Having scored a landmark win for ‘justice’ off the circuit,
Kimi Raikkonen and
Felipe Massa ensured Ferrari would also be victorious at what they do best in the same week with a crushing 1-2 result in the Belgian Grand Prix.
A somewhat uneventful race that proved to be the polar opposite of what has occurred behind closed doors over the past few days, Raikkonen’s lights-to-flag win keeps him in the title reckoning after Massa pinched valuable points in second and Alonso got the better of Hamilton in third and fourth.
Celebrating his victory with a series of donuts, much to the delight of the ever faithful Spa-Francorchamps fans that returned to the circuit after a year on the sidelines, the victory signals Raikkonen’s fourth of the season and his third consecutive one in Belgium.
Although already something of a foregone conclusion when
McLaren were stripped of their points, the 1-2 also puts Ferrari out of reach of
BMW in the constructors’ standings to guarantee that the
Scuderia will come away with at least one title this year.
Indeed, while both Alonso and Hamilton went into the race confident they could keep up with Ferrari with fuel on board, both quickly realised how much of a difference seven days can make as they found themselves on the receiving end of a dominant display by Ferrari, the start their only chance to keep their rivals honest.
While the revised start-finish straight has widened the La Source hairpin, it was no less crowded heading into the infamous first bend and it was here where Alonso and Hamilton had their best chance to usurp
Ferrari. However, save for a feigned look into the corner by the reigning champion, Raikkonen and Massa emerged ‘as you were’.
With the Ferrari out of reach, Alonso and Hamilton instead turned their attention to one another as they shuffled out of the corner, the latter using his fearless braking technique to draw alongside his team-mate but rather robustly being forced across the turf and onto the run-off area.
