The 2011 Belgian Grand Prix was the final nail in the coffin for Seb Vettel’s title challengers. After three races in which he did not win (yes, we are really clutching at straws) and a four week break, many saw the late-summer/autumn months as the turning point in the championship. How wrong we were. Seb took his customary pole position and dominant victory to pretty much seal the championship. He has now surpassed his points tally from 2010 with seven races still to go and has a 92 point lead over Mark Webber with only 175 available. We may as well give him the trophy now.
It was not Seb’s most commanding win of the season but certainly his most satisfying. Qualifying in Spa-Francorchamps was a lottery. The track was semi-wet in the opening two sessions and intermittent conditions once again caught out Mclaren. Jenson Button, so gifted on such a surface, dropped out in Q2. Call it team complacency or a misunderstanding, but Mclaren were yet again left to rue a poorly thought strategic decision. A potential victory, and an erosion into Seb’s lead vanquished unless Lewis or Ferrari were up to it.
Red Bull saw them off with ease. The track was green given the traditional Spa showers and the drivers had limited running on slick tyres. Seb was the last of the runners out on Q3 which was vital on a drying surface on the softer Pirellis. He was embroiled in a three way battle for pole with team mate Birthday boy Mark Webber, new Red Bull contract for 2012 in tow, and Red Bull’s continual Q3 itch; Lewis Hamilton’s Mclaren. Lewis even suffered a bit of a scratch too, in the form of Pastor Maldonado’s heavy handed tactics as Q2 concluded.
Barged aside as Lewis hurried to get his flying lap in the Venezuelan, with Monaco’s shunt still fresh in his memory, gave Lewis a little shove out of La Source with his Williams FW33. It was immoral, wholly disgusting, and Maldonado should have been sent packing for such an inelegant act. In the end the stewards settled a five-place grid penalty. He was very lucky.
Nevertheless Hamilton survived and with duct tape piecing his stiffened Mclaren together, ended qualifying P2 four tenths down on Seb. Mark was third, alongside Massa’s Ferrari in fourth. Massa was one of many Q3 surprises. Jaime Alguersuari underlined his credentials with an excellent sixth on the grid, while on his return Bruno Senna was seventh for Renault ahead of team mate Vitaly Petrov. Both were mighty efforts.
Come race day there was drama before the start. Both Red Bull drivers came into the Grand Prix with concerns over severely blistered tyres, particularly the fronts. The nature of Spa, with its high-speed, sweeping corners, vertical loads, G forces and heavy breaking would test the endurance of the Pirelli in the extreme. Red Bull pushed the limits; running with camber angles outside of what Pirelli recommended and, with such a high-risk set up, would have to stop both drivers within the opening laps. Tension notably increased on the Red Bull pit wall.
Vettel, then, would have one eye on the start and one eye on his front tyres. He got away cautiously, as did Lewis alongside him, while Mark suffered start line gremlins once more. As his RB7 kicked into anti-stall, Massa flew by. Yet unbelievably he went side by side with Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes into turn one. The German, whose car was smoking on the grid, exploded out of the blocks (almost literally) and challenged Seb and Felipe for the lead. Lewis was clinging onto fourth at this point, while further back Alonso was so far onto the run off area at La Source he was near the Belgian border. Meanwhile contact was, maybe inevitably, made between Alguersuari and a race-rusty Senna at La Source, ending the Spaniard’s promising afternoon.
In the climb up the hill Lewis succumbed submissively to Massa and had to fend off Alonso, who had regained his bearings, while Rosberg blasted past Vettel for the lead with his Mercedes’ superlative straight line speed. Yet the aerodynamic deficiencies of his MGP W02 were exposed shortly afterwards and with Rosberg in defensive mode, Vettel, not interested in running in the Mercedes’ wheel tracks, duly repaid his fellow countryman the compliment on Lap 3. With the slipstream and DRS, Seb regained control. Rosberg fended off the advances of the fighting Ferraris and Hamilton, resulting in Massa dropping from third to fifth from Rivage to Pouhon.
By this time Webber had already pitted. Those first few laps from both RBR guys were brave. The Australian opted for a conservative soft-medium-medium strategy as he looked to get back amongst the pack. Up at the front, Seb could not settle into a rhythm just yet and pitted on lap five for another set of options. Rosberg led once more, but his lack of pace was considerable and Alonso and Hamilton remorselessly demoted him to third.
The top three’s tyres also blistered, but nothing in comparison to the Red Bulls. Yet Vettel, on fresh tyres, caught the leaders immediately. The risks, given his unassailable championship lead, were simply breathtaking. Criticized repeatedly for his apparent lack of overtaking skills, his move around the outside of Rosberg into Blanchimont was spellbinding. On a real racer’s corner (which Blanchimont became again following tyre issues) Seb laid down a marker.
In spite of his points advantage, Vettel was not resting on his laurels. Thankfully for him, Alonso’s (and later Hamilton’s) Pirellis were also at breaking point and both had to pit for fresh rubber. He regained the lead, while en route out of the pits Alonso was out-muscled by Webber around the outside into Eau Rouge. Had the Ferrari man not lifted, it would have been an aeroplane accident.
Mclaren’s other hope for victory retired from the race on lap 13. Charging with his new set of Pirelli softs, Hamilton executed his DRS at the top of the hill to pass Kamui Kobayashi. Yet the Japanese was not shaken off lightly and with the Mclaren’s tow, jinked to the outside at Les Combes. Unaware of the Sauber’s position, Lewis inexplicably edged to the right to take up the racing line, which happened to be Kamui’s line. Lewis slammed into the wall and was winded from the accident. His titles hopes were, quite literally, in pieces.
Hamilton’s demise brought out the safety car. Subsequently, Vettel used his get out of jail free card to pit for another set of softs. Alonso stayed out, a mistake which ended Ferrari’s slim victory aspirations. He was preserving the tyres yet following the restart he was beaten by a combination of DRS and the irrepressible Seb. He planned on making just one more stop for the medium tyre, a compound which the Ferrari boys have come to detest. He was a sitting duck, easy prey for Webber who passed him once again down the Kemmel Straight.
The only minor worry for Seb now was Jenson Button, who had already got his stint on the medium tyres out of the way. On softs for the remainder of the Grand Prix, Button looked to limit the damage of his poor qualifying with an exception second half of the race. Although passed by Vettel following a drop off in his first set of soft tyres, Button hauled the defenceless Alonso in at around a second per lap. With four laps remaining, he made his move around the outside of Les Combes. Yes, it was in the DRS activation zone but this bold manoeuvre epitomised Button’s supreme afternoon. Third place and another podium were just rewards.
Speaking of magnificent drives through the field, Michael Schumacher was unparalleled as he celebrated 20 years since his debut. From 24th and last on the grid after his wheel came off in Q1, Michael carved through the field like he was back at Maranello. From the back of the grid to fifth, beating team mate Rosberg in the closing stages to boot. It was an impressive drive from Michael, revelling at a circuit he has won on six times. Adrian Sutil claimed Force India’s third consecutive top seven result with another good showing, ahead of Massa’s Ferrari, while Maldonado took his first F1 point from 21st for tenth.
The day, though, was all about the supremacy of Red Bull. Complacent and relaxed? Not a chance. They were on the edge all Grand Prix and a one-two typified the dominance of the RB7. They took the rules to the extreme. It’s left them with seemingly both titles with seven races in hand.
Belgian GP result
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1hr 26mins 44.893secs
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull + 3.741
3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren + 9.669
4 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari + 13.022
5 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP + 47.464
6 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP + 48.674
7 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India + 59.713
8 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari + 1m06.076
9 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault + 1m11.917
10 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams + 1m17.615
11 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India + 1m23.994
12 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber 1m31.976
13 Bruno Senna (Bra) Renault + 1m32.985
14 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Lotus +1 Lap
15 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Lotus +1 Lap
16 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams +1 Lap
17 Jerome d'Ambrosio (Bel) Virgin Racing +1 Lap
18 Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin Racing +1 Lap
19 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) HRT +1 Lap
Not Classified:
20 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber 27 Laps completed
21 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) HRT 13 Laps completed
22 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 12 Laps completed
23 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Toro Rosso 6 Laps completed
24 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Toro Rosso 0 Laps completed
Josh.
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