Kimi drove a strong race to clinch another podium position in difficult circumstances, while Romains race was over before it had begun after a collision at turn one ruled the Frenchman out of the Belgian Grand Prix
Kimi Rikknen, E20-05 Grid: P3 Race: P3 Best Lap: 1:53.640 [Lap 34]
Romain Grosjean, E20-04 Grid: P8 Race: DNF Best Lap: N/A
Key Moments: Lap 1: Huge shunt at T1, RG out of the race with HAM / ALO / PER, safety car deployed, KR up to P2 Lap 5: Safety car in, KR drops back from BUT at the re-start and loses a place to HUL Lap 6: KR loses a further position to MSC Lap 11: KR pits, switches from medium to hard rubber, immediately flying, setting the fastest lap of the race Lap 14: KR passes ROS to move up a spot Lap 28: KR in for fresh hard tyres, emerges behind MSC, tense battles ensued Lap 31: Brilliant move from KR to re-take MSC around the outside into the final chicane Lap 32: New high downforce setting hurts KR as MSC claims P3 back down the Kemmel straight Lap 34: An incredible daredevil move by KR to pass MSC through Eau Rouge Lap 44: Chequered flag; KR P3, RG DNFSummary:
Warm and dry conditions at the idyllic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps provided a perfect backdrop for the Belgian Grand Prix. Unfortunately for Lotus F1 Team however, the race itself did not get off to such an ideal start.
Within metres of the start, Romains day came to an early and abrupt end as a collision heading into the first corner took both the Frenchman, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez out of action.
Kimi by contrast had managed to jump a position to P2, and remained pinned to the back of leader Jenson Button as the safety car circulated allowing the marshals to clear the debris. At the re-start however, the Finn lost ground to the McLaren; subsequently being passed by Nico Hulkenberg and shortly afterwards Michael Schumacher.
With his white marked medium compound Pirelli tyres not giving the levels of grip desired, the team pitted the Iceman for a fresh set of hard rubber on lap eleven and immediately reaped the rewards; Kimi setting the fastest lap of the race, leapfrogging Nico Hulkenberg and flying past Nico Rosberg within just a few laps.
After pitting once more for another set of hard tyres, the Finn found himself embroiled in an intense battle with Michael Schumacher; the Finn pulling off a great pass around the outside of the final chicane before being re-passed by the German down the Kemmel straight due to a higher downforce setting which limited the E20s top speed.
Undeterred, the Iceman pulled of a daring and spectacular move into Eau Rouge to reclaim P3, where he would remain for the remainder of the race to claim a hard-earned podium.
Kimi Raikkonen (3rd)"I made a pretty okay start, similar to Jenson [Button]s and I overtook the Sauber. I saw a lot of action in the mirrors but luckily it missed me. Unfortunately, we didnt have the pace today. My car wasnt great all weekend and we couldnt find a competitive setup. On new tyres it was okay, but we had to use a lot of downforce to prevent sliding. That meant we were very slow on the straight. You could see this in my battle with Michael [Schumacher]. Each time I passed him he just went straight back past down the Kemmel straight. My only chance was to go for a gap at Eau Rouge. Luckily it paid off and I managed to stay ahead of him that time. We didnt have the pace today and it wasnt an easy race, so P3 was not too bad.
Romain Grosjean (DNF)When your life is all about racing, not being allowed to attend an event is probably one of the worst experiences you can go through. That said, I do respect the verdict of the Stewards. I got a good start - despite being disturbed by Pastors early launch, which I think was the case for everybody at the front - and was heading into the first corner when the rear of my car made contact with the front of Lewiss. I honestly thought I was ahead of him and there was enough room for both cars ; I didnt deliberately try to squeeze him or anything like that. This first corner situation obviously isnt what anyone would want to happen and thankfully no-one was hurt in the incident. I wish to apologise to the drivers who were involved and to their fans. I can only say that today is part of a process that will make me a better driver."
James Allison, Lotus technical directorKimi did a really good job to salvage third position today with a car which really wasnt quick enough, contrary to all our expectations coming into the event. In actual fact, this has been one of our tougher weekends and were thankful that Kimi did his best to limit the damage to our Championship aspirations. Fortunately, Spa can be viewed as sufficiently distinct in its characteristics to mean that were not unduly worried about the cars potential performance heading to the next races.
Eric Boullier, Lotus team principal"Its been a tough day for the team but we fully respect the Stewards decision. Romain wont be driving at Monza but he still has our full support. Well announce the name of his replacement a bit later in the week. As far as the race is concerned, unfortunately we didnt have the pace for Kimi to challenge Jenson or Sebastian. We had to look closely at the strategy during the race to see if we should switch to one stop, but in the end a podium finish still brings us some good points. Of course, everyone talks about the win, and this is something we all want. We were not fast enough for it today, so we all need to keep working hard for this goal."
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