Lewis Hamilton Wins the Race That Never Disappoints!

That was unquestionably spectacular!

Neither of my F1 heros finished the race today, but I still can’t wipe the smile from my face!  There were few (if any) dull moments and rain fell exactly when it was needed; great stuff!

The excitement began from ‘lights out’ when an unfortunate Webber struggled with his gears, giving Hamilton the lead and causing a close but safe getaway.  Big winners of Webber’s misfortune included Alonso, Schumacher, and Button.

Top 10 after turn one:

Hamilton, Kubica, Button, Vettel, Massa, Sutil, Webber, Alonso, Barrichello, Hulkenberg

As predicted by the ‘meteo’ before even one lap could be finished, rain began to fall!  At the final corner Kubica went off after immense pressure from Button (who followed the Renault off the track!).  These two were joined by various other cars without incident, until poor old Barrichello ruined his 300th GP by driving straight into the side of Alonso.

The Ferrari span and limped into the pits, whilst the Williams simply crashed out.  The conditions were tough, but I think Barrichello made a silly mistake, misjudging his breaking zone.  With bits of red and blue car all over the track the safety car was deployed.

The safety car wasn’t out long and returned to the pits at the end of lap 3.  Vettel took advantage of the re-start and overtook Kubica for P3.  

Here were the positions at lap 4:

Hamilton, Button, Vettel, Kubica, Webber, Massa, Hulkenberg, Sutil, Hulkenberg, Liuzzi, Rosberg, Petrov, Schumacher, Trulli, di Grassi, Alguersuari, Alonso, Yamamoto, Kobayashi, Glock, de la Rossa, Buemi, Kovalainen, Senna

Alonso had gambled and fitted intermediate tyres in his unscheduled stop, but by lap 6 it was apparent that the gamble had failed and the unlucky Ferrari man was forced to pit again.

Around this time, Barrichello was joined on the sidelines by Senna who had been wrestling his car after two unplanned stops.

As the weather eased, I sat back to relax a bit.  However, there was certainly no time to go and put the kettle on as Vettel moved up to a slow Button (who had a damaged front wing).  Vettel tracked Button for a couple of laps, but this race was interrupted by a fight between Rosberg, Petrov and Schumacher around corners five, six, and seven.

Rosberg was in trouble and Petrov made it through reasonably easily.  However, Rosberg’s kind and helpful teammate made more of a meal of his maneouvre and managed to scrape parts off Rosberg’s car as he barged past.

Back to the McLaren/Red Bull fight now and by now it looked as if Vettel was moving in for the kill.  As the two cars approached the final corner, Vettel darted out from behind Button, but lost control and rather than sweep past, he piled straight into Button’s side pod!

Vettel limped into the pits but it was game over for Button.

As a Button fan, I was outraged.  However, I genuinely believe Vettel simply lost control; in my mind it was a racing incident.  The stewards didn’t see it that way and sentenced Vettel to a drive through for causing a collision. 

The pit stops came around the early lap 20s, but no positions changed drastically.  Thankfully Vettel gave us yet more to talk about when he caused yet another collision, this time passing Liuzzi.  The Force India driver came out of the maneouvre with a broken front wing; Vettel, a left rear puncture.

Here were the positions after all but the Mercedes had stopped:

Hamilton, Kubica, Webber, Massa, Sutil, Schumacher, Rosberg, Kubica, Alonso, Petrov, Alguersuari, de la Rossa, Hulkenberg, Liuzzi, Buemi, Trulli, di Grassi, Glock, Vettel, Kovalainen, Yamamoto

It could have finished then, but Spa had more to give!

With just ten laps to go, the rain fell and everyone darted to the pits.  In the madness Webber gained P2 from Kubica, but not a lot else changed as far as positions were concerned. 

Alonso’s race went from bad to worse when he lost control around turn 7 on lap 38 and finished his race.  This brought the safety car out, and effectively ended the race.

I don’t think I could choose a top driver today! Everyone involved in the race drove fantastically and although Hamilton and Webber were immense, I think the greater achievement is illustrated by the fact that only four cars failed to finish.     

I think we can probably call the Championship a two horse race now as well.  Sure, I know it is still relatively early and anything can change, but I see the Title as being a straight fight between Hamilton and Webber and I think Spa illustrated why.

Alonso just hasn’t got any luck this year.  He has made a few mistakes this season, but most of his poor finishes have simply come from bad luck.  To an extent the same can be said of Button.  I think Vettel showed today that he is not mature enough to be Champion and still has some vital lessons to be learnt.  Today, Hamilton and Webber showed their determination and raw skill and this is what they need to be F1 2010 Champs.

Regardless of all this, how do I still have a smile on my face when both my heros were eliminated?! the answer? the magic that is Spa!

Once again, my apologies if I can’t reply to edits and comments.

Final positions:

Hamilton

Webber

Kubica

Massa

Sutil

Rosberg

Schumacher

Kobayashi

Petrov

Alguersuari

Liuzzi

de la Rossa

Buemi

Hulkenberg

Vettel

Kovalainen

di Grassi

Glock

Trulli

Yamamoto

Out

Alonso

Button

Senna

Barrichello

Drivers’ Championship Top Three

Hamilton 182

Webber 179

Vettel 151

Constructors’ Top Three

Red Bull 330

McLaren 329

Ferrari 250