Race Report
Belgian GP
Kimi Raikkonen won the Belgian Grand Prix for Ferrari at a rain free Spa Francorchamps today. Raikkonen was beaten off the line by pole sitter Giancarlo Fisichella who led the Finn through Eau Rouge and Les Combes. Behind them all hell broke loose as a dramatic series of collisions triggered by Romain Grosjean who hit Button from behind and Jaime Alguersuari who hit Hamilton spread debris accross the circuit. It was the end of the road for all four drivers and another big disappointment for championship leader Button. The Safety Car was deployed to allow the debris to be cleared away from the track and when it pulled off at the end of the fourth lap Raikkonen's KERS powered Ferrari soon overpowered the Force India as they climbed the hill out of Eau Rouge towards Les Combes and held it despite a valiant fightback by Fisichella. The pair were close throughout the race and at the flag Fisichella was within one second of the Ferrari. It was an impressive and well deserved result for Fisichella and will be a big boost for the Force India Team. Sebastian Vettel drove a solid race to secure third place for Red Bull after starting from eighth on the grid. BMW team mates Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld enjoyed a welcome respite from the dismal performances by BMW of late, finishing the race fourth and fifth. Heikki Kovalainen rounded out the top six benefitting as others fell by the wayside and from a decision to run a one stop strategy. Rubens Barrichello stepped in to save the day for Brawn following Button's demise but a dreadful start dropped him way down the order and meant that he had to work hard for his seventh place and two points. Nico Rosberg was the remaining points scorer in eighth. Mark Webber's race was blighted by a drive through penalty awarded as a result of the team releasing him into the path of Nick Heidfeld in the first round of pitstops, almost causing a collision with the German's BMW and resulting in ninth place and no points on this occasion. Timo Glock rounded out the top ten after a refuelling rig issue prevented him from finishing further up the order after running as high as fourth position. Fernando Alonso ran well but eventually succumbed to damage caused to his Renault by a knock at the first corner.
