Jenson Button claims Belgian GP victory from lights to flag

The Formula One circus returned from their summer break at Belgium last weekend. Jenson Button comfortably won the Belgian Grand Prix after a first corner crash that took out current championship leader Fernando Alonso, team mate Lewis Hamilton and the man who started the infamous accident, Romain Grosjean.

Button led the race from start to finish, the first time this year and clinched the win for McLaren’s 50th race. He utilised a one-stop strategy to his advantage with a large lead that could be retained even after pitting. A complete contrast to Jenson Button’s weekend was teammate Lewis Hamilton’s as his controversial weekend ended in a spectacular yet dangerous fashion.

The McLaren driver was caught in a multi-car pileup at the tight La Source hairpin just seconds into the race. Being at the right place at the wrong time, the wheels of Hamilton clipped those of Romain Grosjean’s Lotus whom tried to squeeze the McLaren out, leaving no room for either car. Grosjean was launched off the back of Sebastian Perez’s Sauber before crashing down on the nose of Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari and mere inches from his face. Thankfully no one was hurt.

Fernando Alonso felt fortunate to escape serious injury. "I'm disappointed because of the points lost. But I'm also lucky that I can be in the car in five days at Monza because looking at the image, we were turning in so you could have a problem with your hands or even your head because [Grosjean's] car was so close. I think we broke everything on top of the car. It was lucky in that aspect."

Alonso also mentioned he could not understand how the accident started. "I didn't know what happened until I saw on TV because it was difficult to imagine how the hit could be so big or how a car could be on you so quickly. After seeing it on TV, I saw Grosjean and Lewis touch each other. They lost control and then it was in front of us. I stayed in the car for a few seconds because I had back pain," he explained.

Sergio Perez’s Sauber was also out, while Kamui Kobayashi, who started second, suffered damaged and eventually retired as well. Grosjean was reprimanded post-race by the stewards with a one-race ban and £40,000 fine, the first since Mika Hakkinen was blamed for a crash at the German Grand Prix in 1994.

Grosjean accepted his punishment. "We know that La Source is a very tough corner. It was a bit of a crazy start as well with Maldonado leaving [the grid early] and the Sauber [Kobayashi] smoking a lot," said Grosjean. "I did a mistake and I misjudged the gap with Lewis. I was sure I was in front of him. So a small mistake made a big incident. I didn't change my line; I went from left to right. I did not really want to put anyone in the wall - I'm not here to stop the race in the first corner. I'm very, very sorry and I'm glad that nobody is hurt. But I have to say it is a very, very hard decision to hear."

Though Hamilton can’t be blamed for the accident, he was not spared from controversy when he posted team telemetry information on Twitter earlier that weekend (which was later removed at the request of the team) while also complaining about being outpaced in qualifying by Button.

Post-race Hamilton said: “His rear wheel was in my side pod so I couldn’t do anything and he kept coming. I am just grateful that nobody was injured. It was very, very close with Fernando. The FIA and the people in Formula One have done a great job improving safety so we can walk away from incidents like today’s.”

Pastor Maldonado of Williams was handed a 10-place grid penalty after jump-starting the race. Sebastian Vettel took second from tenth on the grid while the other Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen finished a best of third in a car that seemed to lack pace and had issues with its KERS system. Raikkonen, who was told to adjust his KERS to save 10% per lap, was no match for Schumacher on straight-line speed, and eventually took advantage of Schumacher's fading tyres.

Michael Schumacher who started his 300th grand prix made his way up to a strong third but could not retain his position during the closing stages and had to settle for seventh. Nico Rosberg finished eleventh after starting 23rd. His attempts to make a one-stop strategy work were hindered by fading tyres as he made a second stop eight laps from the end.


As Alonso did not score a point at the race Vettel heads to Monza, Italy next weekend 24 points behind Alonso. After a high level performance this weekend, Button is expected to perform on similar levels at Monza which is akin to Belgium with a low downforce set up. Do be reminded, though that Monza is the holy ground of Ferrari and they would do all in their power to prevent a win from McLaren or Red Bull despite heavy competition.