forced Alonso onto the grass. It also let Button attack, he swept past Alonso then immediately attacked Magnussen who eased him onto the kerbs which let Alonso back through then set him up for Vettel too.

Vettel then dispensed with Alonso then Magnussen and cruised off but the McLaren Ferrari battle raged on. Eventually McLaren won, Magnussen heading Button. Unfortunately for Magnussen the stewards judged him too aggressive towards Alonso and penalised a drive through penalty which equated to 20 seconds. This means he ends up only 12^th and results in Button finishing sixth with Alonso behind in seventh.

Perez seemed to have a quiet race as he rose up from 13^th to eighth while Daniil Kvyat impressed again with another points visit to take initially 10^th which became ninth. Nico Hulkenberg grabbed a point for tenth after Magnussen’s penalty after a quiet weekend.

Andre Lotterer, making his debut for Caterham in place of Kamui Kobayashi only lasted a lap unfortunately. He may make another appearance but it seems Kamui’s seat is to be rented out to whoever can afford it in future races.

All of this means Rosberg now holds a 29 point lead in the championship with seven rounds left to run. It's going to be interesting how Mercedes react to their driver situation.

Should they look over their shoulder at Ricciardo? They surely don't want him to be winning any more right now as that'll complicate matters still further. 

Monza is next up with its fast straights and mostly slow corners so I think the most likely challenger will definitely be Williams. I think they really do stand a good chance of victory there. Never discount Red Bull though, particularly Ricciardo in his present form. He just seems to be in the right place at the right time this year and is maximising every opportunity that comes his way.

All eyes though will be on the Silver Arrow squad. Their drivers have committed the cardinal sin of hitting each other in combat, that is unacceptable. But how will they handle it? Surely they cannot pick a side? 

Whatever happens, Italy is going to be a sensational atmosphere, Williams and Red Bull battle it out for best of the rest and maybe a shot at victory, Ferrari back on home turf; can Kimi maintain this good form and will Alonso pull off a miracle result? And just how will Lewis react to Nico? It could all kick off in Italy.

all photo's taken from autosport.com

Rosberg collides with Hamilton to 'prove a point'

The gloves most certainly are off in this fantastic fight for the 2014 world championship. Lewis Hamilton in his media briefing after the Belgian Grand Prix says that Nico Rosberg deliberately did not avoid the collision at Les Combes which led to a puncture for the #44 Mercedes to prove a point after the team orders fiasco in Hungary.

Here’s the quote in full from crash.net “It looked quite clear to me but we just had a meeting about it and he basically said he did it on purpose,” Hamilton said. “He said he did it on purpose, he said he could have avoided it. He said 'I did it to prove a point', he basically said 'I did it to prove a point'. And you don't have to just rely on me, go and ask Toto [Wolff], Paddy [Lowe] and all those guys who are not happy with him as well.”

He goes on to explain Nico’s mind-set as he came into the weekend. “It's interesting because we had that meeting on Thursday and Nico expressed how angry he was – I was thinking 'It's been three weeks and you've been lingering?!' He expressed how angry he was, he literally sat there and said how angry he was at Toto and Paddy. But I thought we should be good after that and then this result … it's interesting.”

Sensational words from Lewis Hamilton and one which contrasts greatly with the immediate reaction to the incident. Initially many thought it was just a clumsy racing incident, no one thought it was a deliberate act. My initial reaction was that it was Rosberg’s fault, that he was being a bit too opportunistic but that perhaps Lewis could have left more room. This is obviously not the case. However, he did not deliberately cause the clash but he did not remove himself from harm when it was obvious what was about to happen.

As Lewis says, it’s ‘interesting’ especially because throughout the season Rosberg has been painted as the driver who keeps his emotions under control and will not be controlled by them in stark contrast to how Lewis is often portrayed. But this incident clouds everything.

The benefit of the doubt was given to Nico in Monaco after the qualifying episode when he went off track which prevented Lewis setting a quicker time for pole position. Does that now have to be qualified if he thinks these things through?

Could this all stem from the Bahrain fight when many accused Nico of not being aggressive enough to get past an obviously slower Lewis? Has this been brewing since then? In Hungary Lewis was asked to let Nico through as he was on a different strategy to which Lewis being a much greater thinker than people give him credit for had already worked out that if he did he would be beaten at the end of the race, so why should he?

Rosberg was told Lewis would let him by, but this was not was Lewis was asked to do, it was more if he does try to pass don’t defend. Nico was never close enough to attempt a move. So we come to Belgium in which that incident has obviously been plaguing Nico’s mind throughout the summer break and he wanted to reassert himself against Lewis and in a way the team, who ended up supporting Hamilton’s stance on the Hungary team orders.

For a driver who is meant to logically work through things Rosberg’s attitude to this race seems rather backwards. He had an 11 point lead in the championship, has impressed people with his speed against Hamilton, what he did could well have ended up with his nose damaged or off and Lewis scampering away to victory and maybe even taking the championship lead. It was a stupid thing to do to ‘prove a point.’ Prove a point by making a clean move and demonstrating who the better driver is.

Admittedly we were only two laps into the race but Nico looked quicker at that point, he had another 42 laps to do something. To just leave your nose in a gap which was always going to close can now in the light of what Lewis says be called crude. A lot of people’s attitudes towards Rosberg will change now but even if it has been overblown, Rosberg is tainted. Surely this is not the way he would want to win a world championship.

Of course we have yet to hear how Nico will react to Lewis’ accusations. On Mercedes part they say that Lewis is telling the truth but Toto Wolff has said Nico's comments may have been misinterpreted. Rather than he said he deliberately hit Lewis, it was that he just didn't backdown. In the end that surely is the same thing for he knew it might cause a collision? For now Nico has said it’s a racing incident and it should be pointed out the stewards thought the same as there was no investigation but it’ll still be interesting to see how the team in particular respond to this.

To Rosberg’s credit he drove another fine damage limitation race after the incident, coming back strongly from a nose change to come home second. On the podium he looked shaken as the boos rang out from the grandstands and in the media pen he looked very uncomfortable. Was this someone who couldn’t understand why he has being grilled so hard or someone who knew exactly why?

In any event it cost Hamilton dearly. Lewis thought he should retire as soon as he got back out the pits from changing his puncture as the floor was wrecked costing him a lot of downforce.

He carried on with persuasion from the team but retired five laps from the end. You might have thought he would’ve learned from British Grand Prix qualifying to carry on pushing until there’s absolutely no hope, but in the end it was a pointless weekend which started strongly. He took the lead from second on the grid to head pole sitter Rosberg. He held off Sebastian Vettel in a near re-run of last year’s opening lap and then came Rosberg’s nosecone and that was that.

So Rosberg now holds a 29 point lead in the championship but what’s occurred in Belgium today looks like it will affect how the rest of the season unfolds especially from the team dynamic point of view at Mercedes. Team boss Toto Wolff has already said they will look at how they will run their drivers in the future.

I hope this doesn’t mean they’ll be put on leashes but Mercedes do not want another accident like this or worse. The tension in Italy is going to be electric and I think sparks will fly. All eyes will be on the Silver Arrow squad, how will Lewis react at the next race, will Rosberg remain defiant and how will Mercedes control their drivers? We’ll leave it to Lewis to finish: "He just came in there and said it was all my fault. When you’re out there you have to trust the people with their heads and [that they] don’t do things deliberately. After that meeting I don’t really know how to approach the next race."

The Belgian Grand Prix Forecast

I doubt there’s a single Formula 1 fan who doesn’t look forward to the Belgian Grand Prix at the legendary Spa Francorchamps. Its magnificent blend of fast and medium speed corners linked by flat out straights through the Ardennes Forests combine to make it the longest circuit currently on the calendar at 4.6 miles. There’s no other circuit you’d want Formula 1 to return with after its extended four week summer break.

The weather in Belgium makes this race notoriously unpredictable but if we can hazard a guess, then Friday looks bright, Saturday looks like rain and Sunday looks bright again, all three days having the relatively chilly high of only 19C. It all looks like it has the potential to be a mixed up grid for Sunday.

Pirelli are bringing the medium and soft tyre, which is probably advantageous because of the relatively cool temperatures. It’ll be easier to get heat into the tyres with softer compounds but with the high speed cornering going on, I don’t imagine that would have been too much of a problem anyway. This track is quite hard on tyre wear too but with the likelihood of rain during qualifying there’ll be a lot of fresh rubber available so there might be a fair few attacking strategies.

There are two DRS zones, one down the Kemmel Straight just after the famous Eau Rouge followed by Raidillon. The other is down the start finish straight into the tightest corner on the track La Source. Never mind the weather, this corner can cause a whole heap of unpredictability as 22 Formula 1 machines hurtle down to it after one of the shorter distances from grid to first turn.

So let’s look at the main contenders for victory this weekend and make some outrageous predictions. Ok so obviously the leading contender is Williams, therefore the most likely driver to win is Valtteri Bottas as he’s had the edge on Felipe Massa in recent races. That’s the hype that some of the F1 press would have you believe at least.

To be fair, this has a lot going for it, they’ve been quick on tracks with straight line speed as the main player and proved at Silverstone they can handle quick corners so what’s not to believe? Well Mercedes for one thing.

I think Williams will be the closest challenger to the Silver Arrows this weekend, but if you’re looking for a genuine chance of a Williams victory then I think you’ve got to look at Monza two weeks later which is straights and mostly slow corners. This weekend they will be players, but there real chance comes the race after.

Of course they’ll be up there this weekend, maybe even contenders for a front row grid slot but the win? I think it’s asking too much for them and with tyre wear high, I think Williams won’t be as free on strategy as some others. I hope Massa gets a decent result, he’s been plenty quick this year, but luck and accidents have made podiums difficult to come by. Bottas on the other hand had a strong run of podiums up until Hungary when the first safety car possibly took a fourth consecutive one away from him. 

Red Bull usually come back from the summer break stronger than ever and I’m sure they’ll have found some things again this year despite the two week summer factory shutdown. However with their Renault engine still lacking grunt compared to the Mercedes the next two races probably won’t be the kindest to them. The street track in Singapore is their next target for a possible chance at victory.

It’ll be interesting to see if Daniel Ricciardo still holds his edge over Sebastian Vettel. It was this time last year when Vettel started his run of nine consecutive wins. That’s not going to happen this time but he’ll be desperate to start battling with Ricciardo a bit more equally in this second half of the year.

There have been signs he’s turning a corner with his performance but it’ll be tough. Ricciardo is a world champion in the making, but having said that, to my mind at least a little change in circumstance and those two wins the Australian took could well have been Vettel’s. It’ll be definitely worth keeping a watch on the battle between the Red Bull drivers. At the moment you’d have to say if there’s a driver who might take an opportunity should it present itself, then it would be Ricciardo.

Ferrari need to take more risks says Ferrari team boss Marco Mattiacci. Well it’s too late for this car, I’m not sure they’re even bothering with any real development anymore, perhaps just tweaks. I’ve a feeling we could see a better showing from Kimi Raikkonen this weekend. He’s a star around here with four wins, although admittedly the last one was in 2009. If there’s anywhere where he could get the car to his liking just once this year it would be here.

Fernando Alonso will of course get a result from nothing, but I think he’ll be fighting for top six rather than podiums, but never dismiss Alonso, as I’ve said this race can be very unpredictable and if there’s chaos then expect Fernando to make sense of it all before anyone else. Whatever though, the car is lacking, the power unit lacks more, in normal circumstances Ferrari are hovering on the fringes of where the real action is.

Force India and McLaren are locked in a battle for fifth in the constructors. Force India usually go well here, definitely watch out for Nico Hulkenberg if the race gets a bit damp on occasions, and Sergio Perez if making the tyres last proves decisive.

I feel quite sad talking about McLaren as also-rans but that’s what they are at the moment. Kevin Magnussen has been sporadically impressive but I think Jenson Button has more than held his own against his rookie team mate.

Both of their seats for next year have been brought into question with rumours that McLaren want to bring in Alonso for their 2015 partnership with Honda. I think that’s highly unlikely but you never know so this will add even more impetus for the current McLaren drivers to get more out of their poor car than perhaps is reasonable to ask.

Button was supreme here in 2012, he won’t get a result like that but a similar level of performance would go some way to extending his career for another year.

Toro Rosso have signed another youngster for 2015 with the arrival of Max Verstappen but it’s their current kid who’ll be interesting to watch this weekend. Daniil Kvyat has impressed all year and at one of the true classic tests of a drivers skill I’m looking forward to seeing how he does.

Jean-Eric Vergne is the driver being replaced, but he deserves another chance somewhere else. He may not have the out and out qualifying pace of some but he is a brilliant race driver and has suffered too much from unreliability this year. He’s on the market now and if he really wants his Formula 1 adventure to continue then I expect some highlight performances over the coming months.

Lotus, Sauber and Marussia I imagine will be fairly static while over at Caterham they’ve replaced Kamui Kobayashi with three times Le Mans winner Andre Lotterer. The 32 year old German hasn’t driven a Formula 1 car since 2002 when he was test driver for Jaguar but he has driven for Audi in the top class of Endurance racing and knows how to use a hybrid system. He also has recent single seater experience from Japan so he’s no amateur.

It’s a shame for Kobayashi though, once again left on the side lines when he really should have a secure seat in F1. He brought no money to the team though and on this end of the grid it’s something you can’t be found to lack.

At the top end of the grid expect nothing to change apart from the championship battle getting ever more intense. Mercedes will of course be the team to beat at this race and for the rest of the year, they’re chassis and power unit are just too strong. Only bad luck can really stop them.

Nico Rosberg leads Lewis Hamilton by 11 points after 11 battles on track, with eight to go the victor of the war is still very much up in the air. Over the four week break both drivers will have thought of almost nothing else as they prepare to once again go wheel to wheel for the world championship.

They will be more focussed than ever, each of them knows it’s not often you get a shot at a world championship, you have to take your chance when you get it. Hamilton will come to Belgium with the slight psychological edge. He beat Rosberg in Hungary after starting from the pit lane while his team mate was on pole position. Yes, safety cars played their part but it was a fantastic Hamilton charge.

To add to that there was the team orders dispute when Lewis failed to move over, which he was quite right to do as the team have later conceded. Rosberg knows that if Lewis had moved out the way he probably would have won the race, but he should not expect any favours.

Mercedes have been suffering from reliability troubles in recent races and they’ll hope that they’ve resolved them to keep the fight between their two drivers as fair as possible. However, at Spa the cars are on full throttle for 80% of the lap and with only five power units available for the season all of which will have been used, there could well be some troubles, not just for Mercedes but for the entire grid.

Lewis goes well at Spa and I expect him to have the upper hand this weekend, but Rosberg is always there and never lets up. This is going down to the wire, but there’s no better way of getting an edge in the second half than starting out with a win at a true drivers track. Let battle recommence.

all photo's taken from autosport.com

Easy win for Vettel at Belgian Grand Prix

There was much optimism that the likes of Mercedes, Lotus and Ferrari were about to launch a challenge to Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel as Formula 1 returned from its summer break to the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.

That hope was crushed, at least today, as Sebastian Vettel flew past Lewis Hamilton down the Kemmel straight on the opening lap and from then on was never headed. Fernando Alonso rose up from ninth on the grid to take second and it looked like perhaps a scarlet attack was about to form, but alas for the race and perhaps for the season that didn’t happen.

Vettel was supreme winning by 16 seconds from Alonso, and in truth it could have been a lot more. The Red Bull driver was toying with the rest of the field and his team as once again he was told to back off after setting fastest laps whenever he felt like it.

It is entirely misplaced negativity to say the championship is over, there are after all still eight races to go, but for the title fight to be really ignited you needed one of Hamilton, Alonso or Kimi Raikkonen to at least finish ahead of Vettel. Kimi retired with brake problems but was never in the race, while Fernando and Lewis made up the rest of the podium, but they were just also-rans in a Vettel demonstration.

Red Bull had said that this track and the next race at Monza, Italy, would be their most difficult races. Well they’ve won one of them, and they showed today at least on Vettel’s car that their straight line speed was not lacking. Perhaps the long straights of Monza should hold no fear for them.

Having said all that, it would be unwise to write off everyone else. Ferrari have rekindled some of their early season speed, Mercedes via Hamilton took another pole position, albeit in the wet and didn’t fall through the field, while Lotus didn’t get a chance to really show their performance. It’s not all over, and Monza could be very different.

But today, Vettel was in a race of his own. Off the front row he slotted in behind Hamilton into La Source then deployed all his KERS on the way down to Eau Rouge, sucked along by the Mercedes’ slipstream. He simply shot through. Even when he exited behind Jenson Button after his first pit stop he was ahead by the end of the lap to make sure he led every single circuit.

Even when the others are ahead, Vettel is always there on the podium, and when they have the speed to win, he crushes them and now lies 46 points ahead of Alonso. No wonder he looked so overjoyed. If the challenges were about to come, Red Bull stopped them emphatically.

Ferrari still down, but not yet out

And now for a little hope. Ferrari looked like they were falling back in terms of pace and even team harmony over the last few weeks and races. At least today despite only qualifying both cars ninth and tenth they were able to get back on the podium rather convincingly.

Again though, they have a lot to thank Alonso for; while Felipe Massa struggled with contact and KERS issues to finish seventh, the Spaniard made a fantastic start. Down to Eau Rouge for the first time, Alonso was already fighting Mark Webber for fifth place and hung on the inside to pass. Lap 4 and he was up to fourth, a DRS pass on the Kemmel straight promoting him ahead of Button.

A couple of laps later he did the same to the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and after the first round of pit stops dived down the inside of Lewis Hamilton to take second into La Source. Demonstrating the amazing straight line speed of the Ferrari he then managed to hold off Hamilton as he attacked the Ferrari back into the DRS zone. That speed will hopefully stand the Italian team in good stead when we arrive in Italy.

Any hope of a Ferrari challenge faded away like the chances of rain spicing up the race. Practice and qualifying had precipitation interruptions but nothing was about to upset the progress of Vettel, so Alonso’s charge came to an end with second place.

It was still a good result, and Fernando was happy with the improvements the team had made, finally translating well from the design office onto the track. However, he won’t be happy about the gap Red Bull had, but it’s a start and now it’s crucial they use this new momentum to springboard not just above Mercedes and Lotus, but ahead of Red Bull too.

Mercedes Belgian attack fades

Mercedes came to Belgium as the form team, having taken the last three pole positions and victory at the last race in Hungary in convincing style. However, the team never looked like they had the speed this weekend, and if it wasn’t for the mixed conditions in qualifying, another pole position was unlikely.

Hamilton couldn’t hold back Vettel or Alonso but I think he can still be happy with another podium finish. He wasn’t comfortable in the car at Spa, but he still managed to finish ahead of his team mate Rosberg who ran close to him all through the race.

They would have hoped for more though, they expected this track to lend itself to them, just as they do with Monza in a couple of weeks, so they’ll be disappointed they weren’t able to give Red Bull more of a race. The team complained of not being able to get the front and rear tyres to heat up at the same time, so upsetting the balance. Still third and fourth isn’t a bad result, but perhaps when thoughts of a championship challenge were beginning to surface then this result isn’t going to induce the widest of smiles.

Mark Webber in poor start surprise

Why does it always happen to his car? Ok Webber has made a number of decent starts over the last few races but too many times problems seem to afflict his start procedure causing him to fall back and fight his way up again rather than racing at the front where he should be.

Webber should have been on the podium today, he had the speed. Maybe if unleashed he could have had a crack at Vettel, he was on the only other person able to have that speed at his disposal. However, a poor start dropped him down and he found himself stuck behind Rosberg for the majority of the race to end up in fifth position at the finish.

It does seem odd how many problems Webber is experiencing this year. Yes Vettel has out qualified the Aussie at every race but when Webber is matching Vettel, then something happens to affect his race, strange. Of course any thought process about this which leads to conspiracy theories of favouritism are not to be taken seriously.

Game over for Kimi?

After a double podium in Germany, another second place in Hungary, Lotus looked like they were on the attack. Then the midseason break happened and they come back to one of their worst weekends.

Kimi Raikkonen’s record points scoring streak ended at 27 consecutive races as he suffered brake failure caused by a helmet visor rip off being stuck in the brake duct which meant it overheated. 

Romain Grosjean’s attempt at a one stop only yielded an eighth place. Not the result the Enstone team wanted. It puts Kimi down from second to fourth in the title battle, now 63 points behind Vettel, that’s the equivalent of over two race wins and a fourth place.

So is it all over for Kimi’s title aspirations? Well they were built on consistency and maybe bagging the odd win. Now they’re utterly reliant on a few Red Bull failures. It’s happened once this year, I’m not sure anyone expects it to happen again, but I suppose stranger things have happened.

Esteban Gutierrez shines and other little notes

Gutierrez may have only finished 14^th and behind his team mate Nico Hulkenberg, but I thought it was his best drive of the year. I think he’s been a lot closer to the highly touted Hulk than many have given him credit for.

This weekend he showed great pace but unfortunately it was never allowed to show itself when it mattered with an end result. Fast in practice three, he ended up in 21^st after qualifying when wet conditions scuppered a lot of team’s grand plans.

In the race he made an amazing move around the outside of Pastor Maldonado at Blanchimont, although he was off the track, but it was gutsy and definitely a wow moment. He was given a drive through penalty, but without it he might have been on for a point and well ahead of his team mate.

This caused Maldonado to be off line in to the Bus Stop chicane, first the Force India of Sutil clipped his front wing off, so Pastor dived for the pits not realising Paul di Resta was coming round too. The Williams took the Force India’s left rear off causing di Resta’s retirement.

Di Resta could have had pole if the rain had kept coming, but Sunday turned into a nightmare. He had started 5^th but ended up falling through the pack, the Force India’s just don’t have pace since the tyre design change. Sutil still managed to grab two points for ninth.

That wasn’t enough to keep McLaren behind in the constructor’s championship. McLaren hoped for a podium and looked like they might make a one stop work with Button before pitting a second time to end up sixth and move up to fifth place in the teams battle. It was their most competitive showing and Button suggested afterwards that if McLaren had been bolder on strategy they might have ended higher up.

Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo charged through the field from 19^th to 10^th to give the media a chance to ask him questions which didn’t concern his unconfirmed promotion to Red Bull. It was a good eye catching drive.

Stewarding

I think there needs to be more consistency in the stewarding process, and perhaps actually a bit more leeway given to some of the moves which are marginal, we don’t want to actively discourage over taking do we?

Firstly, I don’t think Sergio Perez’s move on Romain Grosjean should have resulted in a penalty. The Mexican squeezed the Lotus at the end of the Kemmel straight into Les Combes but it wasn’t too much and I think he gave him just enough room. Grosjean could have backed off earlier as he’d already lost the place, but he was trying to keep it but ended up out braking himself.

If you look at a similar incident with Hulkenberg and Jean-Eric Vergne, then Hulkenberg squeezed Vergne at the same place but this time Vergne did was Grosjean wanted to do and hung on round the outside and actually ended up forcing Hulkenberg off the track. It was impressive racing and a great move by Vergne, but if Perez got a penalty for probably not forcing someone off the track, the surely Vergne should have had one too?

Gutierrez suffered his penalty for running beyond the track limits and gaining an advantage. Yes, he deserved it by the letter of the rules, but it looked amazing, and it was such a brief moment you wish it had been allowed like Grosjean’s move on Massa in Hungary. But if you’re sticking to the letter, then it had to be a penalty. It’s just it doesn’t seem to be applied every time, and sometimes for something completely innocuous.

The title fight

So, do we knock Kimi off from our title challenger list? Probably. How about everyone else? It’s tempting. After this performance from Vettel, it’s hard not to think about it, but there are still many races to go and performance can swing to one team or the other. It just so happens that Red Bull is the most consistent this year, oh and they’re also either the fastest or one of the fastest.

But there was that impression that if title challenges were to be mounted, it had to happen from here, and it kind of feels almost a sense of desperation in the media that that deadline is now extended to Italy. If Vettel wins there, he’d be over two race wins in front of his nearest rival. That’s a lead Vettel would never give up.

all photo's from autosport.com

Belgian Forecast

There are nine races to go and four drivers still in the championship fight; time to let battle recommence. What better place to start the second half of the season than at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, one of the most fantastic circuits still on the calendar, a true test of man and machine.

Let’s get the weather out of the way first. Friday is hot, Saturday is rain and Sunday is cloudy. It’s going to be a troubling time for the drivers and engineers because as we know predicting the weather in Spa is never an exact science. Neither is predicting the weather in general, but especially so here. It has its own micro climate and those light clouds on race day can easily change it to big threatening black ones loaded with H2O.

It could be a winning gamble if it rains on Saturday to qualify with a wet set up in the hope it’ll stay that way on Sunday. Just as easily it could be one way to fall through the field. It’s going to be exciting times in Belgium as it always is for the Grand Prix.

There are two DRS zones this year, one on the Kemmel Straight after the awesome Eau Rouge and the second one on the start finish straight. To be honest I’m not sure why they have either, this is a track that you can pass on fairly easily, so why make it a mere formality, it seems a shame but it’s just a minor complaint.

Pirelli are bringing the Hard and Medium compound tyres which should be very durable. Spa has a lot of fast corners and puts a great deal of stress into the rubber so despite the change of construction the Italian firm are making there are no repeat of tyre failures over the 44 lap race.

All of which I believe will suit the Red Bull and Mercedes. They have been the out and out fastest cars all season; only tyre difficulties have restrained them during the races. With the tyres now seemingly suiting them a lot better, perhaps we’re about to see a proper head to head between the Bulls and Silver Arrows.

Time for some predictions then; I’m not sure you can look past a Mercedes pole position here and Lewis Hamilton is the man to secure it. Hamilton has been awesome here since his first trip, although the end results haven’t always made that quite clear. He has one pole position and one win, although it should have been two. In my mind at least, Lewis has now firmly gained the upper hand over Nico Rosberg and will be the man to beat here; I can see him controlling the race if all goes to plan.

However there are a few caveats; the new construction tyres suited Mercedes in Hungary under extreme temperatures. This at least suggests that Merc have got their tyre eating issues under control. But we still have to wait and see how they go on a fast circuit like Spa, where there are much faster corners and the tyres will be under more sustained pressure. The harder compounds of tyre should make life easier but it would be wrong to just assume that the Silver team have got it all sorted now. Still, if they’re about to make a championship charge then you’ve got to hope it is.

Sebastian Vettel arrives in Belgium in control of the championship table. He knows he has one of the fastest cars and he knows it should only get better as he can now push the car harder thanks to the redesign of the tyres.

The only question mark is if this tyre change has left them behind Mercedes now. They’ve got a good head start but it might be that they’re going to need it. Hungary certainly showed that Mercedes could maintain a good pace and look after the tyres. However, Vettel was stuck a lot of the time in traffic and wasn’t able to run a clean race. If he hadn’t have been trapped behind Jenson Button for over 10 laps, the result may well have been different and he’d at least have been ahead of Kimi Raikkonen for second place.

Red Bull are going to take some beating, a track like Spa should suit their all-conquering aero and Vettel is in the best form yet. It’s a safe bet Vettel will be on the podium. His team mate Mark Webber has gone well here before too, and he’ll be wanting a trouble free weekend. He’s shown good pace but too often his car has let him down. It’s certainly left Vettel well clear of him in the championship.

Last year Lotus arrived in Belgium with a lot of optimism surrounding them as they looked to capitalise on their consistency. But their development tailed off and they dropped back. This time Lotus are on an upward trajectory again. Double podium in Germany, another second for Kimi in Hungary; two races they also could have won. That’s what they need to do quickly if they’re to make inroads into Vettel. Kimi is a master around Spa, four wins between 2004 -2009 and he could be the surprise winner. I'm sure he'd be bouncing off the walls should he grab victory. Well, maybe a half smile. Well...

Even more so if his team mate can take out half the championship contenders as he did last year. However I’ll make the bold prediction that Romain Grosjean will not attempt to take out half the field. In fact he’s improving his judgement, well some of the time, he has inherent pace and could go well and like other team mates of championship contenders could be a factor in deciding the outcome of the title.

Lotus have tremendous race pace but they still need to qualify better, at Spa grid position isn’t as important and if they want to mount a challenge they need to claim victory soon, where better than Spa? At least if he can keep in front of Vettel that’ll be a start. More results like Hungary where you have two challengers in front of the German will keep this championship alive.

Even better if they can have three but how likely that’ll be is up for debate. Ferrari has fallen back dramatically, and I can’t see the Prancing Horse returning to the top anytime soon. Their developments have been lacking and you can sense the frustration slowly bubbling with Fernando Alonso as he watches another title chance slip away.

I think he’ll be fighting this weekend, but he’ll be lucky to get on the podium; however if anyone can, Fernando can.

I expect McLaren to show some good form, last year Button dominated for them, that’s not going to happen this time but I think they’ll finally usurp Force India from fifth place in the constructors championship.

Force India usually go well here, but since the tyre change, they’ve struggled. There’s no guarantee that they’ll find a solution quickly. Williams are still trying to develop something out of their 2013 car while Toro Rosso are excited about their new aero developments which they hope will push them back towards the front of the midfield. Sauber meanwhile are treading water.

Marussia have just announced a Ferrari engine deal for 2014, but that’s not going to help them now and with the loss of Technical consultant Pat Symonds to Williams, I can’t see them getting back up ahead of Caterham.

One of the best tracks of the year, with some of the most random weather in the world, it’s going to be an exciting weekend as Formula 1 returns.

all photo's taken from autosport.com