It was a most dramatic day in the Ardennes once again as rain ahead of the 44-lap Belgian Grand Prix and then in the final laps, turned the race on its head and effectively ended Kimi Raikkonen’s championship hopes. It provided a massive boost for Lewis Hamilton however as he slithered across the line to record his ninth victory in his short career to date.
The results do not tell the true story of this Sunday afternoon at Spa Francorchamps as it was Raikkonen who made the best of the tricky conditions on the first lap to move from fourth position on the grid to take the race lead at the start of the second lap as pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton spun his McLaren at La Source.
Raikkonen took control of the race but was unable to shake Hamilton with the gap fluctuating between two seconds and six throughout the race.
The turning point came three laps from home as light rain began to fall and immediately Raikkonen was forced to back off allowing Hamilton to close right in and challenge for the lead into the final turn.
Hamilton attempted the pass around the outside of the right-left turn but with no room as Raikkonen took his normal racing line, was forced off track before rejoining. Not deterred, Hamilton pounced and made a clean pass on the Ferrari driver into La Source.
With the rains now falling harder and the race just a lap and a half from its conclusion, Hamilton and Raikkonen pushed as hard as they dared with both taking avoiding action as Nico Rosberg’s Williams Toyota spun in front of them. Hamilton took to the grass and rejoined while Raikkonen had a quick spin.
Seconds later Raikkonen lost the Ferrari for a second time and spun into the retaining wall on the approach to the final turn. Hamilton slithered around the final lap to take the win ahead of Felipe Massa.
Source – F1-Live
