It seems I should pay more attention to my gut feelings; as mentioned in my previous post and despite my hope that Heidfeld or Fisichella would win this one, my foreboding that it would be Raikkonen proved correct. He drove faultlessly, apart from his use of the run-off area at La Source to stay out of trouble and gain position. The rules are quite clear: gaining an advantage by leaving the track is not allowed and must be penalized (by the same token, Sutil should have been penalized for his pass on Badoer a few laps later).
Kimi Raikkonen at Spa
No doubt I will be accused of sour grapes by Ferrari fans but consider where this will end if allowed to continue. There are corners like La Source where it is an advantage to take the longer route through the run-off area since the wider line enables more speed to be maintained and greater momentum for the following straight is gained. If the offense is not to be penalized, drivers will begin to take this option regularly until the leading car realizes what is going on and does it first. Just as the wide option at La Source was invented by Nigel Mansell in a quest for greater speed through this corner, the outside but illegal line will become part of the track for all intents and purposes. Are we then to move the run-off outwards to retain its safety intent?
Taking that route can only result in corners becoming wider and wider until they devour the countryside. It is a ridiculous scenario and the stewards should be more aware of the rules and apply them with consistency to prevent this happening.
There is no point in having rules that are ignored until the stewards feel the need to be important. I have seen it mentioned that the drivers were told they could use the run-off area in the first lap to avoid accidents but am prepared to bet that nothing was said about gaining an advantage thereby. And, depending on how you view the incident, Raikkonen was either fourth or fifth as he left the track and he rejoined in third.
So that was my gripe throughout what turned out to be a pretty good race. Although Fisichella should really have won had the rules been applied (and without the intervention of the safety car), it was wonderful that he claimed second and the first points for Force India. If there is any justice in the world, the car will be just as good at Monza and we will see a first victory for Vijay Mallya's team.
It was good to see BMW return to form and the points too. Heidfeld, by his own admission, messed up at the first corner and was unable to get past his team mate thereafter, in spite of being quicker. Even so, his pass on Webber (after the Australian had nearly shoved him into the wall on his release from the pits) was clean and precise.
Fourth and fifth places are welcome relief for the team after their disastrous mid-season and they can look forward with hope to Monza, a circuit where they have always been quick. Toyota, however, had a miserable afternoon with Trulli getting into trouble in the first lap and retiring with brake problems later, while Glock lost several places thanks to problems with his fuel rig. Once again my gut feelings turn out to be correct - I said at the time of the Bahrain GP that the team had blown its best chance of a race win this season.
Vettel had a great drive to take third place from Kubica at the second stop. The Red Bull was better in Spa than its qualifying form would indicate, as shown by Seb's fastest lap of the race. In contrast, Mark Webber seemed determined to annoy everyone this time and it was only fitting that he should receive a drive-through penalty for his team's unsafe release during the pit stops.
Hamilton and Button were out at Les Combes, of course, but Kovalainen made up for the loss of his team leader by coming in sixth. It was a steady drive, threatened by others at times but somehow Heikki kept the McLaren going, unhappy as it was on this circuit. Barrichello, too, made up for Button's demise with a strong drive after nearly stalling on the grid. And Rosberg finished in the points again, no mean effort since the Williams FW31 was not very good at Spa.
Finally, Badoer was just that - tail end charlie again. He is talking of doing better at Monza but I doubt very much that he will get the chance. Nor will Fisichella, Mallya and Giancarlo himself having poured cold water on the rumors of a Ferrari call up for the little Roman. And, if you ask me, Fizzy should be glad of that, with the Force India looking so good on fast circuits.
Spa was not a great race but I don't think it is capable of putting on a bad one. Some close battles kept us watching, even though few of them resulted in a change of position. And the sight of the cars at speed through some of the most challenging corners in F1 was sufficient to fill in the gaps anyway. What a pity that we have no circuit left to rival Spa's magnificence.