A season to forget so far, never on the podium and scoring points seven times out of eleven. Kimi Raikkonen always hopes to be able to return, if not to the levels of 2007, the year in which he won the World Championship, at least to the good performance of the last two seasons with Lotus.
"I have faith in the team, but obviously there have to be changes and improvements, which can only happen when we work as a team. It's been a tough year, but that's life. It's not fun when you go through tough times, we always try to do things as best we can, limiting mistakes to get back to being fast again. I know that, compared to the winter, I didn't suddenly lose a few seconds on the lap".
Raikkonen is convinced that only secondary problems limit its potential.
"It's time to put things back in the right order and unfortunately so far we haven't been able to do so. Sometimes we have a day or a place where we do well, but we are still struggling a lot and obviously the results suffer. If it were easy it would be funny, but that's not the case this year".
A mega salary to stay at Ferrari: this would be the gift that Fernando Alonso would have received from the Maranello team for his birthday, last July 19th. The Spanish driver would have asked the Maranello team for a new three-year contract until 2019 with a salary of 35.000.000 per year for a total of 105.000.000 euros. For Alonso it would almost be a doubling given that until 2016 his salary would be around 18.000.000 euros per season.
"Unreal voices and figures beyond all logic".
But Luca Montezemolo thus dismisses the rumors about the renewal of Fernando Alonso's contract:
"We are fortunate to have two champions who are working with the whole team to return to competitiveness. Then, like every summer, there are rumors of alleged problems or negotiations with figures that are not only unreal but also beyond all logic, such as those circulated on the contract of Alonso and on the hiring of the drivers. We know it by now, the summer heat always plays some nasty tricks".
Montezemolo prefers to look at the second part of the season. The World Lament restarts on Sunday 24 August 2014 in Spa, Belgium:
"Our drivers need to rest and come back recharged, the season is still long and we need Fernando and Kimi in top form. By the way, best wishes to Kimi who will soon become a father".
While there is still no talk of renewals, on Tuesday 19 August 2014 Scuderia Toto Rosso announces that starting from the 2015 season Max Verstappen will be driving their cars. The seventeen-year-old son of former Formula 1 driver Jos, fresh from his experience at the Red Bull Junior Team, should take the place of Jean-Eric Vergne and will become the youngest driver in the history of the circus.
"Since I was seven years old, Formula 1 has been my goal, so this opportunity is truly a dream come true. With the Verstappen name returning to Formula 1, I hope we can relive old memories".
The Dutchman, son of former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, only made his debut in single-seaters this year, moving directly from karting to FIA F3. A leap that seemed exaggerated, but Verstappen was immediately competitive, able to fight for victory right from his debut race with the Dallara-Volkswagen of the Van Amersfoort team, a team always considered second rate. The young Dutchman has achieved seven victories and is second in the championship behind Esteban Ocon (Junior Lotus), in full contention for the title. An aggressive driver, sometimes even too aggressive, Verstappen was signed by Mercedes for the German Grand Prix, but Helmut Marko arrived a few days later. And faced with the Austrian manager's offer, the young Max's management couldn't say no. A brilliant career therefore, which recalls Kimi Raikkonen's move to F1 when after just one year in single-seaters in 2000, with Formula Renault 2.0 and among other things the British national championship (won), he jumped into the Sauber F.1 and made his debut immediately in 2001. Verstappen burned through all the stages and all the expectations, confirming in F3 that he possesses a rarely found talent: very fast on the flying lap in qualifying, both on a wet track (the gap he inflicted on his rivals at the Nurburgring in Q1 was embarrassing) and on the dry, bad at overtaking, great control of the vehicle, on some occasions however he demonstrated poor vision of the race by exaggerating with certain manoeuvres, which were then punished by the stewards. In short, he must cleanse himself of certain excesses.
The question remains: will Verstappen be able to express himself at the same levels even with single-seaters with a power greater than the 250 horsepower of an F3? There is no answer for now, as he has never driven Renault World Series cars (except for a test with the old car in Spielberg) or GP2. He will probably train in the next few months with these cars before getting into the Toro Rosso. An extreme challenge certainly awaits him. Marko's sudden falling in love with Verstappen dampens the ambitions of Carlos Sainz Jr., the first candidate to rise to F1 next year with Toro Rosso as a Junior Red Bull driver. The nineteen-year-old Spaniard leads the World Series by Renault championship and certainly couldn't do more to deserve a place in F.1 under the Red Bull banner. But as happened last October with Antonio Felix Da Costa, stopped by Marko's sudden decision to promote Kvyat to Toro Rosso in his place, history repeats itself with Sainz Jr.. That if he confirms himself in first place in the final sprint of the WSR championship (among other things becoming the first Red Bull driver to win the title), what opportunity will you receive from Marko for 2015? A car park at Caterham? A third driver role? We will know more in the coming weeks. Thursday 21 August 2014,
"I have a two-year contract with Ferrari and therefore I am in no rush to sign. My desire is to renew, but there has been information about my salary that is totally exaggerated and out of context. It is interesting to know why certain information came out which damage my image but it doesn't matter, the only thing is to do well this year, then that's my will on the contract".
Speaking about the upcoming race scheduled on the Belgian circuit, the Spanish driver appears cautious:
"We have to fight for the third position of the constructors with Williams, Spa and Monza are circuits that are not favorable to our characteristics and therefore we must try not to lose too many points. We will have to stay on defense for a bit, and then we will see how we recover in the following races".
Kimi Raikkonen is also cautious about the next race:
"Hopefully we can have a good weekend from start to finish and a good race, so we can start to improve. This and Monza, however, are probably not the ideal tracks for us since we miss a bit of top speed, which is fundamental both here and on the next track. Instead, I believe that the final part of the season can only be better for us, especially considering the good sensations in the car that I found in the last two races".
Not at all refreshed by the summer break, the month of holiday that F1 grants itself annually in August, Fernando Alonso presents himself again to his fans like this, in the twilight. And angry too. Because just as he was packing his bags, after Budapest, rumors emerged about negotiations for the renewal of his contract.
"Thinking of winning even just one race this year is not realistic".
Let's say it right away. The question of extension is unlikely to encounter any obstacles. At Ferrari they are too desperate to think about depriving themselves of someone like Alonso, who, in turn, is too desperate to think about abandoning the Maranello team: he has enemies practically everywhere in the paddock, and his ego is feared almost as much as it is admired his talent. There is only a (little) discussion to be had about the numbers. Which are huge. Considering that Alonso is said to earn something like 25 million euros a year and that the three-year renewal is being considered in terms of a tweak, it is clear that the issue is perceived as delicate by both parties. In this context, the aforementioned rumors arrived: according to which Alonso would have requested an adjustment to reach 35,000,000 euros per year, from 2016 to 2019. The figure was flatly denied by Ferrari and also by the interested party, who however Now come back to the question:
"I have another two years of contract with Maranello and therefore I am in no hurry to sign the renewal. Even if that is my will. But you have to ask yourself why exaggerated and out-of-context information came out to damage my image".
There is no doubt that the information was out of context, that it was exaggerated it is probable, that it was brought out to damage his image is instead grotesque. Also because the only ones who could have made such a rumor come out are the top management of the Maranello team themselves, who instead care a lot about Alonso's image. And who are currently struggling with many other problems: showing up at the start of next season with a decent car. An objective that Marco Mattiacci, the new team principal, wants to pursue at all costs. Enough to consider a massive hunting operation for the best minds in the hybrid engine, with Audi engineers leading the way. Pending developments, Friday 22 August 2014 we once again witness a Mercedes one-two in the second free practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix, twelfth stage of the Formula 1 World Championship. This time, however, Lewis Hamilton is in front, turning in 1'49"189 he marked the best time of the day, ahead of his teammate, Nico Rosberg, by 0.6 seconds. The World Championship leader, however, was faster in the race simulation. Just as in the morning behind the Mercedes c It's Fernando Alonso's Ferrari. The Spanish driver, who also set a good race pace, with a time of 1'49"930 precedes Felipe Massa's Williams-Mercedes by 0.4 seconds. Jenson Button follows in the McLaren-Mercedes, 0.3 seconds behind the Brazilian driver, ahead of the other Williams of Valtteri Bottas. Seventh time for Daniil Kvyat, who with Toro Rosso did better than Daniel Ricciardo with Red Bull and Kevin Magnussen with the second McLaren. Closing out the top ten is Nico Hulkenberg, with Force India. Problems, however, for Kimi Raikkonen who after setting a good fifth time in the morning, in the afternoon session did not go beyond the fifteenth best time, lapping in 1'52"234. Worse went to Sebastian Vettel. The World Champion, in fact Max Verstappen art torn away by Red Bull from the anxieties of his sixteen years, he appears among the conifers of Spa, attracting the attention, not all of which is benevolent, from the paddock, and betraying the real motivations that pushed Helmut Marko to sign a child.
"Age is just a number, what I can do on the track will count".
The young man says in a special press conference organized between the tables of the Energy Station, Red Bull's hospitality. It may just be a number but for the moment, those sixteen are everything for him. You want to talk about talent, to remember that he won with karts, that he has always been a fast guy. Until the clock says anything different, Max will just be a huge and not entirely appreciable marketing move.
Everyone knows it here. Even if, in a hypocritical environment like that of F1, very few people say this. Among these, Jacques Villeneuve, who gets to the heart of the matter with impressive clarity:
"It's the worst thing that has ever happened in F1. It can produce two effects, if it goes wrong it will destroy the boy. If it goes well, it will reduce Formula 1. Which will no longer be a point of arrival. For Formula 1 today, you have to pay a price, you have to work hard, you have to deserve it. So, instead, it's like giving a gift to someone who hasn't had their birthday with the excuse that sooner or later they had to give it to you. They say he's strong. But it's not enough to be strong. Napoleon was also good, but it took him a while before he became emperor. The truth is that it's just a big image campaign based on the younger the better. And that's not good. What will the next team that needs some newspaper publicity do? Will he hire a 15 year old? The truth is that giving a superlicence to a sixteen-year-old boy has emptied the very concept of superlicence of meaning and exposed a flawed system. And it's not good for him either. He's not even a man yet, how can he be a pilot? I remember when I was seventeen and I raced and won in F3. I thought and did different things than I would think and do years later. Because I hadn't yet paid the price for the experience".
A very heavy speech shared by the rest of the paddock, who says more or less the same things only with a little more hypocrisy. Fernando Alonso says:
"At seventeen I was certainly not ready for F1. Maybe if they had asked me, I would have said yes. But today I can say that it wasn't true. But maybe it's different for him, we'll see".
Exactly what Max says. Who, not surprisingly, boasts of taking inspiration from the Spanish:
"I am a driver similar to Alonso, I love having everything under control, attacking when there is a need to attack, managing when the race requires it. Just like Fernando. Whether I'm ready or not is not up to me to say, the asphalt will tell, in Melbourne (the first race of next season, ed.)".
Zero problems, in short, for him. But sitting at a table, looking more melancholic than ever, Adrian Newey shakes his head.
"The real problem of Formula 1? It's just that pilots no longer go to school".
Outside, in the middle of the dark green forest of the Ardennes, the toy cars rush and chase each other on curves and straights. The whistle of the turbo engines arrives muffled inside the Red Bull hospitality area. The English engineer universally recognized as the genius of Formula 1, the man that Ferrari has for years dreamed of stealing from the competition, and perhaps still dreams, is in a gloomy mood. Not because his Red Bull is being dominated by Mercedes this year, it happened again yesterday with Rosberg and Hamilton two seconds ahead of Vettel and the others, and it will happen again today, in the race. But because suddenly, this Formula 1 became foreign to him. A sensation of which he had already begun to feel the symptoms a few months ago, when he communicated to Dietrich Mateschitz, the boss of Red Bull, that he intended to take a half step back and that he would like to deal with sailing, the America's Cup, which he will do from autumn. These days, however, that feeling has grown into something palpable. Probably favored by the noise being made by the news of the contract stipulated between his team and Max Verstappen, sixteen years old, the youngest driver in the history of Formula 1. He has a son a few years younger, Newey, and this has greatly affected him . But not so much for age itself. As for what it entails.
"What worries me most is the effect that entering a sport like this at such an early age has on the education of these kids. Let's face it clearly: many of them, not only those in Formula 1 but also those in karting, don't go to school. They don't even get signed up. Their parents, at most, hide behind the lie of private tutors and tutors. But in most cases - not in all, for heaven's sake - it is precisely a lie: if you ask them to show you their school CVs you are faced with depressing stories. The point is that these kids, when they come to competitions, learn many things in a different, non-academic way. And they often don't feel the need to go to school. But there will come a time when without a degree, without having spent the necessary time on books, without appropriate intellectual training, their fate will be an unknown. That's what worries me. And I think motorsport as an industry needs to address this issue, urgently. Continuing like this is irresponsible".
On Friday, during his debut press conference, little Verstappen tells journalists that he has a year left to finish school and that next year, the year of his debut in F1, he will have his final exams. And to the English reporter who asks him if he was certain that he would be able to prepare for the exam and, at the same time, compete in an F1 World Championship, he replies with a laugh:
"Let's hope so".
In the meantime, his father Jos, outside the motorhome, gives interviews to Dutch TV. And, incredibly, zero problems for his father too, who can't wait to admire his son who he took to a paddock for the first time at the age of four, and who has not yet finished high school, launched at 350 km/h on a Toro Rosso:
"He's ready, I'm sure of it".
We will see. Meanwhile, on Saturday 23 August 2014 Valtteri Bottas set the best time in the third free practice session of the Grand Prix. The Williams Finn lapped in 1'49"465, ahead of the Australian Red Bull driver, Daniel Ricciardo, and the German Mercedes driver, Nico Rosberg. Fourth ex aequo went to the Ferrari Finn Kimi Raikkonen and the English Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton. The two placed ahead of the other Ferrari driver, the Spaniard Fernando Alonso, and the Russian Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat. A few hours later, rain, uncertain weather and a wet track literally drove the F1 strategists crazy who during the official tests are definitively pushed into a corner by the drivers who test the old way: that is, they immediately go out on the track and try to immediately set the fastest lap, with the awareness that the track could always get worse. In this delirium - as usual - The talent of Lewis Hamilton emerges forcefully as he literally dominates the official tests, setting record laps, only to be outwitted in the final by teammate Rosberg who ultimately robs him of the joy of winning pole position. But let's go in order. An hour before the start of the qualifying session, rain hits the Belgian track, but it ends about a quarter of an hour after the start. Most of the drivers opt to use intermediate tyres, except Valtteri Bottas and the two from Sauber. Both Hamilton and André Lotterer missed the braking point at the Bus Stop curve, without any consequences. Esteban Gutiérrez, however, stops on the track, but the race direction does not interrupt the session. Nico Rosberg sets the best time of the first phase, while Jules Bianchi only qualifies for Q2 at the last attempt. Max Chilton, the two from Caterham, Gutiérrez, Nico Hülkenberg and Pastor Maldonado are eliminated. In Q2 the density of the rain increases, again forcing the drivers to fit intermediate wet tyres. Rosberg confirmed himself as the fastest, before being overtaken in the ranking by Lewis Hamilton, while the two Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers, Sergio Pérez, Adrian Sutil, Romain Grosjean and Jules Bianchi were eliminated. The rain stops falling as the decisive phase begins. The first to take to the track is Sebastian Vettel; Lewis Hamilton ruins his first attempt by going long, while his teammate, Nico Rosberg, sets a time about 2.5 seconds slower than that of Sebastian Vettel, second to him. Even in the second attempt Lewis Hamilton is not perfect but easily climbs the ranking, placing himself behind Nico Rosberg. The latter improved his time even further, conquering his eleventh career pole position.
Obviously Lewis Hamilton takes second place, but Mercedes' dominance goes beyond the obviously just used: the Anglo-German cars leave everyone two seconds behind, truly impressive. Vettel third and the other lion of the day, Fernando Alonso, fourth: always very fast when it comes to making the most of the car in conditions of poor grip. Fernando Alonso therefore manages to stay ahead of Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Kevin Magnussen (McLaren) and his teammate, Kimi Raikkonen. Felipe Massa and Jenson Button complete the top ten. On Sunday, August 24, 2014, the Belgian Grand Prix began from a standing start at 2:00 pm The weather at the start was dry with dark clouds, and some rain had fallen. The air temperature was between 13 and 15 °C and the track temperature from 21 °C and 31 °C; forecasts on Sunday predicted rain to fall but not with the same intensity as on Saturday. Every driver, except for Sutil, began on the soft compound tyres. The soft compound tire was predicted to be 13 seconds faster over 15 laps and degradation rate research prompted most teams to make two pit stops for their drivers. As the Ferrari mechanics were about to start Alonso's car on the grid, it failed to respond because its battery had been emptied for unspecified reasons. They retrieved a jump-start battery from their garage and used it on his car, giving Alonso a five-second time penalty taken at his first pit stop since Ferrari broke a regulation mandating all team personnel to vacate the track 15 seconds before the start of the formation lap. Alonso's mechanics completed the installation of the spare battery before the last car passed him, allowing him to start from fourth. Although he stopped slightly outside of his grid slot and reversed to find a good angle, Hamilton used his teammate Rosberg's slower start to lead into the La Source hairpin. Vettel out-braked Rosberg on the left and passed him going uphill towards Eau Rouge corner putting himself between the two Mercedes. He deployed 160 hp (120 kW) of electrical energy on the Kemmel Straight as Hamilton attempted to prevent Vettel from clinging onto his slipstream by defending on the right, encouraging Vettel to steer left and he out-braked Hamilton on cold tires. He locked his tires and used the run-off area to rejoin the track in third, behind Rosberg but ahead of Ricciardo. Elsewhere, Bianchi and Grosjean made contact at the exit to the La Source hairpin, puncturing Bianchi's right-rear tire and forcing him into the pit lane for a replacement wheel.
At the end of the first lap, Hamilton led his teammate Rosberg by half a second, with Vettel third. Alonso and Ricciardo were fourth and fifth. Maldonado became the first driver to retire from the Grand Prix with a suspected exhaust failure causing smoke to emit from the rear of his car on lap two. That lap, Hamilton again went defensive but this time from Rosberg, his teammate, who slipstreamed him. Rosberg put Hamilton on the outside line as his front wing was level with Hamilton's side pod when the two entered Les Combes corner. As Hamilton was halfway through the left-hand turn, his left-rear tire got punctured by Rosberg's front right wing endplate. A section of endplate was launched airborne; much of Rosberg's front wing remained intact. Hamilton's tire delaminated at the exit to Pouhon corner and it caused downforce-related bodywork damage. He drove slowly to the pit lane and rejoined the race in 19th. Drs was enabled on the third lap. On that lap, Ricciardo's low-downforce setup gave him an efficient Drs to pass Alonso for third into Les Combes corner. Ricciardo quickly drew close to his teammate Vettel. After Vettel ran wide onto the damp artificial grass through Pouhon corner on lap five, he slid luridly and Ricciardo got past for second. On the same lap, Lotterer was retired from a loss of power, possibly caused by him driving over a kerb too hard at Blancimont turn. Pérez passed Massa for ninth on lap six and Bottas used Drs to overtake Alonso for fourth on the Kemmel Straight. Rosberg was called into the pit lane at the end of lap eight for a replacement front wing and the medium compound tyres. He rejoined the race in 15th. Räikkönen made a pit stop on the same lap in Ferrari's attempt to put him ahead of Bottas and Vettel after the pit stops ended. On lap 10, a section of tire carcass from Bianchi's punctured tire wrapped itself around Rosberg's radio antenna, entertaining his attention before releasing itself. Between laps 10 and 12, Vettel, Ricciardo, Bottas and Alonso made their first pit stops. After the pit stops, Ricciardo led Räikkönen by 2.4 seconds, with Vettel a further three seconds behind in third, Rosberg was fourth and Bottas fifth. Magnussen overtook Vergne for seventh at the Bus Stop chicane on the 15th lap. Back in fourth, Rosberg's pit stop on the eighth lap compromised him strategy-wise and he could not pass Vettel on the straights.
He attempted to brake later than Vettel on the outside at the Bus Stop chicane on lap 17; he locked his tires on the run-off area. Bottas slipstreamed Rosberg on the Kemmel Straight and deployed Drs to move into fourth. Two laps later, Rosberg made a second pit stop to replace his flat-spotted tires with the soft compounds and emerged in 11th. Räikkönen was almost eight seconds behind Ricciardo when Ferrari asked him to enter the pit lane on the 20th lap because his rear tires had degraded enough to prompt a tire change. On lap 21, Hamilton in 17th implored Mercedes to retire him because of his car's bodywork damage; the team insisted he continue in anticipation of a safety car deployment. Rosberg passed Pérez for seventh on lap 22. That lap, Vettel who lapped in the 1'55"0 range to Rosberg's 1'51"0 made his pit stop and fell in eighth, behind Rosberg and Räikkönen. During lap 23, Magnussen in fourth blocked Alonso from overtaking him three times. That lap, Rosberg passed Button for fourth, only for Button to reclaim the position because Rosberg had a fuel limit issue. On the following lap, Rosberg tried again to pass Button and he was successful that time round. He overtook Alonso on the Kemmel Straight for third on lap 25. That lap, Hamilton overtook Grosjean for 16th and Button lost fifth to Vettel at the Bus Stop chicane. Ricciardo made a second pit stop from the lead for the medium compound tires at the conclusion of the 27th lap. He exited pit lane 3. 7 seconds ahead of Rosberg in third. Bottas took the lead for one lap, before making his own stop at the end of lap 28 and emerged in fifth. Bottas overtook Vettel on the outside at Les Combes corner for fourth on lap 30. Four laps later, Grosjean retired from downforce-related damage sustained to his Lotus at his second pit stop. After Ricciardo re-assumed the lead earlier, Rosberg's soft compound tires were worn and could not match Ricciardo's pace. Mercedes decided to put Rosberg on a third pit stop to get the win from Ricciardo on the final lap. Red Bull gave Ricciardo a target lap time of 1'53"400 to stop Rosberg overtaking him, which he did consistently. Rosberg's pit stop came at the end of lap 34. He passed Bottas and Räikkönen to return to second by lap 36. Hamilton's request to retire was granted on the 39th lap. He entered the pit lane and was pushed into the garage. Around that period, Bottas challenged his compatriot Räikkönen for third on the outside of Les Combes corner but Räikkönen prevented Bottas from completing the pass.
Bottas attempted again on lap 40 and passed Räikkönen on the Kemmel Straight. One lap later, Bianchi retired with a failed gearbox. As Alonso slipstreamed Magnussen at 320 km/h on the Kemmel Straight and lapped Ericsson on lap 42, Magnussen turned right and Alonso put half of his Ferrari onto the grass to avoid a major crash. Alonso's loss of momentum allowed Button past him into Les Combes corner. Button failed to pass his teammate Magnussen at Rivage turn, allowing Alonso and Vettel to demote him to seventh. Alonso tried again to pass Magnussen on lap 43 at Les Combes corner though it encouraged Vettel to draw alongside him. He tried for a third time at Rivage corner but was put onto the grass and Vettel overtook Alonso. Starting the final lap, Vettel overtook Magnussen into the La Source hairpin and Alonso attempted to pass Vettel on the inside. Alonso hit the rear of Vettel's car, breaking his front wing, and Button passed Alonso for seventh. Meanwhile, Ricciardo maintained the lead under pressure from Rosberg for his second successive win, and the third of his career. Rosberg in second followed 3,383 seconds later and Bottas took third. Off the podium, Räikkönen took his best result since the 2013 Korean Grand Prix, finishing fourth. Magnussen finished fifth on the road and Vettel sixth. Button, Alonso, Pérez and Kvyat were in seventh to tenth. Outside the top ten, Hülkenberg, Vergne, Massa, Sutil, Gutiérrez, Chilton, Ericsson and Bianchi were the final finishers. Rosberg's soft compound tires were worn and could not match Ricciardo's pace. Mercedes decided to put Rosberg on a third pit stop to get the win from Ricciardo on the final lap. Red Bull gave Ricciardo a target lap time of 1'53"400 to stop Rosberg overtaking him, which he did consistently. Rosberg's pit stop came at the end of lap 34. He passed Bottas and Räikkönen to return to second by lap 36. Hamilton's request to retire was granted on the 39th lap. He entered the pit lane and was pushed into the garage. Around that period, Bottas challenged his compatriot Räikkönen for third on the outside of Les Combes corner but Räikkönen prevented Bottas from completing the pass. Bottas attempted again on lap 40 and passed Räikkönen on the Kemmel Straight. One lap later, Bianchi retired with a failed gearbox. As Alonso slipstreamed Magnussen at 320 km/h on the Kemmel Straight and lapped Ericsson on lap 42, Magnussen turned right and Alonso put half of his Ferrari onto the grass to avoid a major crash.
Alonso's loss of momentum allowed Button past him into Les Combes corner. Button failed to pass his teammate Magnussen at Rivage turn, allowing Alonso and Vettel to demote him to seventh. Alonso tried again to pass Magnussen on lap 43 at Les Combes corner though it encouraged Vettel to draw alongside him. He tried for a third time at Rivage corner but was put onto the grass and Vettel overtook Alonso. Starting the final lap, Vettel overtook Magnussen into the La Source hairpin and Alonso attempted to pass Vettel on the inside. Alonso hit the rear of Vettel's car, breaking his front wing, and Button passed Alonso for seventh. Meanwhile, Ricciardo maintained the lead under pressure from Rosberg for his second successive win, and the third of his career. Rosberg in second followed 3,383 seconds later and Bottas took third. Off the podium, Räikkönen took his best result since the 2013 Korean Grand Prix, finishing fourth. Magnussen finished fifth on the road and Vettel sixth. Button, Alonso, Pérez and Kvyat were in seventh to tenth. Outside the top ten, Hülkenberg, Vergne, Massa, Sutil, Gutiérrez, Chilton, Ericsson and Bianchi were the final finishers. Rosberg's soft compound tires were worn and could not match Ricciardo's pace. Mercedes decided to put Rosberg on a third pit stop to get the win from Ricciardo on the final lap. Red Bull gave Ricciardo a target lap time of 1'53"400 to stop Rosberg overtaking him, which he did consistently. Rosberg's pit stop came at the end of lap 34. He passed Bottas and Räikkönen to return to second by lap 36. Hamilton's request to retire was granted on the 39th lap. He entered the pit lane and was pushed into the garage. Around that period, Bottas challenged his compatriot Räikkönen for third on the outside of Les Combes corner but Räikkönen prevented Bottas from completing the pass. Bottas attempted again on lap 40 and passed Räikkönen on the Kemmel Straight. One lap later, Bianchi retired with a failed gearbox. As Alonso slipstreamed Magnussen at 320 km/h on the Kemmel Straight and lapped Ericsson on lap 42, Magnussen turned right and Alonso put half of his Ferrari onto the grass to avoid a major crash. Alonso's loss of momentum allowed Button past him into Les Combes corner. Button failed to pass his teammate Magnussen at Rivage turn, allowing Alonso and Vettel to demote him to seventh. Alonso tried again to pass Magnussen on lap 43 at Les Combes corner though it encouraged Vettel to draw alongside him.
He tried for a third time at Rivage corner but was put onto the grass and Vettel overtook Alonso. Starting the final lap, Vettel overtook Magnussen into the La Source hairpin and Alonso attempted to pass Vettel on the inside. Alonso hit the rear of Vettel's car, breaking his front wing, and Button passed Alonso for seventh. Meanwhile, Ricciardo maintained the lead under pressure from Rosberg for his second successive win, and the third of his career. Rosberg in second followed 3,383 seconds later and Bottas took third. Off the podium, Räikkönen took his best result since the 2013 Korean Grand Prix, finishing fourth. Magnussen finished fifth on the road and Vettel sixth. Button, Alonso, Pérez and Kvyat were in seventh to tenth. Outside the top ten, Hülkenberg, Vergne, Massa, Sutil, Gutiérrez, Chilton, Ericsson and Bianchi were the final finishers. As Alonso slipstreamed Magnussen at 320 km/h on the Kemmel Straight and lapped Ericsson on lap 42, Magnussen turned right and Alonso put half of his Ferrari onto the grass to avoid a major crash. Alonso's loss of momentum allowed Button past him into Les Combes corner. Button failed to pass his teammate Magnussen at Rivage turn, allowing Alonso and Vettel to demote him to seventh. Alonso tried again to pass Magnussen on lap 43 at Les Combes corner though it encouraged Vettel to draw alongside him. He tried for a third time at Rivage corner but was put onto the grass and Vettel overtook Alonso. Starting the final lap, Vettel overtook Magnussen into the La Source hairpin and Alonso attempted to pass Vettel on the inside. Alonso hit the rear of Vettel's car, breaking his front wing, and Button passed Alonso for seventh. Meanwhile, Ricciardo maintained the lead under pressure from Rosberg for his second successive win, and the third of his career. Rosberg in second followed 3,383 seconds later and Bottas took third. Off the podium, Räikkönen took his best result since the 2013 Korean Grand Prix, finishing fourth. Magnussen finished fifth on the road and Vettel sixth. Button, Alonso, Pérez and Kvyat were in seventh to tenth. Outside the top ten, Hülkenberg, Vergne, Massa, Sutil, Gutiérrez, Chilton, Ericsson and Bianchi were the final finishers. As Alonso slipstreamed Magnussen at 320 km/h on the Kemmel Straight and lapped Ericsson on lap 42, Magnussen turned right and Alonso put half of his Ferrari onto the grass to avoid a major crash. Alonso's loss of momentum allowed Button past him into Les Combes corner.
Button failed to pass his teammate Magnussen at Rivage turn, allowing Alonso and Vettel to demote him to seventh. Alonso tried again to pass Magnussen on lap 43 at Les Combes corner though it encouraged Vettel to draw alongside him. He tried for a third time at Rivage corner but was put onto the grass and Vettel overtook Alonso. Starting the final lap, Vettel overtook Magnussen into the La Source hairpin and Alonso attempted to pass Vettel on the inside. Alonso hit the rear of Vettel's car, breaking his front wing, and Button passed Alonso for seventh. Meanwhile, Ricciardo maintained the lead under pressure from Rosberg for his second successive win, and the third of his career. Rosberg in second followed 3,383 seconds later and Bottas took third. Off the podium, Räikkönen took his best result since the 2013 Korean Grand Prix, finishing fourth. Magnussen finished fifth on the road and Vettel sixth. Button, Alonso, Pérez and Kvyat were in seventh to tenth. Outside the top ten, Hülkenberg, Vergne, Massa, Sutil, Gutiérrez, Chilton, Ericsson and Bianchi were the final finishers.
The debutant in the World Champion team, Daniel Ricciardo, gave a lesson to everyone: to his teammate Sebastian Vettel, four times World Champion, and to Mercedes, where its two drivers threw themselves out after just two laps.
"The checkered flag never arrived. It was a difficult, different race, because when you're in the lead for a long time you have to keep your nerve, watch the lap times and when Nico made the third stop I knew he would be faster and therefore I tried to control and keep the driving clean".
He adds:
"I hoped that everything would go well, I thought that everything on a mechanical level worked until the end and in the final laps the checkered flag never arrives so soon. You always dream of winning and some circuits stand out over the others on the calendar such as Spa, but to be honest every victory is special. I made a good start I managed to pass Alonso but then he passed me but the next lap I passed again. Then I passed Seb (Vettel), then Nico (Rosberg) came into the pits to change gear. 'front wing and took the lead and managed to stay focused and maintain a good pace until the end".
Thus the Red Bull outsider won a very close race, which immediately infuriated the Mercedes men: at the start Hamilton got away better than Rosberg and took the lead, but the latter - on the second lap - touched him: the front wing it falls apart but Lewis ends up with a slashed tire. At the end of the race Toto Wolff says:
"It's an unacceptable race. That's not the way we can continue. What will happen? Very".
And the non-executive president of Mercedes, Niki Lauda, is of the same opinion:
"Toto is absolutely right, especially on the second lap, certain things can't happen. If it had happened on the last lap we could have discussed it, but not like this. Lewis? He's calm, but he no longer understands the situation, he thinks the same way as I think. What if anything will change? We need to meet with the riders and Toto and put all the information together. It was an accident but it's Nico's fault, Lewis was in front, it's clear to me".
Meanwhile, Hamilton returns to the pits with a huge delay, Rosberg is forced after a while to make an additional stop to change the wing. Goodbye victory. With the aggravating circumstance - from the point of view of relationships between drivers in Mercedes - that in the end Nico Rosberg finishes second and takes advantage of this to increase his lead in the standings over Lewis Hamilton.
In fact, the 18 points allow Rosberg to rise to 220 and bring the advantage over the Englishman to 29 points.
"There is a lot of fire in my mind".
Lewis Hamilton thus comments on the sensational accident that occurred after just two laps of the Belgian Grand Prix with his teammate Nico Rosberg and which effectively eliminated him from the race.
"It's not easy, but these are races and I can't do anything about it. What happened makes my championship even tougher. It's disappointing, for the result and for my boys who are working hard: they've always given me strength, I clung to them and their spirit every time. It's a shame for the team too, because we could easily have done a double today. Nico made a stupid mistake".
Both Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda called Rosberg's behavior unacceptable:
"Yes, and I don't know what to add, it wasn't good. I spoke with Wolff but there was no briefing, we'll probably do it later but I have nothing to say. I pushed with everything I had but I had the left side of the car was almost completely damaged. I put my heart into it, but I wasn't even gaining ground on Grosjean. This affair broke my heart but it will make me even stronger".
Hamilton leaves Spa furious, Mercedes finds itself with a fractured team after a high-tension day. We'll see how it ends. Meanwhile Nico Rosberg says:
"Whose fault is it? I haven't watched the episode on TV yet, I have to watch before commenting. I was confident about the double, but unfortunately it didn't go that way".
Valtteri Bottas takes the third step of the podium with the Williams which in the final laps overtook the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen who hoped for a well-deserved podium until the end. Fifth was Sebastian Vettel in the other Red Bull, ahead of the McLarens of Kevin Magnussen (then penalized 20 seconds for a contact with Alonso) and Jenson Button. Seventh was Fernando Alonso, who also paid a penalty for the problems at the start: on the warm-up lap there was something wrong with the car and the mechanics were forced to tinker well beyond the limit imposed by the regulations, thus causing damage with a penalty the innocent Spanish driver by 5 seconds.
"Without the penalty, I could have gotten to the podium with ease".
Fernando Alonso leaves the Belgian Grand Prix with more than one regret.
"With Hamilton's Mercedes out of the running, we could have aimed for the podium. We had a good pace, Raikkonen fought until the end for third place in the other car. Unfortunately my car wouldn't start, we had to use an additional battery to starting. The penalty made me lose ground: we knew that top speed would be our weak point and, at that point, we weren't able to overtake".
Adds the Spaniard, also slowed down by a Kers problem.
"Basically I had about 140 horsepower less. Then all weekend we had difficulties with the fuel flow".
But the happy note is represented by the progress that the car produced in Maranello has made:
"We are improving slowly, the pieces we insert make a contribution. Now we have to look ahead and think about Monza, the circuit doesn't make things easier for us because there are a lot of straights".
Kimi Raikkonen is also disappointed:
"With a few laps to go I was third, but the Williams was too fast on the straight and Bottas passed me at the second attempt. What feelings do I leave with? It's still disappointing to finish in fourth place. It was a difficult Friday, yesterday we did better in the morning but we made some mistakes in qualifying - adds the Ferrari driver -. On the positive side, we were faster in the race and that for the first time we were able to do our race without strange things, and when we are able to avoid the problems we are fast. So fourth place is fine but we are here to win".
Valtteri Bottas takes the third step of the podium for the fourth time in the last five races. The Finnish Williams-Mercedes driver drove an excellent race, overtaking compatriot Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari in the final laps.
"The team did a great job and we are definitely on the right path. Another podium, the fourth for my career, for the team this season. Now we have to continue like this looking for the top step. This will be the most difficult step and we need a bit of luck, because the Mercedes are very strong and on tracks like this the Red Bulls are very good and I wasn't able to attack Ricciardo".
Not even enough time to consider that after all, here in Spa, it didn't go as badly as feared, that a new fear is deeply shaking Ferrari: that of being lapped in Monza. And not from any rival, but from Mercedes' competitors. In front of the home crowd and, what's worse, in front of the top management of Fiat. The possibility, as Maranello knows well, is real. Monza is a very fast circuit. According to some estimates made by Pirelli, this year, the cars, with less aerodynamic load and with all the devilry of energy recovery, could reach speed peaks never seen before on the straight, up to 375 km/h. However, this record is unlikely to be set by Ferrari which has its main flaw in its low top speed. It's easier for the Williams and Mercedes to play the part of the protagonists. The scenario worries Ferrari team principal, Marco Mattiacci, even if it doesn't scare him:
“Let's try not to be pessimistic. Even here in Spa we would have had to pay for the lack of top speed. And instead, if we hadn't reacted late to Alonso's problem on the starting grid we could have even brought home a podium. In short: we face every race with the awareness of our limits but also knowing that important opportunities can arise".
It is a fact, however, that in the two free practice sessions on Friday and also in the Saturday morning session, the team tested a new front wing designed specifically for low downforce circuits. To make the situation worse, there is another circumstance. In fact, the result in Monza risks having a different importance than usual also because Luca Montezemolo's future at Ferrari should be decided in those days, in light of the possibility for the Ferrari president to also take on a role in Alitalia. The positions are known. Montezemolo, who has recently been renewed, would like to continue dealing with Maranello until the natural expiry of his mandate, and for this reason he would be ready to accept only a non-operational assignment from Alitalia. Turin's position is different and instead is thinking of a future without Montezemolo for Maranello. In the meantime, however, in the end, as Fernando Alonso says, it is likely that Mercedes will not succeed in not winning this World Championship.
"With one car two seconds per lap faster than the others it is impossible".
But if he succeeds, if the stupidity of men manages to prove stronger and more perfect than the best engineering of Germany and England, then this race, the Belgian Grand Prix, will go down in history as the key moment of the season, the one in which the couple finally broke up, Lewis Hamilton's brain was shattered, and the dreams of glory of the Anglo-German automobile empire were shattered by the out-of-control egos of the two drivers. Destiny had prepared its plot with great care. First of all, he had two drivers who were opposites of each other on the same team. A blond blond, German, son of art and rich family, ephebic, glacial, gifted with a talent that is just ordinary but armed with cunning. The other, English of Caribbean origins, not poor but almost, but blessed with a prodigious predisposition for driving, a convict of the competition that he has always faced with an even naïve generosity. Then he made sure to put at their disposal a machine so monstrous that it evened out the differences in driving. And finally he had handed them over to a team devoted to the insane policy of letting them be slaughtered on the track (a policy that changed from Sunday evening). What resulted was a season on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In Bahrain Hamilton accuses:
"The engineers steal my telemetry data and pass it on to Nico".
In Spain, Rosberg relaunches:
"Hamilton uses more power than I do".
In Monte-Carlo, the escalation:
"Rosberg is just a spoiled rich kid".
Rosberg cashes in, then takes to the track and as a rogue simulates a Schumacher-style mistake, red flag and Hamilton's qualification compromised. In Budapest, the team, under pressure, loses its head and during the race imposes a strategy that penalizes Hamilton, who disobeys orders.
"He had to obey".
Rosberg underlines with a smirk in an annoying video interview released while he is completely relaxed on the masseur's bed. In Spa, the disaster. Niki Lauda, honorary president of the new Mercedes management, would settle the matter with his bare hands, if it weren't so inelegant. Toto Wolff, the man of the relaunch, defines the thing as unacceptable, he was anticipating the easy double. But the worst is yet to come. And the worst is the debriefing. A four-way encounter, Hamilton-Rosberg-Lauda-Wolff in which the German ends up admitting he did it on purpose. That killer tap was voluntary. Lewis Hamilton says:
"He said he wanted to give a signal to the team, he said he could have avoided it but he didn't. And that it was my fault. What signal did he want to give? Ask him".
But he is silent. Maybe it's a strategy. He counts the points earned, sees the foam at the corners of Lewis' mouth, and smiles under the astonished gaze of Lauda and Wolff, who announce upcoming punishments, terrified by the possibility that in the end it will be Ricciardo who smiles.
"I'm sorry for Ricciardo, but even if the points gap in the standings isn't too many, I really think that in the end he doesn't represent a real threat for the two Mercedes drivers. Their car is too superior to the others, two seconds per lap in qualifications are an unbridgeable gap".
Fernando Alonso is someone who knows about comebacks - both made and suffered - and if he says so, you have to believe it. And yet the day after the bad events - so to speak - of Spa, with the Mercedes pair definitively breaking up, and the team no longer knowing what to do, the possibilities of an unexpected recovery by the young Australian talent of Red Bull do not appear so unlikely.
Not so much because his car seems to grow from race to race around an increasingly efficient chassis and aerodynamic set-up (the signature of Adrian Newey on the 2014 project is a guarantee). And not even thanks to Ecclestone's crazy idea of awarding double points in the Abu Dhabi race. But rather because Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg now seem on the verge of an irrecoverable and damaging breakup, so much so that it is now starting to liven up the drivers' market too - but that's another matter.
Just listen to Hamilton's words to understand how at every corner, from here on out, it will be a thriller for Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda, the top management of the Stuttgart team.
"I no longer trust Rosberg".
The Englishman says, and the phrase sounds full of dire omens.
"In our profession it is very important every time you go out there to compete in a match to be able to rely on those who work with you. You have to take it for granted that they think with their heads and don't do things deliberately. A condition that has now come to pass After the meeting we had on Sunday evening (the one in which Rosberg admitted that he had deliberately held his position to the extreme because he was angry after the events in Hungary, when Hamilton ignored team orders, ed.) I really don't know. how I will face the next match".
Decisions are expected in the next few hours from the team which had announced a very clear reaction to Rosberg's considered reckless move.
"But, honestly, I just can't imagine what they could do".
And, in fact, Nico Rosberg will not receive any sanctions after the accident in the Belgian Grand Prix. This is what the FIA decides, which does not believe that the conditions for opening proceedings exist. The stewards examine the episode and consider it simply a racing accident. Believing, therefore, that there are no elements to sanction Nico Rosberg. Article 13.10 of the FIA International Sporting Code provides that, beyond the decision of the stewards, it is possible to open proceedings in the presence of new elements. Evidently, Hamilton's statements and the words attributed to Rosberg are not such. The Federation should take action, at this point, only in the presence of a formal act from Mercedes or Hamilton. But it is highly unlikely, if not impossible, that the English team or driver will officially request the opening of an investigation.