Sebastian Vettel visited the pits on the sixth lap of the Belgium Grand Prix on Sunday, in Spa-Francorchamps, because his soft tires used in qualifying on Saturday were already blistering when the lights turned green.
But tire concerns were not enough to beat down the Red Bulls on Sunday and despite several stops and a different strategy on both cars that saw Mark Webber use two sets of medium tires rather than the more performant softs, the team got itself yet another one-two podium finish.
McLaren driver Jenson Button had a terrific pace in Belgium and quickly recovered from his 13th place on the starting grid, a place he earned due to miscommunication in Q2 on Saturday. He took it one lap at a time and finally settled in third place by passing Fernando Alonso's Ferrari with two laps to go to the race.
Alonso finished in fourth, a disappointing result for the Spaniard that also showed a lot of pace on Sunday, leading several laps ahead of the Red Bulls. His teammate Felipe Massa barely manages to finish in 8th, passing Vitaly Petrov's Renault in the closing lap of the race.
Michael Schumacher's 20th anniversary race in Formula One ended up being a whole lot better than qualifying. After loosing a tire (and the car) in Q1 on Saturday, Schumi recovered grandly and battled hard to finish in fifth place, just ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg who was in fifth until the closing laps.
Adrian Sutil finished in seventh position ahead of Massa's Ferrari, Petrov's Renault and Pastor Maldonado's William. Maldonado had started the race in 21st position after a contact with Lewis Hamilton in Q2 on Saturday. Hamilton was outted of this race on lap 13 after a contact with Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber.
With this other win, his seventh this season, Vettel increases his championship lead over teammate Mark Webber by 92 points. Alonso is third. There is no escaping it: it seems to be Vettel's championship to lose.
Belgian Grand Prix Provisional Results:
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 44 Winner 1 25
2 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 44 +3.7 secs 3 18
3 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 44 +9.6 secs 13 15
4 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 44 +13.0 secs 8 12
5 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 44 +47.4 secs 24 10
6 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 44 +48.6 secs 5 8
7 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 44 +59.7 secs 15 6
8 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 44 +66.0 secs 4 4
9 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 44 +71.9 secs 10 2
10 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 44 +77.6 secs 21 1
11 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 44 +83.9 secs 17
12 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 44 +91.9 secs 12
13 9 Bruno Senna Renault 44 +92.9 secs 7
14 21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 43 +1 Lap 18
15 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 43 +1 Lap 16
16 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 43 +1 Lap 14
17 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 43 +1 Lap 20
18 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 43 +1 Lap 19
19 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 43 +1 Lap 22
Retired:
17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 27 +17 Laps 9
22 Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 13 +31 Laps 23
3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 12 +32 Laps 2
18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 6 +38 Laps 11
19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 0 +44 Laps 6
But tire concerns were not enough to beat down the Red Bulls on Sunday and despite several stops and a different strategy on both cars that saw Mark Webber use two sets of medium tires rather than the more performant softs, the team got itself yet another one-two podium finish.
McLaren driver Jenson Button had a terrific pace in Belgium and quickly recovered from his 13th place on the starting grid, a place he earned due to miscommunication in Q2 on Saturday. He took it one lap at a time and finally settled in third place by passing Fernando Alonso's Ferrari with two laps to go to the race.
Alonso finished in fourth, a disappointing result for the Spaniard that also showed a lot of pace on Sunday, leading several laps ahead of the Red Bulls. His teammate Felipe Massa barely manages to finish in 8th, passing Vitaly Petrov's Renault in the closing lap of the race.
Michael Schumacher's 20th anniversary race in Formula One ended up being a whole lot better than qualifying. After loosing a tire (and the car) in Q1 on Saturday, Schumi recovered grandly and battled hard to finish in fifth place, just ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg who was in fifth until the closing laps.
Adrian Sutil finished in seventh position ahead of Massa's Ferrari, Petrov's Renault and Pastor Maldonado's William. Maldonado had started the race in 21st position after a contact with Lewis Hamilton in Q2 on Saturday. Hamilton was outted of this race on lap 13 after a contact with Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber.
With this other win, his seventh this season, Vettel increases his championship lead over teammate Mark Webber by 92 points. Alonso is third. There is no escaping it: it seems to be Vettel's championship to lose.
Belgian Grand Prix Provisional Results:
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 44 Winner 1 25
2 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 44 +3.7 secs 3 18
3 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 44 +9.6 secs 13 15
4 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 44 +13.0 secs 8 12
5 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 44 +47.4 secs 24 10
6 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 44 +48.6 secs 5 8
7 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 44 +59.7 secs 15 6
8 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 44 +66.0 secs 4 4
9 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 44 +71.9 secs 10 2
10 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 44 +77.6 secs 21 1
11 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 44 +83.9 secs 17
12 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 44 +91.9 secs 12
13 9 Bruno Senna Renault 44 +92.9 secs 7
14 21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 43 +1 Lap 18
15 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 43 +1 Lap 16
16 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 43 +1 Lap 14
17 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 43 +1 Lap 20
18 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 43 +1 Lap 19
19 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 43 +1 Lap 22
Retired:
17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 27 +17 Laps 9
22 Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 13 +31 Laps 23
3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 12 +32 Laps 2
18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 6 +38 Laps 11
19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 0 +44 Laps 6