The Belgian Grand Prix Race Report

Spa has been an interesting circuit in recent years. The middle sector offers fast sweeping turns, turns essentially tailor made for the superior aerodynamics and consequential downforce of the Red Bull. Whereas sectors one and three both contain long straights, which have in the past, played into the hands of Mclaren. The dilemma for Christian Horner and Adrian Newey then was to establish a balance between straight-line speed and corner speed whilst also considering and adding potential wet weather conditions to the equation. Not only did Horner and Newey find a way to balance these requirements but they also had fortune on their side as any wet weather that had hampered qualifying staved off for the race start and indeed through until the finish. Red Bull’s introduction of a newly devised thin rear wing to maximise straight-line speed proved an absolute stroke of genius as it produced a surprising advantage in the very first lap of the race.

Hamilton and Vettel both got off to impressive starts, pulling away from the pack and taking turn one with ease. Hamilton perhaps eager to cover Vettel, took his Mercedes slightly too wide into turn one and Vettel, who had anticipated this, showed sensational presence of mind to get on the power early and line his car up directly in Hamilton’s slipstream. The result of such guile came after both drivers had proceeded through Au Rouge with Vettel picking up a massive tow off the Mercedes whilst exhibiting barely believable straight-line speed to propel him into an early lead. Hamilton though attempting to defend such a move early was perhaps also caught off guard by the pace of the Red Bull and seemed shell shocked at having conceded his hard fought lead at such an early stage of the race. This is where the true debate begins however. There is no doubt, that Sebastian Vettel is a significantly talented young driver. However, if he wins the Driver’s World Championship this year, it will put him on a level with the man who many consider to be the best driver to ever grace the sport, Juan Manuel Fangio.

Fangio who was known among fans and drivers alike as ‘The Old Man’ didn’t begin his Formula One career until the age of thirty two and went on to win four consecutive Driver’s Championships with four different teams. My worry for the sport is that to have such a young driver equal the exploits of one of the most renowned Formula One drivers of all time makes the sport itself look ridiculous. Is Vettel as good as Fangio was? No. Is Vettel as good as Ayrton Senna was? No. Is Vettel as good as Alain Prost was? No. Is Vettel as good as Michael Schumacher was? Well there you have your answer. Having grown up watching two German drivers utterly dominate the sport, it’s difficult to know where one begins and the other ends. For, Schumacher certainly wasn’t the most talented driver in many of the seasons he competed in. Mika Hakkinen and Damon Hill certainly offer evidence to support that. Schumacher won seven Championships because he had the best car. The Ferrari was absolutely impenetrable in terms of performance, reliability and overall speed. So, the sport finds itself with the same problem ten years later. A German Driver of some talent in an absolutely supreme car repeating the events of the last decade of the sport. Driver talent is something that is not acknowledged enough in modern day Formula One and although regulations are changed every year to attempt to bring some competitiveness to the sport, it doesn’t seem to be working. Thus, the drivers who made their cars great; Fangio, Senna, Prost, Hunt, Lauda, Hakkinen, Hill, Mansell, Clarke, Hamilton and Alonso are unfairly compared with the likes of Schumacher and Vettel; drivers who were and are great because of their cars.

Aside from the concerns of a fourth consecutive Vettel Championship, the race petered out soon after he took his lead. After extending the gap at the front to four seconds or so, Vettel looked far from troubled and serenely comfortable throughout the entirety of the race. Behind Vettel and Hamilton, the next most likely Championship contender, Fernando Alonso, who had started in ninth made a terrific start and climbed his way to fifth before passing Button to take fourth a few laps later. Indeed, it was another beautiful drive from the Spaniard as he charged down Hamilton’s Mercedes to clinch second place. Hamilton meanwhile, had a very quiet race. He crossed the line in third to at least keep his title hopes alive but he would have been disappointed in his car’s lack of pace. Elsewhere, Rosberg worked hard to clinch fourth place ahead of Mark Webber in fifth and Jenson Button in sixth. Button will certainly be encouraged by such a high finish, a finish that suggests that Mclaren may be moving in the right direction with their research and development programme. Felipe Massa had another race to forget after he finished seventh, a full five places behind teammate Fernando Alonso. Lotus also had an undesirable race weekend as Romain Grosjean finished a lowly eighth whilst teammate Kimi Raikkonen retired for the first time in thirty eight races, putting an end to his record of most consecutive races finished and points finishes completed. The other men to retire were Charles Pic and an unfortunate Paul Di Resta. Di Resta, who was unlucky to miss out on pole position the day before, had his race prematurely ended by the mercurial Pastor Maldonado, who, after having secured his team’s only point of the season so recently, decided he would restore the balance to his ever calamitous driving career.

Adrian Sutil and Daniel Ricciardo locked out the final point positions in ninth and tenth respectively, a result Ricciardo can be proud of after starting so far down the grid. The usual suspects comprised the last of the finishers but with Sergio Perez finishing outside of the points once again, he will undoubtedly feel under significant pressure to perform in two weeks time at Monza. Ultimately, the Belgian Grand Prix was incredibly dull. The race almost bored me to tears at some points. I did question whether to sit out and watch the remainder of the race once Vettel had passed Hamilton and it was lucky I did because I was treated to a spectacle about as interesting as watching a painted wall stay wet. The signs are ominous and Vettel has sent a clear signal that if anyone is to prevent him from clinching his fourth successive title, it will take a monumental effort from driver and engineer alike.

Race Result:

1^st            Sebastian Vettel

2^nd           Fernando Alonso

3^rd           Lewis Hamilton

4^th           Nico Rosberg

5^th           Mark Webber

6^th           Jenson Button

7^th           Felipe Massa

8^th           Romain Grosjean

9^th           Adrian Sutil

10^th        Daniel Ricciardo

11^th        Sergio Perez

12^th        Jean-Eric Vergne

13^th        Nico Hülkenberg

14^th        Esteban Gutierrez

15^th        Valtteri Bottas

16^th        Giedo Van Der Garde

17^th        Pastor Maldonado

18^th        Jules Bianchi

19^th        Max Chilton

ret.      Paul Di Resta

ret.      Kimi Raikkonen

ret.      Charles Pic

Juan Manuel Fangio
Winner of four consecutive Driver’s Championships with four different teams.