Jenson Button dominantly storms to victory in thrilling Belgian GP

Britain’s Jenson Button has taken a sensationally dominant victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, after leading every single lap of the highly entertaining race around the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The McLaren driver was followed home by reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel, with Kimi Raikkonen a distant 3rd for Lotus.

The race started with a bang as the predicted fireworks were ignited as the field negotiated La Source, as Romain Grosjean forced Lewis Hamilton into the wall, with the two colliding and then ferociously collecting the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso and the Sauber of Sergio Perez. The Championship leader was lucky to walk away from the incident, as both Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean slammed into the rear of the Spaniard.

The safety car was immediately deployed to control the field, as the marshals set to clearing the stricken cars and brushing away the many piece of debris strewn across the circuit. Pedro de la Rosa, Kamui Kobayashi and Pastor Maldonado pitted under the safety car conditions after the opening lap, with the latter believed to have jumped the start for Williams. After several laps under safety car conditions, the race was restarted as Jenson Button shot away into the distance, and Pastor Maldonado retired yet again with damage to the front of his car.

Michael Schumacher, who reaped the rewards of the opening lap incident, was already up to 5th, and wasted no time scything through the topsy-turvy order and passing the Force India Paul di Resta and eventually the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen. The German then set his sights upon catching the remaining Force India of Nico Hulkenberg as the Caterham of Heikki Kovalainen spun whilst negotiating the ever tricky Bus-Stop chicane.

By lap 18, and some drivers were already opting to make their first scheduled pit stops as Paul di Resta pitted first. The Briton was then followed by Kimi Raikkonen and Mark Webber. Daniel Ricciardo and Felipe Massa were the next drivers to take to the pits, as tyre conservation became the name of the game as the race progressed.

Heikki Kovalainen raised eyebrows within the pit lane on lap 15, as the Finnish driver was unquestionably unsafely released from the pits by his Caterham mechanics, straight into the path of a HRT. The Finn made minor contact with the rear end of the HRT, prompting the stewards to investigate the incident after the race. Michael Schumacher nearly collided with reigning Champion Sebastian Vettel on lap 20, as the German driver heavily defended his position from the Red Bull before then suddenly darting into the pits, forcing Vettel to take avoiding action.

Jenson Button then made his one and only pit stop from the lead on lap 20, as the McLaren mechanics carried out a flawless stop for the Briton. This enabled Button to keep the lead at the front, ahead of the charging Sebastian Vettel. With many drivers opting for a two-stop strategy, it was believed that Jenson Button was running a one-stop strategy. This was confirmed as the race progressed, with the McLaren driver dominating out in front. Sebastian Vettel then made his one and only pit stop on lap 22, mirroring Button’s strategy and deciding to only pit once throughout the race.

As the race entered the halfway stage, Jenson Button looked utterly uncatchable in the lead of the race. Whilst the Briton romped away, Nico Hulkenberg, Felipe Massa and Mark Webber all pitted for the second time on lap 28. The latter had to take avoiding action upon exiting his pit box, as the Red Bull driver was released into the path of the oncoming Felipe Massa. The race stewards wasted no time in stating they would investigate the incident after the race, with the Australian driver eager to score important points with Alonso out of the race.

The race ran relatively incident free in the closing stages, with Narain Karthikeyan the only other driver to retire after spinning off at turn 15 on lap 32. The Indian driver embedded his HRT in the tyre barriers, with many speculating that Karthikeyan’s right rear tyre wasn’t correctly attached after pitting. Michael Schumacher was forced to pit for a final stop on lap 36, with the German visibly struggling for grip on track. The Mercedes driver then reported the loss of 6th gear, as Kimi Raikkonen pulled off a mesmerizing overtake through the daunting Eau Rogue complex on the once dominant Schumacher.

However, no-one could catch the McLaren of Jenson Button, who came home roughly 13 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel to take a memorable victory and the first lights to flag win of this highly unique 2012 season. Although Alonso failed to finish the race, the Spaniard still remains in the lead of the Drivers’ Championship, as the F1 fraternity now moves swiftly on to the historic Monza circuit in Italy for the Italian Grand Prix next weekend.

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