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Kimi Raikkonen
won the Belgian Grand Prix, to give Scuderia Ferrari its
first win of the season the Finn
his fourth podium of
2009 while team mate Luca Badoer finished
fourteenth. It is the fourth
time the Raikkonen has won at this
classic track and his
eighteenth career victory. For Ferrari, it is win number 210
from 788 Grands Prix starts, the sixteenth at this race.
Raikkonen started from the
outside of row three and
Badoer from the back row
of what was the most
unexpected grid of the year,
with the Force India of
Giancarlo Fisichella on pole
and the Toyota of Jarno
Trulli alongside him. It was
dry with some sunshine and
an air temperature of 17
degrees.
There was drama right after
the start, with Raikkonen going very wide
using the run off after the
hairpin, but he powered
through to second on the run
up the hill after Eau Rouge,
but then a multiple
collision brought out the
Safety Car, with four cars
already out of the running,
Button, Grosjean, Hamilton
and Alguersuari.
The order behind the SC was
Fisichella, Raikkonen, Kubica,
Glock, Webber, Heidfeld,
Rosberg, Vettel, Alonso,
with Kovalainen tenth. Then
came Buemi, Nakajima,
Badoer up to 13th from last
on the grid, Trulli, all the
way down off the front row
after pitting for a new
nose, Barrichello, who got
bogged down from fourth on
the grid and Sutil, 16th and
last, having also stopped
for repairs.
As the Safety Car came in at
the start of lap 5,
Raikkonen swept
past Fisichella after Radillon
to take the lead, his F60
still evidently working
well, despite tangling with
another car in the first lap
chaos. The only other change
being Vettel getting ahead
of Rosberg for seventh.
Badoer then dropped to
fourteenth as he was passed
by Barrichello, who also
passed Nakajima. Badoer lost another
place on lap 7 when he was
passed by Sutil. Pit stops
began on lap 12, with Kubica
bringing his BMW in from
third place and Timo Glock
refuelling his Toyota from
sixth. At the front,
Raikkonen led Fisichella in
the Force India by 1.8.
Webber was now third in the
Red Bull, 8.9 behind the
Ferrari, with Raikkonen pitting on lap 14, at
the same time as Fisichella,
Webber and Heidfeld. These
last two nearly collided in
the pit lane as they drove
out and Webber was given a
drive through penalty. Lap
15 saw Raikkonen third behind
Vettel and Rosberg, who were
yet to stop. Vettel came in
next time round, promoting
Rosberg to the lead for
Williams.
When Rosberg came in on lap
22, Raikkonen was now back
in the lead, still with
Fisichella behind him,
closer than before in fact,
just 0.9 down. Alonso was
third but had yet to stop.
Badoer was fifteenth. Trulli
retired his Toyota in the
pits on lap 22, the halfway
point of the race. The
battle at the front was
intriguing as Raikkonen’s
Ferrari was not managing to
pull away from Fisichella,
the gap now 0.8, going down
another tenth on lap 23.
Alonso finally brought the
Renault in for its one stop
from third place on lap 24,
but all his hard work
evaporated as the pit crew
struggled for a long time
with the left front wheel,
after it had been damaged in
a collision at the start of
the race. He continued for a
short while, but the team
retired him as the data
showed a problem with the
left front corner. Badoer also
pitted his F60 at this
point, on a one stop
strategy. Kovalainen was the
last of the lead group (5th)
to pit on lap 26.
As the one-stop drivers
finished their visit to pit
lane, the two stoppers
returned for a final time,
Barrichello first in on lap
27 from sixth place. Lap 31
and Raikkonen
and Fisichella made their
final stops together,
temporarily promoting Vettel
to the lead ahead of Heidfeld.
The German BMW driver came
in next time around, so that
Raikkonen was back in
second, 11.1 behind the Red
Bull, with Fisichella 0.7
behind the Ferrari. Vettel
came in on lap 35 which
meant that Raikkonen and
Fisichella were back
fighting for the lead again,
the gap between them now
0.6, as the Finn had to push the
F60 as hard as he could.
From here on
in, despite Fisichella’s
best efforts, the order
remained unchanged, so the
order as the delighted Finn
buzzed the pit wall was
Raikkonen, Fisichella,
Vettel, Kubica, Heidfeld,
Kovalainen, Barrichello with
Rosberg the last point
scorer in eighth place.
Badoer
brought his F60 home in
fourteenth and last place.
Stefano Domenicali:
“We are very happy with this win, which
is a reward for all the hard work that
the entire team has done during such a
difficult and at the same time, dramatic
season. I wish to dedicate it first and
foremost to President Montezemolo, who
celebrates his birthday tomorrow. I
don’t think he could have asked for a
better present. Thanks go to our
partners, first and foremost Philip
Morris and Shell, who have always stood
shoulder to shoulder with us, as have
our fans, with their unfailing support.
A thought also goes to Felipe who kept
in touch from Miami, where tomorrow he
undergoes a medical check. Kimi drove an
amazing race today: we knew the first
lap would be decisive and so it proved.
He drove impeccably all race long and
the team was at its very best during the
two pit stops. In the last four races,
we have always got one driver onto the
podium and we have picked up a fair haul
of points at the highest level, even in
unusual circumstances. Today, Luca did
the best he could and this win also
reflects his contribution within the
team: now we will take a few days to
evaluate his immediate future, also
based on what Felipe’s recovery time
might be. Now we look to Monza, our home
race, where we will do all in our power
to continue down this road, even if we
know it will be very difficult.”
Kimi Raikkonen:
“A great victory for me and the team.
The champagne tastes the same wherever
you are on the podium, but the feeling
when you win is definitely different.
This track has everything a driver could
want and it’s a pleasure to drive here,
however, there’s no particular secret to
explain why I’ve won here four times. We
wanted to win at least one race and
we’ve done it. Our car was not the best
in the pack, but we managed to put
everything together and this result
comes from all the work done with the
team. I got away well, but Rubens was
stuck in front of me and I had to avoid
him. Then, at the first corner and at
the end of the straight, I managed to
move up to second. Behind the Safety
Car, I thought mainly about keeping the
tyres and brakes up to temperature to be
able to attack Fisichella at the
restart, and that’s how I managed to
pass him quite easily. At the first pit
stop, maybe it would have been better to
stay with the softer tyre but that’s
easy to say afterwards. In the final
part, when it seemed I might not be able
to fight off Giancarlo, I slightly
changed the way I used the KERS so as to
defend myself on the straight at
Stavelot and so I managed to stay in
front. Monza will be difficult, because
our car is not particularly good over
the kerbs, but we will try and do our
best.”
Luca Badoer:
“Today I did my best. Unfortunately, at
the first corner after the start, I
flat-spotted the front tyres and so I
always had strong vibrations throughout
the first stint. Once the tyres were
changed, the situation improved, but the
performance of the harder compound was
not as good as the soft one. I have
upped my performance level yet again and
I really want to race at Monza, one of
the tracks I know best, along with
Fiorano and Mugello. I am very happy for
Kimi and the team: this is a fantastic
victory, which was just what we needed
at this point in the season.”
Chris Dyer: “A
fantastic result for the team and for
Kimi. After qualifying, we knew that we
could have a good race if we got a good
start. Kimi was fantastic, both on the
first lap and then at the restart after
the race was neutralised and he managed
to take the lead. Fisichella was always
right behind him and congratulations
also to him for his performance. He and
Kimi always pitted together and our guys
managed on both occasions to send our
driver out on track ahead of his closest
rival. In the middle stint, we used the
harder tyre but, with hindsight, we
might have done better to pick the
softer one: not only could we not open
the gap over Giancarlo but we then had
Vettel closing us down. Fortunately, at
the second stop, the positions remained
unchanged and Kimi did a good job of
managing the situation in the closing
laps. Today, the F60 was not the best
car, but the team work and the talent of
the driver produced the win and that’s
what counts.”
Race Details:
K. Raikkonen:
1st 1.23.50.995 - 44 laps Chassis 279
L. Badoer:
14th 1.25.33.172 + 102.177 44 laps Chassis
280
Weather: air
temperature 20/17 °C, track temperature
26/24 °C, sunny.
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