The action from the race started before the lights had even gone out; yes, Pastor Maldonado that is directed to you! The ever controversial Venezuelan driver made a jump start at the beginning of the Grand Prix when he launched out of his grid spot a significant amount of time faster than anyone else. Race director Charlie Whiting's reaction said it all as he was seen shaking his head at Maldonado. As if that wasn't enough action for the beginning of a race, about 5 seconds later we would all have forgotten about what Maldonado had done and those of us that are too young to remember watching the start of Spa 1998 live were given the start of Spa 2012 to have with us forever. I'm sure you have all seen what happened by now so I won't describe the events as they happened but the fact that Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton; both of whom would have been very competitive in the race, were taken out is clearly something that will have significant title repercussions and we may look back on this race after Brazil as a real game-changer!
As a result of these starting incidents the stewards were very busy after the race. Maldonado was given 2 5-place grid penalties, one for the jump start and one for colliding with Timo Glock after the T1 incident, and Grosjean was handed a one race ban; the first time we have seen this punishment for 18 years! That in itself shows the severity of the incident but, whilst I do think this is the appropriate punishment, the inconsistency constantly shown by the FIA when dealing with accidents is becoming more than slightly annoying! Is it too much to ask for everything to be dealt with appropriately and a clear rule book that gives clear punishments? You could say that the FIA are very consistent at being inconsistent...
Here is what Romain Grosjean had to say on his punishment and the incident;
“When your life is all about racing, not being allowed to attend an event is probably one of the worst experiences you can go through. That said, I do respect the verdict of the Stewards. I got a good start… and was heading into the first corner when the rear of my car made contact with the front of Lewis [Hamilton]’s. I honestly thought I was ahead of him and there was enough room for both cars; I didn’t deliberately try to squeeze him or anything like that. This first corner situation obviously isn’t what anyone would want to happen and thankfully no-one was hurt in the incident. I wish to apologise to the drivers who were involved and to their fans. I can only say that today is part of a process that will make me a better driver."
I completely commend Grosjean for accepting blame and apologising for what he caused. Many have said the incident was caused because of his immaturity as a driver but I think this shows that he is not immature and is looking at this as an experience that will make him a better driver. We can now ask of nothing more from him and hope that he can avoid incidents like this in the future; beginning with his next race in Singapore!
Spa is famous for always allowing plenty of overtakes and boy did it deliver yesterday! Of course, the standout overtake from the Grand Prix was Kimi's overtake on Michael Schumacher up Eau Rouge. Oh that certainly got my heart rate rising and I can imagine Kimi would have had a little smile on his face as he carried all that speed out of the legendary corner and saw the German firmly behind him after the two had been battling it out for third place.
Sebastian Vettel was also busy with overtaking yesterday and any critics of the reigning world champion's driving skills in traffic were firmly proved wrong as he went from 10th on the grid (to 12th after the accident at the start) to 2nd and picked up 18 points. One of the people Vettel had to overtake on his drive to 2nd was teammate Mark Webber. He overtook him, and many others, on the 'bus stop' chicane and both drivers showed the level of respect between them as a potentially race-ending overtake was completed smoothly and cleanly. Although, I did have to hold my breath as the two went into the chicane side by side. Vettel's 2nd place and Alonso's elimination from the race means that Vettel is now 24 points off the the championship lead.
There was also a lot of confusion at one point as Sebastian and Schumacher were involved in a bit of battle and as Vettel tried to overtake him at his favourite spot (the chicane) but Michael was planning on going into the pits. The layout of the circuit meant that Schumacher almost drove across the front of the Red Bull but luckily no damage was done! The incident was put under investigation by the stewards but no penalties were awarded. When asked about the incident afterwards Sebastian said this about Michael; "he is a wily fox and doesn’t give you a lot of space" but added that "that is the fun in fighting with him."
Nico Hulkenberg had a really great race at Spa and he achieved a career best finish of 4th! He lost out on the podium spot to Kimi Raikkonen but fourth is still an achievement in a Force India car. Naturally, Hulkenberg's fortune was partly thanks to many main contenders being eliminated from the race before it had really began but he still finished ahead of a Ferrari (Massa brought the only Ferrari in the race home in 5th) and the 6th-placed Red Bull of Mark Webber. Toro Rosso were also finally back in the points and Di Resta had to fight hard to take away 10th place and 1 point!
After all the excitement, I almost forgot to mention that Jenson Button won the race and proves he is officially back! The Brit showed that his form from Australia earlier this year has returned and he showed what he can do when he has a car he is comfortable with and has the right balance (he really overuses that word). Now that Button is back at the top we can expect him to be much more involved in battles for race wins, not that there was much of a battle for the win in Spa, and that just adds to the excitement of this season.
That race was incredible, amazing, magnificent and I just loved watching it! In fact, I'm just about to watch it for the fourth time, yes I really loved it! And it has certainly whet my appetite for the next 8 races that are all going to come by so fast; starting with Monza is only a few days time. *does celebratory dance*
Aqsa, @aqsasformula
Formula One night race dates back to September 2008 when the world witnessed first ever Formula One night race, The information you are providing is helpful about Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix 2012
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