Results of the 2007 Belgian F1 Grand Prix

How the tables turn in a fortnight. Ferrari grabbed a one-two at Spa, just as McLaren had done in the Italian Grand Prix two weeks earlier. With the title leaders now effectively out of the Constructors’ Championship, following their team disqualification, they had to settle for third and fourth behind Kimi Raikkonen and Filipe Massa. Positions were unchanged from the start as Fernando Alonso finished 3rd, 10 seconds after the chequered flag, followed closely by Lewis Hamilton who now sees his title lead cut to just two points.

In a dour race, Nick Heidfeld again finished fifth for BMW-Sauber with Nico Rosberg a pleasing sixth for Williams. Mark Webber had a good race, taking seventh for the notoriously unreliable Red Bull Racing car, while Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen could only collect a single point for the defending Constructors’ Champions. With all the top cars on two pit stop strategies and the Ferraris outpacing the McLaren’s on a circuut the suited them better, the order was unlikely to change. With a maximum 30 points left for drivers, and only 20 points separating the top 4 drivers, the 2007 season looks set to be a thrilling crunch.

After McLaren’s harsh punishment in the so-called ‘spygate’ saga, stripping them of constructor’s points, Ferrari are now virtually guaranteed their first trophy in three years. But whether their drivers can catch the duelling McLaren drivers remains to be seen. Their abilities seem to flip-flop from one race to the next. Meanwhile the rivalry between Alonso and Hamilton continues, with the reigning champion forcing the rookie off the track in an audacious but legal move at the first corner.

Apart from some exciting racing in the middle and bottom order, the race produced no other dramas. Jenson Button, Alexander Wurz and David Coulthard all retired early on, While Sebastien Vettel and Giancarlo Fisichella also never made it to the finish.

Hamilton retains his lead on 97, two ahead of Alonso, 13 ahead of Raikkonen and 20 clear of Massa, yet has the least number of victories among them. He also heads into the last three races on circuits he’s never raced on. Ferrari appear to be more and more competitive as the season reaches it’s climax, and are now virtual Constructors’ Champions with their nearest rival, BMW Sauber, 71 points behind. Unless they are disqualified as McLaren were, it’s mathematically impossible for the Swiss-based team to catch them, even if second will be their best ever result.

Belgian Grand Prix result at Spa-Francorchamps:
1. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1 min 20:39.066 secs
2. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari +00:04.695
3. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 00:14.343
4. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 00:23.615
5. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 00:51.879
6. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota 01:16.876
7. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 01:20.639
8. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Renault 01:25.106
9. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 01:25.661
10. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota 01:28.574
11. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 01:43.653
12. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1 lap
13. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1 lap
14. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Spyker - Ferrari 1 lap
15. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri - Honda 1 lap
16. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri - Honda 1 lap
17. Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) Spyker - Ferrari 1 lap
R. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 8 laps
R. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Williams - Toyota 10 laps
R. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull - Renault 15 laps
R. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 36 laps
R. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault 43 laps