Lewis Hamilton won an epic Spa race in which the predicted rain wreaked havoc with many of the World Championship contenders.
Hamilton led from the start as polesitter Mark Webber failed to get away from pole position with any speed. However it was a combination of rain and team-mate Sebastian Vettel who threw the race into chaos.
Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were both the innocent victims of other people's accidents in the damp conditions, while Vettel was involved in three separate stewards investigations, including eliminating Button.
Webber recovered from dropping to P7 at La Source hairpin on Lap 1 to take second position ahead of Robert Kubica, Felipe Massa and Adrian Sutil. Alonso lost control of his Ferrari and crashed on Lap 38, while Vettel finished the race a lap down and out of the points.
GP REPORT
CONDITIONS: Bright and cloudy. 16C ambient, 20C track.
GRID: 1.Webber, 2.Hamilton, 3.Kubica 4.Vettel, 5.Button, 6.Massa, 7.Barrichello, 8. Sutil, 9.Hulkenberg, 10.Alonso, 11.Alguersuari, 12.Liuzzi, 13.Kovalainen, 14. Rosberg
START: Even before the red lights came on, Felipe Massa's Ferrari lined up two metres in front of his grid box. For an experienced driver like Massa it was a surprising mistake. As the red lights went out Mark Webber's Red Bull failed to get away properly, the Red Bull switching into anti-stall mode.
Lewis Hamilton was straight past into the lead followed through by Robert Kubica, Jenson Button - making a great start - Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa. Button came up the inside of Kubica into La Source, but had to drop back down behind the Renault for Eau Rouge.
Having been given a stern talking-to by the driver steward - Nigel Mansell - only one driver (DiGrassi) ran wide onto the La Source run-off tarmac in the run down to Eau Rouge. Mark Webber had dropped behind Adrian Sutil for P7 but going up the hill into Les Combes Sutil was too quick into the braking zone and had to stand on his brakes, allowing Webber past.
The big news as everyone got away was that rain had already started to fall and as the field steamed towards the wet final chicane on Lap 1, Jenson Button had already nailed it up the inside of Robert Kubica. However neither could stop their car in time, neither could leader Hamilton who went into the chicane run-off, neither could Vettel or Felipe Massa. Fernando Alonso had got a good start and was ahead of both Williams cars, but as he braked for the chicane he was hit by Rubens Barrichello who had locked up.
The impact of the accident put Barrichello out on the spot, but remarkably Alonso was able to continue his race towards the back of the field despite the knock. He used the opportunity to pit for new Intermediate tyres (which he would soon need to replace). Button lost momentum through the chicane and as they crossed the line he was momentarily down to P5.
LAP ONE ORDER: 1.Hamilton, 2.Kubica, 3.Vettel, 4.Massa, 5.Button 6.Webber, 7.Hulkenberg, 8.Sutil, 9.Rosberg
However seconds later Button was back past Massa and up the inside of Vettel at La Source and back into P3. As they headed towards Eau Rouge for the second time Robert Kubica ran off track to the right and Button was able to sweep straight past into P2. Sebastian Vettel tried to come through too but in what could have been the most frightening accident of the season Kubica pushed Vettel onto the grass going up the hill to Les Combes - and thankfully Vettel held it. He remained P4.
With a lot of carbon fibre covering the final chicane the Safety Car was dispatched to keep the cars under control and recover the debris. None of the leading cars used the opportunity to pit for more tyres. The race was soon underway again on Lap 4 and Vettel was immediately past Kubica into La Source hairpin.
Lewis Hamilton began to put a significant gap on team-mate Button and it was revealed that Button had some front wing damage. Button had elected to run more downforce than Hamilton in anticipation of more rain during the race and was having to look in his mirrors at the fast-closing Vettel.
The stewards decided to investigate Kubica vs Vettel, Alonso vs Barrichello, the Turn 19 mass corner-cut but not Massa starting from the wrong place.
Michael Schumacher had ended the first lap in P17 and by Lap 6 he was up to P12, stuck in the Liuzzi train - Liuzzi/Rosberg/Petrov/Schumacher. When Liuzzi pitted, Vitaly Petrov saw the opportunity to put a move on the outside of Nico Rosberg coming up to Les Combes. Rosberg resisted, ran wide on the exit as Petrov held the racing line and lost momentum. The following Schumi saw his opportunity and dived past his team-mate, lightly clipping the end of Rosberg's front wing and taking the endplate off.
LAP 11 ORDER: 1.Hamilton, 2.Button, 3.Vettel, 4.Kubica, 5.Webber 6.Massa, 7.Sutil 8.Hulkenberg, 9.Petrov, 10.Schumacher, 11.Rosberg, 12.Kobayashi
Jenson Button, who was experimenting with his rear differential to stop the tail sliding about, began to gather his own train of Vettel, Kubica, Webber and Massa. By Lap 15 Hamilton had a 9.8 gap over Button who was able to stay ahead of the Red Bull by virtue of the Mclaren's straightline speed. Despite two tyre stops already, Fernando Alonso had battled his way back to P13.
The 2010 Championship changed dramatically on Lap 16 as Vettel tried to find a way past Button into the Bus Stop chicane. Button covered off a move up the inside and so, impatiently, Vettel snapped his car from the inside to go to the outside for a wide turn-in. In doing so he lost control of the car and slammed his nose straight into the side of the Mclaren
Vettel was able to hobble back across the kerbs and into the pits for a new front wing, but Button was out on the spot. The stewards would investigate and deliver the verdict of a drive-through penalty on Lap 19.
LAP 18 ORDER: 1.Hamilton, 2.Kubica, 3.Webber 4.Massa, 5.Sutil 6.Schumacher, 7.Rosberg, 8.Kobayashi, 9.Alonso, 10.Petrov, 11.Liuzzi, 12.Vettel
Vettel's drive-through dropped him back to P.14, but his afternoon of drama was far from over. Seven laps later he overtook Liuzzi at the bus-stop chicane and chopped across the front of the Force India, taking away a section of Liuzzi's front wing and puncturing his own rear tyre in the process. Liuzzi was wise enough to nip straight back into the pits, but Vettel had to continue for a whole lap with a puncture to emerge in P.20.
At the end of Lap 21 Mark Webber started off the round of routine tyre stops as the Red Bull driver swapped his soft tyres for the harder Prime in a bid to jump Robert Kubica for P2. A lap later and Kubica was in for tyres and exited still just in front of the Red Bull.
The two Mercedes in 6th and 7th opted not to stop for tyres at this time, gambling there would be rain before the end of the race and they could change tyres then. But if it stayed dry and they had to pit, then Fernando Alonso, who was up to P9 by now and closing on Kamui Kobayashi's P8, could leapfrog them. Both Schumacher and Rosberg were only a matter of ten seconds in front of the closing Alonso.
Lewis Hamilton had opened up a 13 second gap on Robert Kubica when the rain started to fall on Lap 34. As the leading cars headed towards the pitlane entry the big question was - would anybody be brave enough to stop for Intermediates, given that was the wrong call earlier on.
Hamilton went straight on past the pitlane entrance, Kubica followed suit, as did Webber and Massa. But fifth placed Sutil and virtually everyone behind him piled into the pitlane to change to either extreme wets or Inters. This time round, the Intermediate tyre was the right call and had Webber, Kubica or Massa gambled, then they might have won the race.
Lewis Hamilton proved how marginal the call to stay out had been when he went straight off the road at Rivage, his McLaren skeetering across the gravel and lightly touching the barrier before continuing on its way. This put Robert Kubica very close to him as the front four tiptoed back to the pits.
The midfield had already rushed back to the pits for Inters and full Wets and Sebastian Vettel was almost collected by Fernando Alonso as he emerged from his pitbox (the stewards would investigate). The rain was good news for the Mercedes team, though, who got a pitstop for nothing, even if they did have to double stop the cars, losing Rosberg places.
Hamilton, Kubica, Webber and Massa stayed in front for their pitstops, but Kubica threw away second place when he locked his brakes and overshot his pitbox causing an overlong tyre stop that allowed Webber past. Massa wasn't close enough to steal the final podium place.
LAP 36 ORDER: 1.Hamilton, 2.Webber, 3. Kubica, 4.Massa, 5.Sutil 6.Schumacher, 7.Kobayashi, 8.Alonso, 9. Rosberg, 10.Petrov
Fernando Alonso may not have jumped to P6 but he was moving in on P7 when on Lap 38 he ran wide onto the exit kerbs of Malmedy and spun the Ferrari into the barriers, leaving it sideways across the track. It was stopped in a dangerous position and so the Safety Car came out for the second time of the afternoon.
Hamilton had opened up a five second gap to Webber after the pit-stops but he was forced to tour behind the "too slow" Safety Car for a couple of laps before it came in at the end of Lap 40. Nico Rosberg used the restart to maximum advantage overtaking Kobayashi into La Source and then putting a risky-but-successful move on his team-mate into Les Combes to grab 6th place.
There was no change at the front once the race was going again and Hamilton was able to keep his car on the island ahead of Mark Webber, Robert Kubica, Felipe Massa and Adrian Sutil; everyone keen on preserving their hard-won points. Sebastian Vettel had been given extreme wets during the change to wet tyres, burned them out and had to pit for some more. There was a terse interchange between his engineer on his race radio when he said "It's not wet enough" and was told that it was. Even though it clearly wasn't.
It had been an epic race in which Vettel had played the largest part but finished a lap down and with no points - and left his team-mate in a very strong position.
FH
Times
01 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1hr29.04.268
02 Mark Webber RBR-Renault +1.5 secs
03 Robert Kubica Renault +3.4 secs
04 Felipe Massa Ferrari +8.2 secs
05 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +9.0 secs
06 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP +12.3 secs
07 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP +15.5 secs
08 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari +16.6 secs
09 Vitaly Petrov Renault +23.8 secs
10 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari +29.4 secs
11 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes +34.8 secs
12 Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari +36.0 secs
13 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari +39.8 secs
14 Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth +1 Lap
15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault +1 Lap
16 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth +1 Lap
17 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth +1 Lap
18 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth +1 Lap
19 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth +1 Lap
20 Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth +2 Lap
Ret Fernando Alonso Ferrari +7 Lap
Ret Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +29 Laps
Ret Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth +39 Laps
Ret Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 43 laps
