As a consequence of the race, Vettel extended his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 92points over Webber. Fernando Alonso, fourth in the race, moved into third place in the championship, tenpoints behind Webber in second, and eight ahead of Button. In the World Constructors' Championship, Red Bull extended their championship lead to 131points over McLaren, with Ferrari a further 64points behind in third position.
Report
Background
The FIA banned the use of DRS through the Eau Rouge corner, since drivers had raised safety concerns similar to those held at Monaco. The overtaking aid was not permitted between the entrance to the La Source hairpin and the top of the hill after Eau Rouge. The DRS zone for the race was from Raidillon, along the Kemmel Straight until Les Combes.[6]
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its white-banded medium compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the yellow-banded soft compound as the softer "option" compound, as opposed to the previous year where Bridgestone brought the hard compound as the prime.[7]
After completing a practice session for Renault at the Hungaroring, Bruno Senna was promoted to a race seat for the Belgian Grand Prix, replacing Nick Heidfeld.[8] The race weekend also marked the twentieth anniversary of Michael Schumacher's Formula One debut at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix. Schumacher wore a special gold helmet to commemorate the occasion.[9]
Prior to the summer break, Sebastian Vettel had yet again extended his lead, in the previous race, in Hungary to 85 points over teammate Mark Webber, on 234. Webber on 149, was 3 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton and 4 ahead of Fernando Alonso. Jenson Button was ranked fifth in the standings, on 134 points, after winning the last race. As far as Constructors were concerned, Red Bull Racing held the lead with 383 points, however McLaren had closed the gap, but were still 103 points behind on 280. Third placed team Ferrari were on 215 points, and had a big gap to the ongoing Mercedes and Renault scrap for fourth place.
Free Practice
The first Friday session was declared wet following a shower shortly before the pit lane opened. The Mercedes cars of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg set the early pace, with lap times well under two minutes. They remained unthreatened at the top of the time sheets for the remainder of the session; Jenson Button was third-fastest with a time some nine seconds adrift of the Mercedes cars in the wet conditions. Bruno Senna's return to Formula One ended abruptly when the Brazilian driver spun at turn 9, damaging his Renault R31 enough to end his session early. Paul di Resta had a similar episode at the same corner several minutes later, forcing the session to be red-flagged while his Force India VJM04 was craned away.
The second session was similarly rain-affected, with only limited running taking place before the rain returned; however, the gaps between drivers were not as extreme as those witnessed during the morning session. Mark Webber set the fastest time of the session, four seconds faster than Schumacher's time in the morning session. Fernando Alonso was second ahead of Button and Lewis Hamilton. The session was free of incidents, though Renault's Vitaly Petrov suffered a steering problem that saw him finish the 90-minute session in 24th and last place having done no dry running in the session.
The final session on Saturday morning was once again declared wet; so wet that most drivers did not venture out until the final few minutes of the session. Mark Webber was once again fastest, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Jaime Alguersuari. Ferrari completed very little running and finished the session 23rd and 24th, with Felipe Massa recording just seven laps and Fernando Alonso failing to set a lap time despite doing an installation lap.
Qualifying
The first qualifying period began badly for Michael Schumacher, who lost a wheel on the approach to Rivage and crashed out on his warm-up lap, demoting him to 24th place on the grid, his worst starting position in his career. The circuit steadily began to dry out, and at the end of the session, Mark Webber was the fastest man on the circuit. Heikki Kovalainen edged into 17th place at the last minute and was safe from elimination at the expense of Paul di Resta. Because of the rapidly improving lap times, the Virgin of local driver Jérôme d'Ambrosio and the Hispanias of Daniel Ricciardo and Vitantonio Liuzzi all set times outside 107% of Webber's lap time, but all four of them were allowed to start the race.[10]
Adrian Sutil exits his car after the accident at the top of Eau Rouge.
The rain began falling again ahead of the second qualifying period, leading to a dramatic drop in lap times. Adrian Sutil crashed at the top of Eau Rouge, scattering pieces of debris across the circuit. Race control was forced to red-flag the session with seven minutes remaining in order to clear the circuit. Fernando Alonso went on to set the fastest lap time of the session, while Jenson Button moved over for Lewis Hamilton to allow the 2008 World Champion a clear lap to qualify for the third and final period. Button ultimately qualified 13th, behind Sébastien Buemi and Kamui Kobayashi, and ahead of Rubens Barrichello, Sutil – whose time was fast enough for 15th position despite causing the session to be stopped – Pastor Maldonado and Heikki Kovalainen.
In the final few seconds of Q2, four cars attempted to clear the Bus Stop chicane, including Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado. None of the cars was able to cross the start/finish line in time to be allowed to complete another timed lap, Hamilton passed Maldonado with an aggressive move, forcing Maldonado wide on the exit of the chicane. Replays then showed Maldonado's Williams swiping across Hamilton's McLaren on the approach to Eau Rouge after the session had ended, damaging Hamilton's car enough to force McLaren to make impromptu repairs to the front wing, and the sidepod was repaired by tape in the short break before Q3. Maldonado was later penalised five grid slots because of the incident. Hamilton received a reprimand and a warning from the stewards for being partly to blame for the incident as he turned right slightly on the approach to Eau Rouge, before Maldonado moved left, striking the McLaren's front wing and sidepod.
McLaren was able to repair Hamilton's car in time for the final qualifying period, for which a queue of cars formed in the pitlane as a dry line formed around the circuit, allowing the drivers to use the dry slick tyres for the first time during the weekend. Lap times fell rapidly during the session, with several drivers claiming provisional pole before the flag fell. Sebastian Vettel prevailed, achieving his ninth pole of the season, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber. Felipe Massa out-qualified Alonso in fourth, whilst Nico Rosberg took fifth place ahead of Jaime Alguersuari and Bruno Senna. Fernando Alonso finished the session eighth, with Sergio Pérez in ninth and Vitaly Petrov in tenth.
Race
In the build-up to the race, several teams requested that the FIA make available several sets of additional tyres after discovering problem with blistering – a result of continued racing at excessively high temperatures, causing air bubbles to form under the topmost layer of rubber – immediately after qualifying. This would force several drivers to start the race on compromised tyres.[11] However, the FIA denied the request as the damage to the tyres had been done as a result of extreme camber settings in the car set-up; under the rules set forth by the sporting regulations, teams may replace tyres if they have been damaged, but only if the damage is a result of an accident. If the tyres are damaged as a result of car set-up, the teams would not be permitted to change their tyres.[12] The affected drivers would have the option of changing their camber settings, but this would be in breach of parc fermé regulations and would force any driver who chose to do so to start from the pit lane, effectively moving them to the back of the grid.
The start was messy, with two separate incidents in the first corner. Sebastian Vettel started strongly, but it was Nico Rosberg who claimed the early lead while behind them, Mark Webber made a very poor start, his Red Bull RB7 dropping into anti-stall. Bruno Senna braked too late at La Source and made heavy contact with Jaime Alguersuari in the first corner, pushing the Toro Rosso into the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. Alonso escaped unscathed, but Alguersuari was forced to retire with front suspension damage. Senna had to pit for repairs, and was subsequently given a drive-through penalty for causing an avoidable accident. As the cars filtered through the first corner, Timo Glock made contact with Paul di Resta, earning a drive-through penalty of his own, while the Lotuses spun trying to avoid the Glock-di Resta incident. Jenson Button's car was damaged by debris from Senna's Lotus, forcing him to make an unscheduled stop to replace his front wing. He also lost his right mirror, but the advantage of his pit stop was that he was able to change onto the softer option tyres, having started the race on the slower primes.
Nico Rosberg led the field though Eau Rouge for the first time, but was powerless to fend off Sebastian Vettel when the DRS zone was activated on lap three. Rosberg spent the rest of his first stint falling victim to several other drivers, slipping down the order, whilst Schumacher was doing the exact opposite, climbing to 15th on the first lap. The pre-race controversy surrounding tyre blistering came to a head on lap five, when the first round of pit stops began. Mark Webber pitted first, followed by Vettel, briefly handing the lead back to Rosberg as Alonso and Hamilton both pitted. Alonso emerged from the pits to find Webber right behind him, and the Australian and the Spaniard raced side-by-side through Eau Rouge, with Webber prevailing. Behind them, Sébastien Buemi in the second Toro Rosso was forced to retire when he was hit from behind by Sergio Pérez, destroying his rear wing.
Throughout the first phase of the race, two drivers steadily began to make inroads on the field. Jenson Button, who had completed his first pit stop for a new front wing, and Michael Schumacher, who had started 24th and had managed to avoid the chaos at the first corner, both began to climb up through the midfield and were ideally placed when the safety car was deployed on lap 13. Hamilton, having just passed Kobayashi, moved to the left on the racing line leading into Les Combes. However, Kobayashi had not yet relinquished the position and was still on Hamilton's outside. The Sauber and the McLaren made contact, and Hamilton spun off and hit the barrier, and he retired from the race. Kobayashi was able to continue, but Daniel Ricciardo also stopped on the circuit after experiencing a vibration in his Hispania F111, and retired from 16th place. The safety car triggered a second round of stops among the leaders, with Alonso taking the lead from Vettel on lap 14, only to lose it when he made his own stop three laps later.
With the wreckage from Hamilton's accident cleared, the safety car left the circuit and racing resumed. Vettel re-established his lead ahead of Alonso and Webber, with Button making his way through the field at a rate that suggested he had the potential to win the race. He inherited the lead on lap 31, but he had no answer to Vettel's out-lap and was forced to pit himself for the final time, emerging behind Alonso and Webber. Alonso was unable to defend against Webber, nor against Button several laps later. Button briefly attempted to catch Webber, but decided against it as it meant risking an extra pit stop. Further down the order, Michael Schumacher had recovered from 24th on the grid to sixth overall, before passing Nico Rosberg on the approach to Les Combes. Sergio Pérez became the fifth and final retirement of the race when his suspension failed, and he was able to limp back to the pits.
Vettel went on to win the race, three seconds ahead of Webber in second and nine seconds ahead of Button in third. Alonso, who had struggled all race with a lack of grip, finished fourth ahead of Schumacher and Rosberg. Adrian Sutil finished seventh, while Felipe Massa was eighth; the Brazilian driver had pitted on lap 30, but picked up a puncture on his out-lap, forcing him to re-pit immediately. Vitaly Petrov finished ninth after a brake failure cost him ten seconds and eighth place on the final lap. After the controversy in qualifying, Pastor Maldonado recovered from 21st on the grid to finish tenth, achieving his first World Championship point, the first for a Venezuelan driver since Johnny Cecotto at the 1983 United States Grand Prix West, as well as scoring Cosworth's last points. His teammate, Rubens Barrichello, finished 16th behind the Lotuses of Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen after a collision with Kobayashi at the Bus Stop chicane forced him to pit for a new front wing.
A view from La Source after the race finish.
Post-Race
In light of the pre-race controversy over tyre blistering, Pirelli accused Red Bull Racing of putting them in an "impossible" position by lobbying for extra sets of tyres to be made available after they went outside Pirelli's recommended camber settings when setting up their cars.[13]Paul Hembery, Pirelli's motorsport director, later stated that the company would be "more cautious" when recommending settings for the Italian Grand Prix with a view to preventing the blistering issue from arising again.[14]
Lewis Hamilton had initially been critical of Kamui Kobayashi following their race-ending collision on lap twelve, saying that the crash had cost him the opportunity of a podium place.[15] Kobayashi denied any wrongdoing, saying that he had kept as far to the side of the track as possible to allow Hamilton through and that the only way to avoid a collision was to go off the circuit. After seeing replays of the incident, Hamilton agreed with the stewards' decision, adding, "I didn't give Kobayashi enough room though, I thought I was past."[16]
Bruno Senna also admitted that it was his error and miscalculation of the La Source corner that made him collide against Jaime Alguersuari.[17]
^ – Pastor Maldonado was penalised 5 grid places for causing an avoidable accident with Lewis Hamilton at the end of the second qualifying session.[19]
^ – Despite being outside the 107% margin, Jérôme d'Ambrosio, Daniel Ricciardo and Vitantonio Liuzzi were granted dispensations to race on the grounds that variable weather conditions in qualifying meant their times were not representative of their ability to qualify.[10]
^ – Michael Schumacher was permitted to race as he had consistently been within 107% of the fastest lap times set in Free Practice.[10]
The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 63rd FIA Formula One World Championship, a motor racing series for Formula One cars, recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the governing body of motorsport – as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over twenty rounds, which started in Australia on 18 March and ended in Brazil on 25 November. The 2012 season saw the return of the United States Grand Prix, which was held at the Circuit of the Americas, a purpose-built circuit in Austin, Texas. After being cancelled in 2011 due to civil protests, the Bahrain Grand Prix also returned to the calendar.
The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 12 June 2011 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the seventh race of the 2011 Formula One World Championship and the 48th Canadian Grand Prix. McLaren driver Jenson Button won the 70-lap race starting from seventh position. Sebastian Vettel, who started from pole position, finished second in a Red Bull Racing with teammate Mark Webber finishing third.
The 2011 Indian Grand Prix, formally the 2011 Formula 1 Airtel Grand Prix of India, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 30 October 2011 at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was the seventeenth round of the 2011 Formula One season and the first Formula One Grand Prix to take place in South Asia and first to take place in India.
The 2011 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on 11 September 2011 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. It was the thirteenth round of the 2011 Formula One season and was also the sixtieth time the Italian Grand Prix had been held at Monza. The 53-lap race was won by Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel, the World Drivers' Championship leader, after he started from pole position. Jenson Button finished in second place for McLaren, and Fernando Alonso completed the podium in third position for Ferrari.
The 2011 Korean Grand Prix, formally the 2011 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on 16 October 2011 at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, South Jeolla, South Korea. It was the sixteenth round of the 2011 Formula One season, the second running of the Korean Grand Prix, and the first race after Sebastian Vettel claimed the 2011 World Drivers' Championship.
The 2011 Singapore Grand Prix, formally the 2011 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 25 September 2011 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore. It was the fourteenth round of the 2011 Formula One season and the twelfth time the Singapore Grand Prix had been held. The 61-lap race was won by Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel, the Drivers' Championship leader, after starting from pole position. Jenson Button finished in second place for McLaren, and Mark Webber completed the podium in third position.
The 2011 Turkish Grand Prix, formally the 2011 Formula 1 DHL Turkish Grand Prix, was a Formula One motor race held on 8 May 2011 at Istanbul Park in Tuzla, near Istanbul, Turkey. It was the fourth round of the 2011 Formula One season. The 58-lap race was won by the championship leader, Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel after starting from pole position. His teammate Mark Webber finished in second place, and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso completed the podium in third position.
The 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 4 November 2012 at the Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was the eighteenth round of the 2012 Formula One season and the fourth Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 55-lap race was won by Lotus driver Kimi Räikkönen after starting from fourth position. Fernando Alonso finished second in a Ferrari with his championship rival Sebastian Vettel third for Red Bull, having started from the pit lane.
The 2012 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 18 March 2012 as the opening round of the 2012 Formula One season. It was the 77th race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix that dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928, and the 17th time the event has been held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park.
The 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 22 April 2012 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the first time Formula One returned to Bahrain after the 2011 race was cancelled due to ongoing anti-government protests. The race, the eighth running of the Bahrain Grand Prix, was contested over 57 laps and was the fourth round of the 2012 Formula One season.
The 2012 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place, at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps near the village of Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium on 2 September 2012, the first event after a five-week summer break. It was the twelfth race of the 2012 Formula One World Championship, and the seventy-seventh running of the Belgian Grand Prix.
The 2012 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England on 8 July 2012. It was the ninth round of the 2012 Formula One season, the 63rd time the event had been a round of the Formula One World Championship, and the 67th time it had been contested overall. The 52-lap race was won by Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who took his second victory of the season. The Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, who started the race in pole position, finished 3.0 seconds behind Webber, in second. Webber's teammate, Sebastian Vettel, completed the podium by finishing in third position.
The 2012 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain on 24 June 2012. It was the eighth round of the 2012 championship season, and the final time the circuit hosted the European Grand Prix or any other Formula One race. It was Fernando Alonso's second Grand Prix win in Spain after the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix held at Barcelona. Michael Schumacher finished third at the age of 43 years and 173 days, the oldest driver to climb to the podium since Jack Brabham's second-place finish at the 1970 British Grand Prix. It was Schumacher's best result since his comeback in 2010 and the final podium finish of his Formula One career.
The 2012 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy on 9 September 2012. It was the thirteenth race of the 2012 season, and the final race in Europe before the teams returned to Asia for the Singapore Grand Prix.
The 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 25 March 2012 at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia. It was the fourteenth running of the Malaysian Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship, and the thirty-second time the event has been held. The 56-lap race was the second round of the 2012 Formula One season and was won by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso. Sergio Pérez of the Sauber team finished the race in second position, and McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton completed the podium with third place after starting in pole position.
The 2012 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place in the principality of Monaco on 27 May 2012. It was the sixth round of the 2012 season, and the seventieth running of the Monaco Grand Prix. The race was supported by the GP2, GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5 series. Mark Webber's victory created a new record for Formula One in that there had never been six different winners of the opening six Grands Prix of the season before. Mercedes' Nico Rosberg came in second place, his second podium in the 2012 season, and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso third and taking the Formula One championship lead by three points over Vettel and Webber.
The 2012 Singapore Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore on 23 September 2012 as the fourteenth round of the 2012 season. The race was the thirteenth time that a Singapore Grand Prix has been held, and the fifth time it was a round of the Formula One World Championship.
The 2012 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 2012, at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain, attended by 82,000 people. It was the fifth round of the 2012 Formula One World Championship and the 22nd Spanish Grand Prix at the track. Williams's Pastor Maldonado won the 66-lap event from pole position, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso second and Lotus's Kimi Räikkönen third.
The 2012 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, Japan on 7 October 2012 at 15:00 local time. The race was the fifteenth round of the 2012 season, and marked the 38th running of the Japanese Grand Prix.
The 2012 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 15 April 2012 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China. It was the ninth running of the Chinese Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship. The 56-lap race was the third round of the 2012 Formula One season.
↑ Noble, Jonathan (29 August 2011). "Behind the scenes at Spa". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 31 August 2011. Helmet supplier Schuberth provided him with a special 21-carat gold plated helmet, which he wore as a special one-off for the weekend.
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