29.08.11

Stuart Codling's column

Sebastian Vettel broke a winless streak that began in June by leading a Red Bull 1-2 in an eventful race at Spa-Francorchamps. The victory brings him even closer to the drivers’ title, helped by his Scuderia Ferrari rival Fernando Alonso finishing outside the top three.

Luck played a part for Vettel, whose team had lobbied the FIA and Pirelli overnight to be able to change their front tyres, which had begun to blister during qualifying. The request was declined, meaning that both Red Bulls would have to pit early for fresh tyres, but an intervention by the Safety Car during the race in effect gave Vettel a free extra pitstop, neutralising the disadvantage.

Vettel lost the lead to Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg on the first lap, while team-mate Mark Webber was slow away from the start when his car’s anti-stall mechanism activated. That enabled Felipe Massa to slot into third while Fernando Alonso, starting from eighth, nearly became collateral damage when Bruno Senna hit Jaime Alguersuari at the first corner. That multi-car accident also damaged Jenson Button’s front and rear wings, making him an early visitor to the pits.

Vettel took the lead again on the third lap, while Alonso took full advantage of his car’s DRS system to catch and pass Massa. Lewis Hamilton used the battle between the Ferraris to demote Massa a further place.

Rosberg briefly inherited the lead when Vettel pitted for fresh tyres on lap six, but Alonso almost immediately moved ahead, leading until he made his own pitstop on lap nine. At this stage Vettel looked to be in trouble, for on lap 11 he reported on the radio that his tyres were blistering again. He was about to receive some good luck: Hamilton, having pitted, was tipped into a spin at Les Combes by Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi, and the Safety Car was deployed while the wreck of Hamilton’s Vodafone McLaren Mercedes was removed.

Vettel pitted for another set of new tyres while the rest of the field were running slowly, emerging in third place behind Alonso and Webber. When the Safety Car had done its work, Vettel used his fresher tyres to pass them both and take the lead once again.

Later in the race, as the frontrunners made their mandatory move onto the alternate tyre compound, Ferrari’s pace suffered on the harder tyre and Alonso slipped backwards. Massa’s hard work was undone when he suffered a puncture immediately after his final scheduled stop, forcing him to visit the pits again. This left him running eighth at the end.

Webber exploited Alonso’s vulnerability in the closing laps to pass for second place, and Alonso then lost third with two laps to run as Button surged past. It was a remarkable recovery drive for Button, who started 13th and lost time as a result of the fracas at the first corner.

But perhaps the most remarkable performance of the day came from Michael Schumacher, who started last after losing a wheel during qualifying. On the 20th anniversary of his F1 debut he came through the field to finish fifth, catching and passing team-mate Rosberg in the final laps.