Dramatic. This was what the 2011 Formula 1 Grand Prix in Belgium was like. It was action packed with flat out racing, tyres that somehow didn't seem to last long and pit lane tactics coming into play. The race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit happened after a one month break from racing and the break must have rejuvenated Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull gang as Vettel came in first ahead of his team mate Mark Webber and Jenson Button who had a well deserved third place after starting from thirteenth place.

The race started off with a bang. This was because after the front runners (with Vettel in pole) moved off safely, Bruno Senna caused the opening crash by failing to brake and torpedoing into the Toro Rosso driven by Jaime Alguersuari. Then Timo Glock decided to rearrange the looks of Paul DiResta's Force India car by crashing into it. He manageda two-birds one stone thingy as he managed to take off Jenson Button's endplate too. Button then collided into bits of Senna's front wing which was strewn across the track and lost his own wing too causing him to pit (imagine still comming out third after this type of start).

The drama ensured as by lap 5 Vettel had to pit due to blistering tyres and on lap 6, the other Sebastian, Sebastian Buemi made contact with Sergio Perez and lost his rear wing. Both entered the pits for damage and Perez was given a drive-through penalty for the skirmish. By this time the positions of the drivers had changed but the driving or racing was really good (a simple non-bombastic word to actually describe the moment).

On lap 15 or thereabouts Kamui Kobayashi got tangled with Lewis Hamilton causing a pretty massive crash. This caused a safety car incident which Sebastian Vettel utilised to get another tyre change. Meanwhile, Mark Webber's radio failed causing him to lose contact with his pit crew and lose the chance of taking advantage of the moment. I suppose this may have caused him to lose the race. The Red Bull cars were having tyre issues as both ran massive front camber setups for qualifying that made sure tyre life was short. Somehow both drivers managed to 'drive around' this problem and finish first and second.

Anyway aside from Vettel and the others making things interesting, it was a fabulous race for Michael Schumacher too. The Grand master of Formula 1 showed the new kids on the block some of his magic and this race celebrated his 20 years in Formula 1. As I've said earlier, this old man is still showing people how it's done (albeit his usual recklessness and silly mistakes occasionally) as he started off from the last position and finished fifth ahead of his team mate Nico Rosberg. Watching him drive this time around was like watching him drive in the late 1990s and early '00s. It looks like this old chap is getting younger with every race.

The Belgian F1 was a memorable race and Vettel's win wasn't like one of his earlier victories of this season. He had to work hard for this one.

Results

01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h26.44.893

2. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 3.741

3. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 9.669

4. Alonso Ferrari + 13.022

5. Schumacher Mercedes + 47.464

6. Rosberg Mercedes + 48.674

7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 59.713

8. Massa Ferrari + 1m06.076

9. Petrov Renault + 1m11.917

10. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1m17.615

11. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1m23.994

12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1m31.976

13. Senna Renault + 1m32.985

14. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1 lap

15. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap

16. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap

17. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap

18. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap

19. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap

Did Not Finish

Perez Sauber-Ferrari 27

Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 13

Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 12

Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6

Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1

photo source: planetf1