THE ultra-successful German is now comfortably in the lead of the championships after taking the chequered flag at last Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.
An extremely determined Fernando Alonso came from 9th position on the grid to finish second, a full 17 seconds behind Vettel. Alonso drove an excellent race which augurs well for Monza and the Tifose in two weeks’ time.
Lewis Hamilton, who had a brilliant qualifying session to take pole position in the dying seconds, came home third after being passed by Vettel on the exit of Eau Rouge and climb up to Les Combes.
Hamilton drove very well but just didn’t have Vettel’s speed in the race. Hamilton’s teammate, Nico Rosberg, finished in fourth place after being hounded by Mark Webber in his Red Bull. Webber started badly but fought back hard for his fifth place finish in a tough race.
Jenson Button had a much better McLaren under him this weekend and performed well, both in qualifying and in the race. He fully deserved his sixth place finish.
The Lotuses proved fast but this time for Kimi Raikkonen, fragile, as he ran out of brakes and had to retire. This was a great shame as Raikkonen loves Spa and has great a record there, with four victories to his credit. Teammate Romain Grosjean had a good battle with Felipe Massa who beat him to the flag in seventh place.
There was changeable weather over the weekend for practice but it remained dry for the race and tyre wear was manageable. An outstanding drive at the back was that of Giedo van der Garde in his Caterham who was able to keep Pastor Maldonado behind him and take 16th position, a very good achievement for the Dutchman.
Although Vettel’s domination meant little change at the front of the race, there was a lot of excitement from second place to the back and it was a very good and exciting event to watch.
Drivers: 1 Sebastian Vettel 197; 2 Fernando Alonso 151; Lewis Hamilton 139; Kimi Raikkonen 134; Mark Webber 115; Nico Rosberg 96; Felipe Massa 67; Romain Grosjean 53; Jenson Button 47; Paul Di Resta 36.
Constructors: Red Bull 312; Mercedes 235; Ferrari 218; Lotus Renault 187;McLaren Mercedes 65; Force India 61;
Torro Rosso Ferrari 25; Sauber Ferrari 7; Williams 1.
