First four days in the factory, at Maranello, full immersion with the technicians and Ferrari's sophisticated simulator, then a blitz at Madonna di Campiglio, guest of honour at the presentation of a book (Wroom 20th by Ercole Colombo), which celebrates twenty years of the manifestation that in winter ties Ferrari to the Dolomites: those of Alonso don't even look like holidays, but he accepts everything with a smile.
"Because I don't know how to switch off, every day I think about the next race at Spa, about the last seven Grands Prix, about my rivals, about this World Championship that we have reopened and in which I now give myself 50 out of 100 chances to win".
You could call it overworking for the big comeback. Alonso believes in it, despite being 20 points behind Webber and his Red Bull rocket. He gives himself 50 per cent. And the others?
"They split the rest".
But how many are they?
"Vettel and Webber for sure, Red Bull is a real rocket, but Hamilton is also to be feared, because McLaren seems to be in crisis now, but they will come back strong. And I don't underestimate Button either".
When you do the maths, though, the four of them take what Alonso thinks he has. With the Red Bulls in Budapest, it is not easy to be so optimistic.
"Let's face it, the situation in Hungary was frustrating, they were more than a second a lap down: if it was like that everywhere, we wouldn't have a chance. But I think a lot depended on the nature of the track, and things should change at Spa".
Is there any hope of that happening?
"I really think so. We're working hard, we've never given up, now the factory has to be closed for two weeks, but our engineers never stop thinking and I'm convinced they'll continue to improve the car".
The key to making the fans dream?
"Continuity. Seven races, seven finals, we must always be on the podium, mistakes are no longer acceptable. It's a five-way fight, it's fierce, everyone has a chance to make it, it will also be a war of nerves".
Vettel, regarded as the most dangerous, not least because of Red Bull, has never fought for the title.
"He's strong and I'm not kidding myself, but he might be less used to the pressure. We will have to see how he reacts in the decisive moment".
Another possible advantage: Red Bull will be rooting for him more than for Webber.
"But Webber is solid, no wonder he has already won four races. That counts for nothing".
But Hamilton, like you, has already won the title. And Button too. Won't they be the most dangerous?
"I respect everyone. And I can only guarantee one thing: I'll be there until the last race. Beautiful championship, November of fire".
Afraid of the 8th of September, when Ferrari will be judged for their overtaking at Hockenheim?
"Not at all. I am a rider, I just have to think about racing. I'm not interested in politics and we haven't done anything".
He shares this opinion with Domenicali, the manager who was also present at Madonna di Campiglio.
"The FIA is collecting audio recordings? There is nothing we can do. We are calm, relaxed and innocent".
Meanwhile, on Tuesday 17th August 2010, Pirelli began the first tyre development tests for Formula One with German driver Nick Heidfeld, the new official test driver for the Italian group, less than two months after being named the sole tyre supplier for the circus from next season and for three years. Heidfeld, Pirelli confirmed, will drive last season's Toyota TF109 to test the new tyres that will be supplied to all teams from next season. The 33-year-old driver was a protagonist in F1 until the end of last year, with 10 seasons and 150 races under his belt. The Toyota TF109 was the last F1 car produced by the Japanese manufacturer before its retirement at the end of 2009, with five podium finishes last season alone.
"Toyota's choice ensures the latest technology and performance needed to test the new Pirelli PZero tyres for Formula One, while guaranteeing maximum impartiality for all the teams currently competing for the title".
Heidfeld will drive Toyota in a series of tests at various circuits starting in August. Following the track tests with Heidfeld and Toyota, the teams currently competing in F1 will have the opportunity to test the new tyres after the end of the 2010 season. Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery said:
"We are delighted to welcome Nick to the Pirelli family and are sure he will do a great job for us. The tester's job is crucial, which is why we were looking for a driver with extensive and recent Formula One experience. As for the choice of car, we have a policy of complete impartiality, not wanting to favour any team in the race. We now have the perfect elements to make the most of every development opportunity and to maximise the potential of our tyres before the start of next season".
During the summer break, Niki Lauda gave an interview in which he made it clear that he does not take kindly to the Maranello team's manoeuvres. As usual, the Austrian didn't hold back, criticising Ferrari's so-called political management of the races and attacking Fernando Alonso's controversial overtaking of Felipe Massa at Hockenheim. Instead, the former world champion praises Red Bull's attitude.
"There are two ways to race in F1 as a team. You can run the races politically, then we talk about the Ferrari model. Or you try to give both drivers an equal chance and the fans an exciting sport, which is what Red Bull is doing by pitting its two drivers against each other. This is the way to enhance the madness of our sport, not by deceiving the fans with the result of a conspiracy. But I am aware that this is an issue on which opinions differ".
Fernando Alonso like Michael Schumacher at Ferrari? Lauda responds by referring to the overtaking manoeuvre at Hockenheim, for which Ferrari was fined 100.000 dollars and which is now on the table of the FIA World Council:
"What they did at Hockenheim is against all the rules. What they did was wrong and in fact they were punished immediately and they will also be punished by the World Council, that's for sure. And it has nothing to do with Alonso. He is not Schumacher".
The Ferrari case at the German Grand Prix continues to attract attention. Following in the footsteps of Niki Lauda, former FIA president Max Mosley has now spoken out about the Spaniard's controversial overtaking move on the Brazilian at Hockenheim. The case is on the agenda for an extraordinary meeting in Paris on Wednesday 8 September 2010. The former FIA president has no doubts about the incident.
"Ferrari and its two drivers should lose the points they scored in Germany".
According to the British lawyer, the stewards were too lenient with Ferrari.
"I'm not going to make any recommendations, but according to the circumstances at the time, there should have been some sporting sanctions and not just a fine".
Jean Todt will not be chairing the World Council meeting that will consider the case. To ensure impartiality, the Frenchman, a former Ferrari chief executive, will be replaced by vice-president Graham Stoker.
"But this has nothing to do with his position at Ferrari".
For its part, Ferrari has responded with talk of a festival of hypocrisy after Hockenheim. To those who argue that the rule in question should be scrapped, Mosley replies today:
"If a team introduces team orders in a race, there should be severe sanctions".
This certainly won't stop Fernando Alonso's ambitions, giving Ferrari an emotional boost ahead of the final two European rounds of the 2010 F1 World Championship.
"I feel positive after the good races in Germany and Hungary. As the English say, keep the momentum going: that must be our goal at Spa, to continue on the path we started on before the holidays".
Ferrari were competitive again at Hockenheim and in Hungary: Alonso scored a win and a second place to revive his title hopes. The Spaniard is fifth in the standings, 20 points behind Mark Webber.
"The results from Hockenheim and Budapest were important not only for the championship standings, but also for the confidence they gave us. We need to continue in this vein".
After a holiday split between Switzerland and Spain, Alonso is eager to get back on track.
The circus starts again this weekend at Spa, the venue of the Belgian Grand Prix.
"I used this time to recharge my batteries for the end of the season, as I think everyone did: it was necessary after the particularly intense month of July. Now I really want to get back on track, but in a positive way, without any anxiety, rather with a lot of calm".
After the Spa race, the F1 season will continue with a stopover at Monza on Sunday 12 September 2010. It will be Alonso's debut race with Ferrari at his home Grand Prix:
"I am delighted to be racing again on two such special circuits as the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix. The Belgian circuit is perhaps the most fascinating on the calendar, while the Monza race will be special for me, as it will be my debut as a Ferrarista in front of the Italian public, and on such an important circuit in the history of motor racing".
According to Ferrari, the team will leave Italy at 17:00 on Wednesday 25th August 2010, when the traditional charter flight used for European trips takes off for Liège. The day before, late in the afternoon, Ferrari President Luca Montezemolo met with Stefano Domenicali and the Gestione Sportiva technical management to take stock of the resumption of work after the short August break. Montezemolo was shown the technical innovations, particularly the aerodynamics, that will be fitted to the F10 on Friday morning, as well as the single-seater development plan for the next few races, starting with the very special Monza race. The meeting also focused on the design phase of the 2011 car. Montezemolo will then travel to Abu Dhabi, where on Wednesday he will meet with Emirates partners Mubadala and Etihad, and visit Ferrari World, where work is underway on the opening of the first theme park dedicated to the Maranello manufacturer.
The race was the first after a four-week break, which includes a mandatory two-week break for all teams. Despite regaining the lead in the drivers' championship from Hamilton in Hungary, Webber said consistency and reliability would be important over the final seven races.
"You have to be aware that you might not get anything out of it, so you have to realise that four points is better than none and gambling".
Team-mate Vettel, the bookmakers' favourite to win, said his title challenge would begin in Belgium after reliability issues and incidents cost him points at previous events.
"We have to focus on each race. With 20 or 15 races, there is probably more room for mistakes - but with seven to go, every single race is probably more important".
Hamilton said he was confident of a better pace for the rest of the season and wanted to win at Spa-Francorchamps. His team-mate Button believed the next two events would be decisive for the championship, but said they were better suited to his McLaren. Some teams modified their cars to improve efficiency on the track's straights. Ferrari introduced a new rear wing with less downforce on Felipe Massa's F10 car for qualifying and the race. The team also added a modified diffuser and floor to maximise the F10's performance within FIA regulations, which limit the size of the car's underside to reduce the downforce generated. Red Bull modified the RB6's brake discs to add ballast around the car and improve performance, and McLaren fitted a new front wing to Button's MP4-27 car to improve airflow and downforce. Renault introduced a version of McLaren's F-duct tool to their R30 car, activated by the driver's left hand, which directed air to the main section of the rear wing instead of the flap. The team were impressed with the performance of the F-duct during practice and kept the tool for the remainder of the meeting.
Williams introduced new front and rear wings to their FW32 cars and Force India added a new floor to their cars. Hispania Racing, who had run one of their cars since the British Grand Prix three races earlier, opted to run Sakon Yamamoto instead of Karun Chandhok, who the press had expected to return to the team after the mid-season break. Paul di Resta, Force India's reserve and test driver, did not take part in the first practice session as the team wanted race drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Adrian Sutil to familiarise themselves with a revised aerodynamic bodywork. On Friday 27 August 2010, heavy rain fell on the circuit around midnight prior to the first session. Although the track was wet, a good level of grip was reported as some drivers aquaplaned when the rain briefly increased in intensity and lightning struck around 50 minutes in; the rain stopped with 20 minutes to go. Alonso was fastest at 2'01"223 at the halfway point, before improving to 2'00"797 late on. Hamilton, Renault's Robert Kubica, Vettel, Sutil, Button, Webber, Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi, Williams' Rubens Barrichello and Mercedes' Michael Schumacher took positions two to ten. The second session started on a damp track which, apart from a small shower early on, gradually dried out. The drivers used wet tyres before switching to the dry compounds. Alonso led the way with the day's fastest lap of 1'49"032, ahead of Sutil, Hamilton, Kubica, Massa, Vettel, Button, Pedro de la Rosa for Sauber, Barrichello and de la Rosa's team-mate Kamui Kobayashi in positions two to ten. The damp conditions caused a number of drivers to go off track during the session. Liuzzi lost control while braking for the Rivage chicane, but was able to return to the pit lane for a new front wing.
Virgin's Timo Glock lost control of his car on a white line and crashed sideways into the barrier at the Liège corner. The session was stopped by the stewards for ten minutes due to a safety hazard that limited dry track running. It was reported that children had climbed over the safety fence on the track, forcing FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting to bring out the safety car for an inspection. The session resumed with four minutes to go, but a faulty red light delayed action on the track and the stewards had to wave a green flag to resume. The desire for the first time is irresistible, almost as much as the desire for a comeback. Alonso is the master, both in the morning, in the puddles, and in the afternoon, when the track remains wet but a pale sun tries to warm it. Alonso led both free practice sessions, a feeling he had not experienced since Thursday in Monte-Carlo on 13 May, before complicating his life on Saturday with a crash in the final metres of the prelude to the fight for pole position. Not this time, not to upset the plans, not to change the destiny of a Ferrari that, here in Spa, in a Belgium where it always rains, seems to be in an incredible state of health, in a form so strong that it even frightens Red Bull, a little slow with Mark Webber and less bad than usual with Sebastian Vettel, sixth in the afternoon, 0.6s behind Alonso, but also behind the surprise of Adrian Sutil, Lewis Hamilton's McLaren, Robert Kubica's Renault and the other Ferrari, that of Felipe Massa. This time Friday must not be wrong. Because Fernando Alonso is too excited, he wouldn't let it happen. He has never won on his favourite track.
"Driving at Spa is extraordinary, a mixture of emotions every lap, your heart goes up and down, the incredible compression your body feels at Eau Rouge. It's a track for real drivers and I want to leave my mark. We were quick in all weather conditions, unbeatable in the rain, but the car also responded well in the dry. The set-up is still a bit lacking, with this bizarre weather it is difficult to test all the innovations we have brought, but we feel at a good point and very optimistic".
But Friday can also provide dangerous illusions:
"If our opponents had 30 kilos more fuel in the tank, we would have no chance tomorrow".
But you can tell he is the first one not to believe it. Even Felipe Massa, who gives some comfort, believes in a competitive Ferrari:
"I never had a clean lap, but I am fifth, which is a sign that we can think big".
Goals that, for Alonso, mainly include the championship.
"If we win here, the jump will be remarkable. But the most important thing is to score points".
No one would dream of repeating the disastrous experiment of Malaysia, where the Ferrari drivers stood in the pits waiting for the sun to shine, only to be eliminated. Alonso swears:
"As soon as there is a green light, we will be on the track".
However, there is still the risk of the weather, which could turn the race into a lottery. Mark Webber repeats apologetically:
"It's more complicated this way".
Even Sebastian Vettel is shaking his head, although he is sure that the Red Bulls will still be fighting for pole position on Saturday. Shy smiles at McLaren, the team seems to be on the up, Lewis Hamilton is almost as strong as Fernando Alonso and even Jenson Button is feeling the run. Reasonable ambitions, Fernando Alonso tries to put them back on track with a fierce look.
"Everyone quick, me quicker".
Saturday, 28 August 2010, further overnight showers left the track damp at the start of the final session, but slick tyres were used after 20 minutes. Conditions remained dry enough for the riders to go faster, until a downpour hit the track with 15 minutes to go, catching some of the riders off guard. Webber's 1'46.106, almost three seconds quicker than Friday's best, was ahead of Hamilton, Vettel, Button, Kubica, Alonso, Massa, Sutil, Williams' Nico Hulkenberg and Kobayashi. Vettel stopped at the entrance to pit lane with his car stuck in gear due to an airbox fault, prompting his team to tell him to switch off the engine as a precaution. A group of marshals moved Vettel's car into the pit lane for his team to retrieve. A few hours later, qualifying got underway in clear conditions before showers hit parts of the track, making the surface uneven and catching some riders out. The rain soon subsided and the track dried out quickly, before light rain fell again at the end of the third session. Webber took his first pole since the Turkish Grand Prix, his fifth of the season and sixth of his career, with a 1'45"778 lap set late in the third session. It was the 12th time in 13 races that Red Bull has been on pole. Webber was joined on the front row by Hamilton, who did his first timed lap on old soft tyres and his second on a new set before the rain arrived. Kubica, in third, did not put in a second timed lap in the final session as a fuel supply fault stopped his car entering the pit lane and forced the mechanics to push his car into the garage for the remainder of qualifying. Errors on each of his laps in the third session left Vettel fourth. Button finished fifth, saving a set of soft tyres despite losing time through an error at the La Source corner and being cautious at the Fagnes corner. Massa, sixth, changed his rear wing for better straight-line speed but had less grip in the corners midway through the lap. Barrichello qualified seventh for his 300th Grand Prix on the hard compound, having used up his allocation of soft tyres in the first two sessions. Sutil, eighth, had a timed lap on a set of soft tyres and Hülkenberg, ninth, was on worn soft tyres. Alonso, 10th, lost a lot of time running wide on the damp La Source corner, using less front wing angle and an old rear wing. Schumacher was the fastest driver not to make it into the final session, finishing 11th. His team-mate Rosberg, 12th, lacked grip on the wet set-up and was forced to slow when he encountered the Toro Rosso of Sebastien Buemi. Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari slowed on his final timed lap in slippery turns 13 and 14 to finish 13th ahead of Liuzzi in 14th. Alguersuari's team-mate Buemi was 15th. Heikki Kovalainen made it into the second session for the second time in 2010 since the Malaysian Grand Prix, qualifying his Lotus in 16th place. Glock made no mistakes and qualified 17th.
Lotus' Jarno Trulli, 18th, made contact with the right rear of Lucas di Grassi's out-of-control Virgin Racing car in the Stavelot corner. A tyre strategy error and a wide run into the gravel on the wet track saw Kobayashi retire in 19th place. Hispania Racing's Bruno Senna was 20th and his team-mate Yamamoto 21st after a tyre strategy error and Yamamoto being blocked by a slower car. De La Rosa, 22nd, lost control of the rear of his car in the Rivage corner and hit the wall. Di Grassi, 23rd, did not set a lap time after his collision with Trulli. Vitaly Petrov lost control of his Renault on dry tyres on the damp kerb coming out of Rivage and spun backwards into the inside barrier. The session was stopped for six minutes to allow the marshals to move his car off the track.
Were it not for the crazy weather, torrential rain, sunshine and rain again in the space of five minutes, we would be talking about a Ferrari disaster. Sixth Massa, tenth Alonso, worse than a nightmare, almost unbelievable after Friday, when the Spaniard was the absolute master of the chronometer and the track. If it hadn't been for the weather, the Ferraris wouldn't have had a chance. The leader of the championship, Mark Webber, took his usual pole position, his fifth of the season, with his very fast Red Bull, and faster than the Ferraris are also the McLarens with Lewis Hamilton, second with 0. The other Red Bull, that of Sebastian Vettel, is fourth, fast enough to beat the Maranello drivers and even (in the case of Massa) an optimistic Robert Kubica, who is convinced that he can fight for the podium with his new Renault, equipped with a blown rear wing, the manual device that McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull have had for some time. Were it not for the weather, which would bring even Bernacca to his knees, the red dreams (Ferrari has won the last three editions of the Grand Prix here) would already be in the dust, because at the end of the traffic lights Fernando Alonso also has two Williams (seventh Rubens Barrichello, ninth Nico Hulkenberg) and a Force India (eighth Adrian Sutil) ahead of him. But Spa is no ordinary place, the track is selective and complicated, there are surprises lurking, and so Alonso should not be taken for a fool when he says:
"I'm disappointed, but no drama. I had hoped for better, but I can still win, or at least finish on the podium".
His serenity seems to hide something, as if his Ferrari had taken a gamble on a different set-up to its rivals, a gamble that could pay off in today's heavy rain. For now, the ridicule is all his, the result of obvious mistakes in the use of soft tyres.
"In the decisive lap, I was missing a set of soft tyres and had to use the hard ones, because I had wasted one at the start of the first lap, when there was the Petrov accident (red flag, Renault Russian unhurt), and two were gone in the second lap".
While the others, including Massa, only had one, alternating it with hard tyres. A bit of bad luck, but also another mistake, choosing the wrong moment to go for it. Alonso could have gone straight for it, at the start of the decisive battle, on the dry track, but instead he kept the good tyres for the last two minutes.
"When it started to rain, I lost a lot of time in the first corner".
The result: the Spaniard lost himself on the grid, while that first wrong turn did not prevent Hamilton from overtaking Kubica and Webber and Button from threatening to overtake Massa. The Ferraris were disappointing. But Alonso warns:
"I'm disappointed, we did badly, but no drama, nothing is lost. To be tenth in Spa is not like Monte Carlo, I can still win or at least be on the podium, because on this track, in this weather, a good choice doesn't give you tenths, it gives you minutes and it upsets everything".
Alonso believes in it. Otherwise there will be big problems and Belgium, where he has never won, will be confirmed as the usual taboo for him. A circuit that fascinates him, that he adores, but where he has never made the most of it. At a time when the championship is at its most crucial. It was the Spaniard himself who said it:
"No mistakes, there is no recovery now".
Red Bull claimed their twelfth pole position in thirteen races, with Mark Webber closing the gap on team-mate Sebastian Vettel to take his fifth pole to the young German's seven.
"We knew that the first lap of the last session would be very important with the variable weather here, the rain coming and going. The first lap went really well and I was happy, although I didn't know if it was enough, but the weather made it more difficult for the others, even though Lewis improved his time".
Third row for Felipe Massa, tenth for Fernando Alonso. After dominating free practice, Ferrari face a difficult Belgian Grand Prix as rain in the final minutes of qualifying damaged the Maranello cars. Says Ferrari Team Principal Stefano Domenicali:
"Unfortunately this was the case, but it's part of the somewhat complex situations like the one at Spa. It is clear that things could have gone a little better, we start from a difficult position, but the race can hold everything".
And the means to do well are there.
"The potential is there, unfortunately we did not have a good qualifying".
Finally, Felipe Massa does not hide his disappointment after his sixth penalty forced him to start the Belgian Grand Prix from the third row:
"It was a difficult qualifying, where we suffered from the weather, sometimes it rained, sometimes it was dry. It was not the qualifying I was expecting. We saw that the McLarens and Red Bulls were faster this morning and they were able to repeat that in qualifying, hopefully something better for tomorrow".
That is Massa's wish. The uncertainty of the weather conditions could change everything.
"The race could be affected by the weather and we have to be ready for any strategy. There is the possibility of a comeback, that is what I expect".
On Sunday, August 29, 2010, a 60% chance of rain showers between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. local time were forecast, and at the start, weather conditions were overcast, although some rain had fallen during the support races and there was a large build-up of rain showers to the west of Spa-Francorchamps. The air temperature was between 14 °C and 16 °C and the track temperature from 17 °C to 21 °C. The rain showers observed in the morning's support events altered the level of grip, and tyre strategy had the potential to effect the final finishing order. Cars were allowed to be changed slightly following the FIA's declaration of a change in climatic conditions post-qualifying. Every driver bar Barrichello, Rosberg and Schumacher began on the Soft compound tyre.
Before the start, Massa was observed by amateur video footage posted on the internet to have transgressed sporting regulation by being slightly out of position on the grid. He was not punished since neither the marshals, teams or the automatic jump start system relayed the fact to Whiting for him to impose a jump start penalty on Massa. At the start of the Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton took the lead from a slow-starting Webber into the La Source hairpin with Kubica second and Button third. Webber allowed the engine revolutions to fall too low, causing his car's Renault engine to go into anti-stall mode and falling to sixth. Hamilton held off Kubica on the outside in the braking zone of Les Combes turn as Button failed to pass Kubica. Sutil clung onto Webber's slipstream and overtook him on the straight for sixth before losing the place by running wide into Les Combes corner. A rain shower began to fall towards the conclusion of the first lap. The rain shower made the back of the track damp through Blanchimont corner and the conditions caused several drivers to run wide at the Bus Stop chicane due to a loss of grip braking for the turn. Button attempted to pass Kubica on the outside but sustained left front wing damage affecting its aerodynamic balance as it became apparent several drivers could not turn into the chicane and drove onto the run-off tarmac. Barrichello was unable to stop his car in time in the greasy conditions despite his braking early and struck the side of Alonso's eighth-placed car. Alonso was able to make a pit stop for intermediate tyres as well as other drivers but Barrichello retired with car damage. Button followed the chicane's contours and fell behind Vettel but held off Massa by braking very late for the La Source hairpin. He thus drew to the inside of Vettel and overtook him for third. In the second lap, Hamilton experienced a minor loss of control of his car through Eau Rouge turn but retained the lead. Kubica used his F-duct system but ran wide onto the outside run-off area, promoting Button to second. Vettel was forced wide by the rejoining Kubica and protested over the radio. Webber passed Massa on the inside for fifth before the safety car was dispatched at lap two's conclusion, as a consequence of the first lap accident between Alonso and Barrichello as Barrichello's car was being removed from the circuit.
The leaders remained on the track as three drivers lower down the order made pit stops for intermediate tyres. The rain abated on lap three as a blue sky began to appear through the clouds. The Safety car was withdrawn at the conclusion of lap three and racing resumed with Hamilton leading his teammate Button. Hamilton ran wide at the La Source hairpin and blocked his teammate Button from passing him for the lead, while Vettel used the restart to pass Kubica for third at the same hairpin. Sutil's higher straightline speed moved him past Hülkenberg for seventh to nullify an earlier illegal pass by the latter on the former at the Bus Stop chicane. Button's handling difficulties caused by front wing damage allowed his teammate Hamilton to pull away from the rest of the field to be 4.8 seconds ahead by lap seven. On lap six, Senna, nursing front wing damage, drove slowly into the pit lane to retire with rear-left suspension failure that caused him to spin. Vettel drew close to Button as he went faster uphill through Eau Rouge but him hitting his rev limiter on the Kemmel straight into the braking area for Les Combes corner and the effectiveness of the McLaren's F-duct system allowing for a longer gear ratio and a tailwind kept Button ahead. During lap 11, Petrov overtook Rosberg on the outside for ninth into Les Combes turn and put the latter wide. Having noticed Petrov's overtake on his teammate, Schumacher passed Rosberg on the outside for tenth approaching Malmedy corner, with Schumacher's rear wheel and Rosberg's front wing endplate colliding. Light rain began to fall on lap 16. That same lap, Vettel got a run on the conservatively braking Button on the inside into the Bus Stop chicane. Vettel suddenly switched to the outside line and lost control of his car by hitting a bump on the damp circuit as he was unable to correct an opposite lock at high speed. He struck the left-hand sidepod on Button's car, exposing its radiator and causing Button's retirement. Vettel entered the pit lane for a replacement front wing and fell to 12th position. The accident promoted Kubica to second and Webber to third. The stewards informed the Red Bull team the collision would be investigated and decided to impose a drive-through penalty on Vettel on the 20th lap. Vettel was informed of the penalty by his race engineer, and took it on the next lap. He rejoined in 14th place.
Sutil was the first of the leaders to make a scheduled pit stop for the medium compound tyres on lap 22. Red Bull responded by calling Webber into the pit lane on the next lap, followed in turn by Kubica and Massa on lap 24. Kubica rejoined ahead of Webber and held off the latter into Les Combes turn. On lap 25, Hamilton made his first pit stop and retained the lead. Sutil overtook Schumacher uphill into Les Combes turn for fifth on the lap. On lap 26, Vettel overtook Liuzzi at the Bus Stop chicane but Liuzzi's right-front wing endplate punctured Vettel's left-rear tyre. Vettel was unable to enter the pit lane and had to do a full lap before stopping for the soft compound tyres and fell to 20th; Liuzzi immediately made a pit stop for a front wing replacement. On lap 31, Hamilton led Kubica by 11.2 seconds, who in turn, was 2.3 seconds ahead of Webber in third. As Alonso challenged Kobayashi for eighth, light rain again began to fall on lap 34. At first, the track was slightly wet and made drivers unsure when to make pit stops for wet-weather tyres. Drivers began to make pit stops for wet-weather tyres on lap 35. On that lap, Hamilton was unable to slow enough in the slippery conditions due to tyre locking and slid into the gravel trap at Rivage corner. Hamilton made light contact with the wall with his front wing but had enough traction to get himself out of the gravel and return to the track in the lead. The first three drivers entered the pit lane at the lap's end. Kubica had a problematic pit stop: he overshot his pit box through braking too late and glanced the legs of a team member because he was distracted with the switches on his steering wheel for car adjustments. Kubica's delay moved Webber to second as Hamilton retained the lead. On lap 38, the safety car was deployed for a second time because of an accident requiring marshal intervention. Alonso ran wide on the paint marking the outside kerb exiting Les Combes turn and into Malmedy corner and lost control of his car. He veered across the track to the inside and crashed into the tyre wall, fracturing his front-right suspension before stopping in the circuit's centre. The crash forced Alonso to retire from the race. The safety car was withdrawn at the conclusion of lap 40 for four laps of racing. Hamilton led Webber in second and Kubica in third.
Into Les Combes turn, Rosberg overtook Kobayashi and then his teammate Schumacher on the outside for sixth by forcing him wide on the inside kerbs. Alguersuari cut the Bus Stop chicane and passed Liuzzi for tenth on lap 42. At the front, Hamilton took his third win of the season and the 14th of his career, in a time of 1 hour, 29 minutes, 4.268 seconds at an average speed of 207.509 km/h. Webber followed 1.571 seconds later in second and Kubica finished in third place. Massa secured fourth, holding off Sutil in fifth. The Mercedes pair of Rosberg and Schumacher finished sixth and seventh following the team's decision to keep their drivers on track for longer and were just more than a second ahead of eighth-placed Kobayashi. Petrov was ninth and Algersuari provisionally tenth. Liuzzi came 11th with De La Rosa 12th after a late race error sent him into the gravel at Curve Paul Frere corner when closing up on Petrov. Buemi was provisionally 13th after sustaining diffuser damage and a tyre puncture when another driver struck the rear of his car. Hülkenberg, 14th, had faulty throttle control causing him to spin multiple times and requiring him to make an extra pit stop. Vettel was 15th, with Kovalainen after a poor start caused by his engine's anti-stall system activating and Di Grassi 16th and 17th. Di Grassi stated Kovalainen overtook him off the circuit at Les Combes corner but no punishments were issued by the stewards. Glock in 18th lost performance on a set of full-wet tyres before the second rain shower and ran a new front wing after demolishing a brake marker board on lap one. Trulli and Yamamoto were the final classified finishers. In Belgium, three drivers left the Grand Prix with a feeling of disappointment: a disappointing Fernando Alonso, an incomprehensible Sebastian Vettel and the blameless Jenson Button, who was looking forward to a podium finish in a McLaren that had become super again, but who was literally pushed out of the way by the young German in the Red Bull. The race, which was affected by the weather, highlighted the qualities of Lewis Hamilton, who even thanked God - "someone up there gave me a hand" - for coming out of turn 8 unscathed, after a walk on the gravel without damage and a return to the track to fly to the finish line, but showed that he is the best at juggling dry and wet, that he has the best car, at least at Spa, and that now that he is back in the lead, he can lay his hands on the victory of the World Championship.
"It was a good weekend, the race was tough. I was praying for a smooth race, but then it started to rain and I didn't know how hard we could push. The team did a great job, I am proud of the work they did. I made one of my best pit stops of the season. Today it was not easy to decide when to pit because of the rain. Luckily it stopped then, the track improved and I was able to win by keeping the gap. The exit? Someone up there helped me".
The Belgian Grand Prix was also a blessing for Mark Webber, who struggled with the clutch at the start, failed to get away at the traffic lights, dropped from first to sixth but then had no more problems, overtook Felipe Massa on the track, Robert Kubica in the pits, thanked Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button for retiring, and with his second place stayed close to the McLaren driver in the standings, although he was now three points behind instead of four.
"The start? I made some adjustments during the scouting lap, hoping to solve a problem, but then things got worse. We'll see what happened, but I started slower and that penalised me a lot. I was behind the others, I had to fight, I managed to pass Felipe Massa (ed), I was close to the others. It was a close race, I had a good first pit stop, I'm very happy to have finished second, I lost one position compared to yesterday, but it went well. We are in the championship race. It's also easy to finish without points in a race like this and the points we scored today are very important".
The track, on the other hand, probably wiped out Ferrari's ambitions, fourth with Felipe Massa, but without a valid result with the one who must not make a mistake, the warrior Fernando Alonso, who may have reached the end of his dreams, although he stubbornly denies it. After just a few metres he was hit by Rubens Barrichello, which certainly ruined his race, dropping him from eighth (he started tenth) to twentieth. But after the reasons, here are the opportunities and the mistakes. He had opted for a wet set-up (a bigger rear wing than Massa) and the gamble did not pay off, as he lost precious tenths in qualifying and in the race the rain that had been announced did not arrive until 10 laps from the end, when a comeback was impossible. Another gamble in vain: he returned to the pits on lap 2 and changed to intermediate tyres.
"If I did it right, I would take the lead with a 20-second advantage".
Instead, the rain didn't even think of pampering him, the asphalt remained dry and on lap 5 the Spaniard unfortunately had to return to the pits to change to hard tyres.
"You're behind, you have to try something different, otherwise you don't have a chance".
Fate refused to listen to him and his race became a mad dash to the rear. Until lap 38, when he was pushing like crazy, he was back in eighth place, but then he put his wheels on the kerb, the rear of the car ran away, he crashed twice into the barriers and retired. A word that could be associated with his rainbow ambitions, but which he rejects.
"I don't give up and it's not over yet. I only lost the first of seven finals, so anything can happen. In Spa, me, Button and Vettel didn't get anything, in Monza it could happen to Hamilton and Webber. I believe in the comeback, my chances of winning remain 50 out of 100".
Monza. Ferrari’s race, the last resort for Alonso.
"I tell the fans to come with confidence, I am ready to give a great show. I will be emotional, it will be the first time I race in Italy with the red car, but I will give everything".
It will be necessary because the others don't really give the feeling of waiting for him. Sebastian Vettel, who rammed Jenson Button on lap 16 in an attempt to take second place, injured himself as badly as Jenson Button himself and seems ready to give up the rainbow sceptre, but Lewis Hamilton is optimising everything and Mark Webber is no joke either. Felipe Massa, on the other hand, has little influence.
"It was a race where it was not easy to go all the way. We scored points and that was good. There were cars faster than us, like McLaren and Red Bull, and that made us suffer. But in terms of strategies and everything else, we did a good job. Tyre choice? At a certain moment I said I'm going in now, there were dry spots on the track and I stayed on".
As for the Ferrari dream, you have to go with the strange prediction of Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner:
"In Monza it will be the fastest car".
But even Domenicali stops him:
"I'd be happy, but stop pretending".
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali tried to calm his fans, still stunned by the black Sunday: "It was supposed to be the race of redemption, but it was a real debacle.
"It certainly wasn't a positive weekend for us, we lost ground in every respect, there's no doubt about that. Things are more difficult now, but not impossible".
Only Massa saved the team's honour with an honourable fourth place, for the rest the good Alonso's disasters, culminating in his retirement on lap 38, earned the Spaniard the terrible nickname of Fernando Santader, as if the only reason Alonso is in the Ferrari is because of the bank's money. You know, the fans are unforgiving, but such a judgement seems excessive. In any case. Fernando Santader or not, Domenicali still sees a chance of winning the world championship, and to explain that he is not a visionary, he recalls what happened in 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen's final success:
"We were 17 points behind with two races to go, whether the current situation is more difficult I don't know".
From a mathematical point of view, Domenicali is right, and he goes on to explain:
"Of the top five in the standings, Alonso was one of the three who did not score any points, so maybe the opposite will happen in the next few races and we must not give up".
But it is not just a matter of mathematics, as Ferrari have now been overtaken by McLaren and Renault, two teams that everyone thought were doomed at the start of the year due to their low budgets. Domenicali himself admits as much:
"We saw McLaren, who until a few weeks ago seemed to be suffering, looking very strong yesterday".
But the Ferrari boss is right about one thing:
"The scenario is changing rapidly from race to race, so it is difficult to predict. Now it is important to be there, because in these conditions anything can happen".
Paris, Monza, Korea. Three key words in Ferrari's comeback attempt, for many a utopia given the huge gap between Alonso (41 points) and Hamilton; not for the men of the Maranello team, spurred on by Montezemolo to give their all and unwilling to give up, starting with the Spanish driver. Paris and Monza were the first decisive moments. Two different battles: one political, on Wednesday 8 September 2010 in France, in front of the FIA World Council, which will have to decide on Alonso's overtaking of Massa at Hochenheim, and the other on the track, on the home circuit, packed with fans, in the race where Ferrari has often found a way to turn the tables and win the title, but where it has not won since 2006. In five days' time, the Maranello team will know its fate and whether it is worth insisting on this season (a new development of the car is already planned for the Singapore Grand Prix on 26 September, with a brand new aerodynamic package), or whether it is better to concentrate on the next championship. Paris is the first stage and there is little to do on a technical level. If Alonso is penalised, he will fall further back in the standings and the dream will be over. Ferrari is quiet. Domenicali is categorical:
"We are convinced that the FIA will understand our reasons".
An elegant way of saying that, after the $100.000 fine, he is not going to lower his hand any further. Then comes Monza, the battle on the track, and it is here that the Maranello team will be looking to shine. In the coming days Fisichella will test the car at Vairano. It is a straight line test, but for Monza, with so much speed and so little aerodynamics, it could be crucial. Monday 30 August 2010 Montezemolo speaks to both drivers, Alonso and Massa, on the phone and urges them to give it their all. The mood is one of last chance, but a triumph could be a turning point. There is also the Singapore circuit, similar to Monte Carlo, where Ferrari can fight, given their strength in the Principality, and even the Japanese Grand Prix could be favourable, while the Brazilian and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix seem to be in Red Bull's favour. The comeback smacks of a miracle, but Alonso invites everyone to believe in it. Of course, the loss of the Korean Grand Prix (the asphalt is still missing from the circuit), one race less, would be another punch in the stomach for Ferrari. Stefano Domenicali says:
"For us we run".
But the mystery remains.