Hamilton wins typical Spa race!

Webber and Kubica on the podium

Lewis Hamilton won Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix ahead of series leader Mark Webber and Renault driver Robert Kubica.

Conditions were dry before the start but most teams were predicting rain later in the race. As it was, drops of rain were spotted as early as the formation lap.

Mark Webber had a terrible start from pole and slipped through the field as Lewis Hamilton took the lead. Kubica was up to second ahead of Button and Vettel. There was some trouble at the back of the field with Buemi completing the opening lap dead last.

There was also trouble at the front as a shower hit the track and caught out the front runners. Many of them went wide at the bus stop. Rubens Barrichello collided in the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. While the 300th Grand Prix of the Brazilian was over, Alonso made it back to pits and rejoined in 17th.

The Safety Car was deployed at the end of lap 2. Hamilton was then leading from Button, Kubica, Vettel and Webber. It came in two laps later.

Button tried to attack his teammate for the lead but couldn’t find a way past. Behind them, Vettel passed Renault’s Kubica for third. The Pole then found himself under immense pressure from Championship leader Mark Webber but did well to keep him at bay.

Hamilton opened a slight gap at the front, as Vettel closed up right on Button. Further down the field, Petrov overtook Rosberg for 9th. The German then came under attack from his Mercedes’ teammate Schumacher and the two of them made contact. Rosberg’s front wing picked up some damage.

A train of cars started to build behind Button as he appeared to struggle a little bit. On lap 16, there were only two seconds between Button in P2 and Webber in P5.

Vettel desperately tried to find a way past but lost the rear of his car at the final chicane and collided with the McLaren sending both of them into a spin. Replayed showed spots of rain were falling at the moment of the incident.

Button retired while the Red Bull driver was able to pit for new tyres and nosecone and rejoined the race in 12th place right behind Liuzzi’s Force India. A few laps later, he was handed a drive through penalty for causing the collision with Button. He served it on lap 21 and rejoined in P14.

On lap 22, Hamilton had an 11-second lead over Kubica. Webber was third with Massa fourth. Michael Schumacher was up to P6.

Webber pitted from 3rd place at the end of lap 22 and rejoined in P4. In the meantime, his teammate Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time of the race as he tried to make up for the lost ground. Kubica and Massa pitted on the following lap. The Renault driver rejoined right in front of Webber.

Race leader Hamilton came in the pits on lap 24 and safely rejoined in P1. Vettel’s nightmare continued when he picked up a left-rear puncture on lap 26 after a contact with Liuzzi’s Force India. He slowly made his way back in the pits and rejoined in 20th place.

As Hamilton entered in the last ten laps, rain started to fall again. The leader ran wide and lost about seven seconds. He pitted on lap 35. Kubica, Webber and Massa followed suit. The Pole made a mistake in the pits, allowing Webber to rejoin in P2. Most of the other drivers had pitted a lap earlier with some of them – including Vettel - gambling on full wet tyres.

Alonso spun out of the race on lap 38 and retired with a broken front suspension. The Safety Car had to be deployed so that track marshals could clear the stricken Ferrari. Although rain got heavier, the race restarted on lap 41.

Hamilton did well to retain his lead ahead of Webber and went on to take his third win of the season. Webber and Kubica joined him on the podium. Felipe Massa finished in fourth place ahead of Sutil. Rosberg and Schumacher did well to score points despite their starting positions.

Kobayashi, Petrov and Alguersuari banked in the remaining points. An afternoon-packed afternoon saw Vettel take 15th. This is bad news for the German knowing his two main rivals in the title race finished 1st and 2nd.