Belgium 2008

AS ALWAYS SPA PRODUCED ITS UNPREDICTABLE WEATHER AND ITS UNPREDICTABLE RESULT. ON SATURDAY, LEWIS HAMILTON SECURED POLE POSITION WITH FELIPE MASSA ALSO ON THE FRONT ROW. THE SECOND ROW WAS HEIKKI KOVALAINEN AND KIMI RAIKKONEN. SUNDAY SAW THE FIRST THIRD OF THE LAP WET, THE REST DRY SO WHICH TYRES? VIRTUALLY ALL THE GRID CHOSE THE SOFTER 'DRY' GROOVED TYRES AND HOPED THEY COULD COPE UNTIL THE TRACK DRIED OUT, WHICH IT DID.

THE FRONT RUNNERS ALL MADE A GOOD START BUT JARNO TRULLI, FROM 11TH ON THE GRID, GOT AN ABSOLUTE FLYER AND WAS UP WITH THE REAR OF THE LEADERS BY LA SOURCE. UNFORTUNATELY FOR HEIKKI, JARNO BOXED HIM IN AT THE CORNER AND THEN MARK WEBBER NUDGED THE REAR OF JARNO'S CAR, SENDING HIM INTO A SPIN THAT SAW HEIKKI PUSHED EVEN WIDER AND HE ENDED LAP ONE IN 13TH! MEANWHILE, KIMI HAD GOT IN FRONT OF FELIPE, AS HE NEEDED TO DO IF HE WAS TO AVOID HAVING TO PLAY A SUPPORTING ROLE TO FELIPE FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON.

LEWIS SPUN AT TURN 1 ON LAP 2, ALLOWING KIMI TO TAKE THE LEAD, WHICH HE RETAINED FOR THE BULK OF THE RACE WITH RELATIVE EASE. KOVALAINEN STARTED TO CARVE HIS WAY THROUGH THE FIELD AND WAS SOON INTO A POINTS-SCORING POSITION. UNFORTUNATELY, HE ATTEMPTED ONE OVERTAKE TOO MANY AND COLLIDED WITH MARK WEBBER. THEY BOTH CONTINUED BUT HAD DROPPED DOWN THE ORDER AS A RESULT. EVENTUALLY, THE STEWARDS PENALISED HEIKKI WITH A DRIVE-THROUGH PENALTY - HIS RACE WAS BASICALLY OVER.

REAL DRAMA STRUCK WITH A FEW LAPS TO GO WITH THE APPEARANCE OF LIGHT RAIN ON THE CAMERAS, VISORS AND, OF COURSE, THE TRACK. IN THESE CONDITIONS, THE MCLAREN CARS ARE FAR SUPERIOR TO THE FERRARIS AND LEWIS SENSED HIS CHANCE AS KIMI STARTED TO HAVE DIFFICULTY AND HE WAS SOON CLOSE ENOUGH TO CHALLENGE TOWARDS THE END OF THE 42ND LAP OF 44. HE TRIED A MOVE ROUND THE OUTSIDE AT THE LAST CHICANE BEFORE THE END OF THE LAP, KIMI WOULDN'T YIELD, LEWIS HAD TO CUT THE SECOND PART TO AVOID RIPPING THE BOTTOM OFF THE CAR ON THE KERB.

AS A RESULT, HE HAD GAINED AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE AND ALLOWED KIMI TO RETAKE THE LEAD AS THEY CROSSED THE FINISH LINE TO START THE PENULTIMATE LAP. AS THEY APPROACHED THE LA SOURCE HAIRPIN AT THE END OF THAT STRAIGHT HE COMPLETELY OUTFOXED KIMI AND TOOK THE LEAD AND FROM THEN ON IT WAS CHAOS AS CARS WERE SKIDDING ALL OVER THE PLACE AND SOME DARING SOULS, NOTABLY NICK HEIDFELD, PITTED FOR THE INTERMEDIATE RAIN TYRES. KIMI EVENTUALLY LOST CONTROL AND SMASHED INTO THE WALL LEAVING LEWIS TO TAKE THE WIN FOLLOWED BY FELIPE AND NICK, THE LATTER SNATCHING A PODIUM FROM 7TH BEFORE THE CHAOS!

HOWEVER, SOME HOURS AFTER THE RACE, THE STEWARDS RULED THAT HAMILTON HAD GAINED TOO MUCH OF AN ADVANTAGE AT THE CHICANE AND PENALISED HIM WITH A TIME PENALTY OF 25 SECONDS THAT PLACED HIM THIRD BEHIND MASSA, THE WINNER FOR THE PRESENT, AND THE AFORESAID HEIDFELD. THIS WAS A TRAVESTY AND RUINED AN EXTREMELY EXCITING RACE IN WHICH HAMILTON AND HIS MCLAREN WERE CLEARLY AN ULTIMATELY BETTER PACKAGE IN THE CONDITIONS THAN THE FERRARI PACKAGE.

PERSONALLY, I COULD SEE NOTHING WRONG WITH THE MOVE THAT RESULTED IN THE PENALTY - LEWIS HAD YIELDED THE PLACE GAINED - AND EVEN IF HE HAD WAITED UNTIL THE STRAIGHT BEFORE ATTACKING KIMI, HIS SPEED IN THE GREASY CONDITIONS WAS CLEARY SUPERIOR TO THE FERRARI AND HE WOULD HAVE GOT BY KIMI IN EXACTLY THE WAY THAT HE DID. NEEDLESS TO SAY, MCLAREN HAVE LODGED A PROTEST AND THE RESULT MAY CHANGE AGAIN, ALTHOUGH, GIVEN THE HISTORY OF PROTESTS AGAINST FERRARI-BENEFICIAL RULINGS, I DOUBT IT.

Race Results posted by
David Little
8th September 2008

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