Lewis Hamilton Vaults into Drivers Championship Lead with Victory in Belgium

September 4, 2010 by tribune5

This year's Belgian Grand Prix takes place at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Francorchamps, Belgium. This racetrack is the longest circuit on the F1 calendar. It features long straights and demanding quick corners.

The Belgian Grand Prix is a 44-lap affair. The circuit length is 7.004 km. The total race distance is 308.052 km.

Saturday's Qualifying session saw RBR-Renault (Red Bull Racing) driver Mark Webber secure the pole position for Sunday's race. McLaren-Mercedes Lewis Hamilton took second spot, while Renault's Robert Kubica garnered third spot on the starting grid. Webber's teammate Sebastian Vettel was fourth in Qualifying, while Hamilton's teammate Jenson Button nailed down fifth spot.

The race began with pole sitter Mark Webber experiencing some clutch trouble. Lewis Hamilton took advantage of this and took the lead at the start.

Webber's troubles saw him fall to seventh spot quickly. However, undaunted, he began his quest to recover lost ground.

With Hamilton in the lead, other drivers took advantage of Webber's misfortune. Robert Kubica was now in second spot. Following him was Button, Vettel, Felipe Massa of Ferrari, and Adrian Sutil from the Force India team.

Jenson Button began his challenge for top spot and passed Kubica to move into second. Sebastian Vettel followed, along with Robert Kubica and a reenergized Mark Webber who fought back to fifth position.

Now the race took on a different complexion. First, it began to rain lightly which would have an effect on race strategy.

Second, on the 16th lap Sebastian Vettel nosed uncomfortably close to Jenson Button. He subsequently lost control approaching a turn and rammed into the side of Buttons car.

Consequently, Button's Grand Prix race was now over. Vettel managed to get his racecar's front repaired after a pit stop.

He also received a drive through penalty for causing the accident with Button. At day's end, Vettel ended up in 15th place.

The light rain ceased and the drivers had a dry track before them once again. Robert Kubica now held down second spot, with Mark Webber now nudging his way into third spot. The rains began once again, this time more forceful.

This led to Kubica heading into the pits for wet tires. He overshot his pit place and damaged his front wing. He lost valuable time here.

He re-emerged on the circuit in third spot, with Webber taking over second spot from him. Webber, with determination, held onto second the rest of the way, quite a comeback from his earlier troubles.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa drove a strong race, but his pace couldn't quite match that of Hamilton, Webber, and Kubica. He settled for fourth spot, unable to secure a podium placing. He did gain 12 points for his efforts.

Adrian Sutil of Force India drove an impressive race and secured 10 points. He ended up in fifth place more than three seconds ahead of Mercedes' Nico Rosberg. Seventh spot went to Rosberg's teammate Michael Schumacher who also drove a solid race.

The remaining points for this year's Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix went to Kamui Kobayashi of BMW Sauber, Vitaly Petrov of Renault, and Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari. They won four, two, and one points respectively.

It was a day of "what might have been" for veteran racer Rubens Barrichello of the Williams team. He hit Ferrari's Fernando Alonso on the first lap. This incident saw him withdraw from his 300th GP race with car damage.

Alonso had his own troubles on lap 38. He spun his car exiting the number 5 turn, called Les Combes. With damage to his car, his race day was over as well.

Bruno Senna of the HRT Team also had his share of troubles. On lap 6, he suffered suspension failure and this forced his exit from the race.

Overall, it was a smooth day running for Britain's Lewis Hamilton. He took control from the get-go and never looked back.

He had one minor difficulty on lap 35, in the rain, when he slid off track into the gravel. However, he stayed in control and eventually the checkered flag waved him home to victory.

Lewis Hamilton now leads the Drivers Championship with 182 points. Mark Webber sits a very close second with 179 points.

Sebastian Vettel is in third position with 151 points. Jenson Button holds down fourth with 147 points. Fernando Alonso is in fifth with 141 points.

In the Constructors Championship, RBR-Renault (Red Bull Racing) is in top spot with 330 points. McLaren-Mercedes sits one point behind in second spot with 329 points. Ferrari is in third spot with 250 points. Mercedes GP holds down fourth spot with 146 points, while Renault is in fifth with 123 points.

The Formula 1 teams now prepare for the Italian Grand Prix. This race will take place on September 12, 2010, at the storied Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, in Monza, Italy.

The season's heading into its final stretch with six F1 Grand Prix races to go. It's go for broke now for the contenders looking to secure Formula 1 glory in 2010.