2011 Belgian Grand Prix Results
For the twelfth race of the season, teams stayed in Europe, simply moving from Hungary to Belgium. The racing circuit at Spa, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, is probably one of the most famous tracks, steeped in history dating back to the 1920s. This was the 64th Belgian Grand Prix to be held at this track and was won by Sebastian Vettel. Second place was Mark Webber and third place Jenson Button.
This race commemorated Michael Schumacher's 20th anniversary of his debut at the Belgian Grand Prix and he wore a gold helmet for the race. He was rewarded with his second best finish this season, in fifth place, which was amazing, considering he had to start in 24th place on the grid! Bruno Senna drove for Renault for the first time this season, replacing team mate Nick Heidfeld. Senna drove a good race, finishing in 13th place.
Qualifying was somewhat chaotic, with Schumacher losing a wheel and then crashing out, putting him last on the grid, the worst position in his career and not a way to celebrate his career start, 20 years ago. Four drivers didn't make the 107% qualifying time cut-off, including Jerome d'Amrosio, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Daniel Ricciardo and Michael Schumacher. However, all drivers were allowed to start, primarily due to the difficult qualifying situation in the rain. In end, Vettel took pole position, followed by Hamilton, Webber and Massa.
The race started chaotically, with two incidents occurring in the first corner. Webber almost didn't even get away from the grid. Bruno Senna and Jaime Alguersuari made contact in the first corner, eliminating Alguersuari from the race. Alonso was also sucked into the incident, but was able to emerge unscathed, unlike Button whose car was damaged by debris. Then, Timo Glock and Paul di Resta touched, with Resta getting a drive-through penalty.
After this chaos, drivers were trying to recover from the carnage, for example, Button having to take a long pit stop to replace his front wing. Vettel was also not unscathed, having to deal with blistering tyres - an issue several drivers battled with in the heat. Lap 13 saw the next big incident, with Hamilton and Kamui Kobayashi crashing. Hamilton spectacularly crashed into the corner barriers. He had to retire from the race, but was unharmed. Kobayashi went on to finish 12th. The stewards reviewed the crash after Hamilton complained that Kobayashi caused it, but they did not find any cause for penalty. Vettel pretty much continued his initial lead, with Webber close to his heels all the way. But in the end, it was Vettel that took the win.
Vettel's win in Belgium firmly entrenches his lead in the Drivers' Championship standings, with 259 points. Places two to five are still in contention, with Webber in second place with 167 points and Alonso in third place with 157 points. Coming up close from behind are Button with 149 points and Hamilton with 146 points. Vettel is becoming hard to catch.
Red Bull continues to extend their lead in the Constructors' Championship standings. Their 1-2 finish in Belgium adds 50 points to their total, giving them 426 points. Their position is looking less and less likely to be usurped, with seven races left in the season. McLaren gets 15 points for Button's third place finish, but is hurt by Hamilton's retirement, bringing their point standing to 295 - a 131 differential. Ferrari remains in third place with 231 points. Three teams still have zero points: Lotus, Virgin and HRT-Cosworth.
Full Race Results
- Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing-Renault) 1:26:44.893s
- Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) +3.741s
- Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) +9.669s
- Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) +13.022s
- Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) +47.464s
- Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) +48.674s
- Adrian Sutil (Force India-Mercedes) +59.713s
- Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +1:06.706s
- Vitaly Petrov (Renault) +1:11.917s
- Pastor Maldonado (Williams-Cosworth) +1:17.615s
- Paul di Resta (Force India-Mercedes) +1 :23.994s
- Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber-Ferrari) +1:31.976s
- Bruno Senna (Renault) +1:32.985s
- Jarno Trulli (Lotus-Renault) +1 laps
- Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus-Renault) +1 lap
- Rubens Barrichello (Williams-Cosworth) +1 lap
- Jerome d'Ambrosio (Virgin-Cosworth) +1 lap
- Timo Glock (Virgin-Cosworth) +1 lap
- Vitantonio Liuzzi (HRT-Cosworth) +1 lap
- Sergio Perez (Sauber-Ferrari) retired, lap 27
- Daniel Ricciardo (HRT-Cosworth) retired, lap 13
- Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) retired, lap 12
- Sebastian Buemi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) retired, lap 6
- Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) retired, lap 0