F1 : Belgian Grand Prix.

[Ferry_vO]

Only a week after Monza and the teams are now at what the drivers call the best (and most challenging) track of the calendar !

Fernando Alonso can become the youngest F1 champion ever if he scores three points more than rival Kimi Raikkonen.

But it seems that this year's race at Spa will truly seperate the men from the boys, as lots and lots of rain are predicted for this weekend. Today's second practice session was ruined by a huge downpour, so there are only times from the first session.

Saturday's qualifying might also become interesting, as the FIA has already stated that qualifying will continue, no matter how bad the weather.

Let's see who is the best driver in the wet, and who has the best wet tyre !
If it stays wet on Sunday, keep your eye on Michael Schumacher and Giancarlo Fisichella, as both are renowned for their skills in the wet.

Today's times from the first session :

1. Kimi Raikkonen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 01:48.206
2. Alexander Wurz Austria McLaren-Mercedes 01:48.216
3. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Renault-Renault 01:48.619
4. Ricardo Zonta Brazil Toyota-Toyota 01:49.445
5. Mark Webber Australia Williams-BMW 01:49.692
6. Jenson Button Britain BAR-Honda 01:49.890
7. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 01:50.542
8. Michael Schumacher Germany Ferrari-Ferrari 01:50.564
9. Ralf Schumacher Germany Toyota-Toyota 01:50.820
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Red Bull-Cosworth 01:50.951
11. Takuma Sato Japan BAR-Honda 01:51.003
12. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 01:51.177
13. Jacques Villeneuve Canada Sauber-Petronas 01:52.173
14. Felipe Massa Brazil Sauber-Petronas 01:52.236
15. Narain Karthikeyan India Jordan-Toyota 01:53.148
16. Antonio Pizzonia Brazil Williams-BMW 01:53.535
17. Christijan Albers Holland Minardi-Cosworth 01:53.807
18. Nicolas Kiesa Danish Jordan-Toyota 01:54.437
19. Robert Doornbos Holland Minardi-Cosworth 01:54.973
20. Tiago Monteiro Portugal Jordan-Toyota 01:55.174
21. Enrico Toccacelo Italy Minardi-Cosworth 02:02.502
22. Christian Klien Austria Red Bull-Cosworth no time
23. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Cosworth no time
24. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault no time
25. Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia McLaren-Mercedes no time

[CybrSlydr]

Spaaaaaa... I love that course in F1C. :D

Let's hope Kimi can keep within that 3 point bubble on Fernando!

[Ferry_vO]

The results from a dry qualifying session :

1. Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia McLaren-Mercedes 01:46.391
2. Kimi Raikkonen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 01:46.440
3. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Renault-Renault 01:46.497
4. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 01:46.596
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 01:46.760
6. Ralf Schumacher Germany Toyota-Toyota 01:47.401
7. Michael Schumacher Germany Ferrari-Ferrari 01:47.476
8. Felipe Massa Brazil Sauber-Petronas 01:47.867
9. Jenson Button Britain BAR-Honda 01:47.978
10. Mark Webber Australia Williams-BMW 01:48.071
11. Takuma Sato Japan BAR-Honda 01:48.353
12. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Cosworth 01:48.508
13. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 01:48.550
14. Jacques Villeneuve Canada Sauber-Petronas 01:48.889
15. Antonio Pizzonia Brazil Williams-BMW 01:48.898
16. Christian Klien Austria Red Bull-Cosworth 01:48.994
17. Robert Doornbos Holland Minardi-Cosworth 01:49.779
18. Christijan Albers Holland Minardi-Cosworth 01:49.842
19. Tiago Monteiro Portugal Jordan-Toyota 01:51.498
20. Narain Karthikeyan India Jordan-Toyota 01:51.675

Fisichella will be set back ten positions due to an engine change before the qualifying session.

[Ferry_vO]

A great race on a wet track, with some interesting moments !

Fisichella destroyed a Renault when he lost control in Eau Rouge (At 285 Kmh! )and smashed into the tyrebarrier. Michael Schumacher was hit from behind by Sato in the La source hairpin; He was penalized by the marshalls and will be placed back ten positions on the grid in Brazil. Pizzonia knocked second placed Montoya off the track in an attempt to overtake. But since Pizzonia was a lap behind Montoya when he tried to overtake, he was also penalized. He has to pay a fine of $8,000.
Jarno Trulli went off the track when hewas caught off guard by Monteiro who accidentally engaged his speedlimiter and slowed down . Ralf Schumacher threw away a second place or even possibly a win, when he (or the team) decided to put slicks on the car instead of raintyres. But the track was still too wet and Ralf had to change back to intermediate tyres.

Raikkonen won the race, but Alonso finished second. Alonso now has a 25 point lead over Kimi, with thirty points the maximum still available in the next three races.

The race results :

1. Kimi Raikkonen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 44 01:30:01.295
2. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault +28.3
3. Jenson Button Britain BAR-Honda +32.0
4. Mark Webber Australia Williams-BMW +69.1
5. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +78.1
6. Jacques Villeneuve Canada Sauber-Petronas +87.4
7. Ralf Schumacher Germany Toyota-Toyota +87.5
8. Tiago Monteiro Portugal Jordan-Toyota +1 lap
9. Christian Klien Austria Red Bull-Cosworth +1 lap
10. Felipe Massa Brazil Sauber-Petronas +1 lap
11. Narain Karthikeyan India Jordan-Toyota +1 lap
12. Christijan Albers Holland Minardi-Cosworth +2 laps
13. Robert Doornbos Holland Minardi-Cosworth +3 laps

Rtd Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia McLaren-Mercedes 40 laps completed
Rtd Antonio Pizzonia Brazil Williams-BMW 39 laps completed
Rtd Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 30 laps completed
Rtd David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Cosworth 18 laps completed
Rtd Michael Schumacher Germany Ferrari-Ferrari 13 laps completed
Rtd Takuma Sato Japan BAR-Honda 13 laps completed
Rtd Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Renault-Renault 10 laps completed

The drivers' championship :

1. FERNANDO ALONSO RENAULT 111
2. KIMI RAIKKONEN MCLAREN 86
3. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER FERRARI 55
4. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA MCLAREN 50
5. JARNO TRULLI TOYOTA 43
6. GIANCARLO FISICHELLA RENAULT 41
7. RALF SCHUMACHER TOYOTA 37
8. RUBENS BARRICHELLO FERRARI 35
9. JENSON BUTTON BAR 30
10. MARK WEBBER WILLIAMS 29
11. NICK HEIDFELD WILLIAMS 28
12. DAVID COULTHARD RED BULL RACING 21
13. JACQUES VILLENEUVE SAUBER 9
14. FELIPE MASSA SAUBER 8
15. TIAGO MONTEIRO JORDAN 7
16. ALEXANDER WURZ MCLAREN 6
17. NARAIN KARTHIKEYAN JORDAN 5
= CHRISTIAN KLIEN RED BULL RACING 5
19. CHRISTIJAN ALBERS MINARDI 4
= PEDRO DE LA ROSA MCLAREN 4
21. PATRICK FRIESACHER MINARDI 3
22. ANTONIO PIZZONIA WILLIAMS 2
23. VITANTONIO LIUZZI RED BULL RACING 1
= TAKUMA SATO BAR 1

And the constructors' championship :

1. RENAULT 152
2. MCLAREN 146
3. FERRARI 90
4. TOYOTA 80
5. WILLIAMS 59
6. BAR 31
7. RED BULL RACING 27
8. SAUBER 17
9. JORDAN 12
10. MINARDI 7

Note: If Montoya would have finished second, McLaren would have been in the lead...

[CybrSlydr]

Wow! That sounds like a very tense race! 285, eh? Imagine how fast he'd have been going had the pavement been dry. :)

Unfortunate for JP. :( Seems the bad luck always follows him. lol

Alonzo is still keeping it tight. However, seems that Kimi has really come into his own this season - really doing a helluva job for McLaren-Mercedes! I hope he can continue his excellent driving into next season!

There certainly seems to be a huge sort of, 'ettiquite' for F1 racing - while a lap down if you hit a guy and end his race, there's a fine? Wow! You'll never hear anything like that from NASCAR or IRL/CART. I like it - however, seems that it'll cut down on the competition factor a bit. Then again, the increase in saftey from drivers playing it a bit safe is most important.

[Ferry_vO]

Alonso now only needs a third place in Brazil to become champion. The only thing Kimi can do is win three races and hope that Fernando doesn't take more than four points out of three races.

If Mercedes and McLaren can build a fast AND reliable car for next season, I think Kimi will be the man to beat. He just had too much bad luck in the start of the season.

Wouldn't be surprised if McLaren does take the Constructors' championship this year though, looks like montoya can keep up with Kimi quite well in this part of the season.

As for the etiquete concerning lapped drivers; They get a blue flag if a faster driver is behind them. This means that they should let him by. If they ignore this flag, they will get a drive through penalty, meaning they will have to drive through the pitlane. All drivers know this rule, and should abide it. A driver that is lapped should not influence the race by holding up faster drivers.

Weird thing is that this is the third time that Montoya is hit from behind by a lapped driver, and the second time this season. All three drivers complained that montoya braked unusually early after he passed them.