Lewis Hamilton wins Belgian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton takes championship lead

Lewis Hamilton survived changeable weather conditions and a trip through the gravel to claim a dominant victory in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix. Hamilton now leads the World Championship from Mark Webber after a dramatic weekend that saw three of his four title rivals fail to score.

Hamilton said "I am so grateful to be in this position. When you have a weekend and a race like that as Mark said it can be a lottery, to come out on top even though you are faced with so many difficult situations and one of which I was very, very blessed and fortunate to get away with. I am just so grateful to be here and I am really happy. Absolutely ecstatic."

Lewis took the lead of the race at the start and quickly built up a margin over his nearest rivals. That gap back to second place proved handy on lap 35 when he made a mistake in the rain and fell off the circuit at Rivage. Hamilton emerged from the gravel trap unscathed and, despite a late Safety Car period, was largely unchallenged on his way towards victory.

Lewis was followed home by Webber who was happy with second place after a disastrous start. The Australian had taken pole position but dropped to sixth at the first corner when an electronic glitch delayed him off the line. He clawed back a few positions during an early rain shower, and moved into second place near the finish when Robert Kubica made a mistake in the pitlane.

Hamilton and Webber are now the main contenders for the 2010 World Championship and the pressure will be on their rivals to close the gap at Monza.

Sebastian Vettel took himself and Jenson Button out of contention in Belgium with a collision on lap 16. Vettel was trying to overtake Jenson for second place into the Bus Stop chicane but locked his rear wheels under braking and speared straight into the McLaren's left sidepod. The impact destroyed Button's radiator and left him stranded in the run-off area.

Although Vettel was able to continue after a pitstop for repairs, his dramas didn't end there. He later served a drive through penalty for his part in the accident with Jenson and also picked up a puncture following a second collision with Tonio Liuzzi. It was a horror weekend for Sebastian who eventually finished the race in 15th, a lap behind the winner.

Fernando Alonso was the other championship challenger who had an afternoon to forget. He qualified poorly in tenth place and dropped to the back of the field when he was hit by Rubens Barrichello on lap one. Fernando then took an early gamble on intermediate tyres but it didn't pay off and he had to make a second pitstop on lap 4. He eventually made it back into eighth place but threw away his points opportunity with a late spin into the barriers. Fernando would not have been comforted by the fact that his teammate, Felipe Massa, was quicker all weekend and finished the race in a respectable fourth position.

Vettel, Button, and Alonso will need to score major points in the coming races to ensure their championship campaigns stay on track.

Robert Kubica took a surprise third place at Spa but actually had the opportunity to finish higher up. He moved into second when Vettel and Button came together, but lost the position by coming into his pitbox too quickly and scuttling the Renault mechanics. Kubica said he was adjusting some dials on his steering wheel and simply lost concentration, and the delay was enough to allow Webber to move ahead.

Adrian Sutil finished in fifth behind Felipe Massa, whilst the two Mercedes drivers ended up in 6th and 7th after an exciting race-long battle. Rosberg was held up by Vitaly Petrov early in the Grand Prix and tried to overtake the Renault driver on lap 11 through Les Combes. Petrov pushed Rosberg wide and this allowed Schumacher to barge his way past, knocking Nico's front wing in the process. Rosberg got his revenge near the end of the race with an equally aggressive move that saw him force Michael wide through the same corner.

Kobayashi, Petrov, and Liuzzi rounded out the top ten, a welcome result for all three who have been under recent pressure to justify their seats.

Lewis Hamilton now leads Mark Webber in the championship standings by three points. Sebastian Vettel is a further 31 points behind, but with six races remaining, the title fight is still wide open.

Posted by Martin Porter. - Follow him on twitter @mpondaweb.

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