FORMULA 1 - 2010

[MIKA27]

Alonso: First 'final' went badly for me

Fernando Alonso was left to rue the end of his recent run of fine form, but not his Championship hopes.

Alonso endured a day to forget in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix as rain at the Bus Stop chicane on the first lap resulted in Rubens Barrichello ploughing into the Spaniard's Ferrari.

Although Alonso was able to continue, further heavier rain later in the race when he was running in eighth saw him spin and collide with a wall, damaging his front-right suspension.

With title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber one and two, Alonso, who had finished finished first and second in the last two races, now finds himself 41 points adrift of the McLaren star.

"The first of the seven 'finals' went badly for me and for two of the other five finalists," said Alonso as Sebastian Vettel finished 15th, primarily after crashing into and retiring Jenson Button.

"The remaining two got the maximum result that means we will have to make up the ground lost today somewhere else.

"It is very disappointing because this is a bad result, but it does not mean I have given up on my chances of winning the title."

Although Felipe Massa lifted Ferrari's spirits by finishing fourth, the Maranello marque have slipped to 80 points behind Red Bull, who are only a point clear of McLaren in the Constructors' standings.

Despite the situation, it has prompted team principal Stefano Domenicali to remind people of what happened in 2007 when Hamilton lost the title after holding a 17-point lead - under the old system - with two races remaining.

"The weekend definitely did not end well for us, even if Felipe's fourth place at the end of an impeccable and error free race in conditions that were far from easy, is an important result," said Domenicali.

"Fernando saw his race compromised right from the first lap, the unwitting victim of an accident.

"Then, despite fighting his way up the order, he ended up off the track in the sort of incident that can easily happen in a rain-affected race.

"Apart from that we must recognise our performance in this grand prix did not match our expectations.

"It interrupted a positive trend that began a few races ago, and now we have to understand why immediately and take the necessary countermeasures.

"Although the situation in both Championships is certainly more difficult, it is still not impossible for us to reach our targets.

"For those with short memories, I remember three years ago we found ourselves in a much worse situation, and we all know how it went in the end."

[MIKA27]

Horner: No number 1 at Red Bull Racing

Christian Horner is adamant Red Bull will not back one driver for the title despite Mark Webber saying the time is coming for the team to choose.

Webber extended his points-lead over his team-mate Sebastian Vettel in Sunday's Belgian GP, bagging 18 points while the German failed to score.

With the gap between the two now up to 28 points, Webber reckons the time is fast approaching for Red Bull to put all their efforts behind one driver in the World title fight.

"I think it is too early at the moment to say that (one driver should have number one status), but maybe there is a different strategy compared to McLaren," said the Aussie. "It's still too early at the moment but not too far away."

However, his team boss has ruled this out, saying that as there are still 150 points to play for, Vettel is also firmly in the hunt for Championship glory.

"There are 150 points still available and the two guys have broken away a little bit from the rest of the pack - with the other three title protagonists not scoring," Horner told Autosport.

"But I think it is still too early to be contemplating that (supporting one driver).

"All five are still in this Championship and, with the way the points scoring is, the gaps can look deceptive because, while they look quite large, in reality they can reduce dramatically very, very quickly.

"150 points are still on the board, and it is a bit premature to be talking about that at the moment."

Asked whether he expects Webber to start putting pressure on the team to back him for the title, Horner said: "No I don't. Mark, he is a sportsman and a realist, and he knows the numbers better than anyone else.

"He is realistic to know that things can change very, very quickly. But he is in a great position. If we can get through Monza in a similar situation then hopefully we can come back to tracks that we know will suit our package."

[MIKA27]

'McLaren are regaining lost momentum'

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh believes the momentum is starting to swing back in his team's favour following Lewis Hamilton's Belgian GP victory.

Although McLaren held the lead in both Championship races up until the Hungarian GP, their points tally was largely due to their consistency rather than the pace of the car.

However, in Budapest, McLaren lost their leads to Red Bull and Mark Webber as the Aussie claimed his four victory of the season while McLaren were no match for Red Bull's pace.

The team, though, came back strong in Belgium on Sunday with Hamilton clinching his third win of the season to retake the advantage in the Drivers' Championship.

McLaren, though, weren't able to return to the front of the pack in the Constructors' battle after Sebastian Vettel put Jenson Button out of the grand prix.

But despite that, Whitmarsh believes the impetus is now moving back in McLaren's favour.

"We have some momentum back," he said. "We knew we had to come here and try for a win. We delivered that. And we are going to go to Monza now and see what we can do there.

"Everyone keeps asking how important each race is. This is a tight Championship so it doesn't matter if it is here, Monza - Singapore whatever.

"It is a tough Championship and the points swing backwards and forwards. They all count and we will be doing our best in all of them."

And although there is already some thought that Sunday's race could be pivotal in Hamilton and McLaren's title bid, Whitmarsh insists that all the remaining races, of which there are just six, will carry equal weight given how close the Championship battles are.

"I think it hinges all the way through. Every race is important, we've got to continue to improve the car, we've got to not make mistakes and we've got to continue to race well.

"I am sure Red Bull Racing will not stand still, and it will be a tough season, which I am sure it will be.

"People are saying that we are going to be very, very strong at Monza but I don't know how they deduce that. We aim to be as strong as we can, but I don't know how other people have such confidence. They have obviously got more information than me."

[MIKA27]

Button turns his attention to Monza

Jenson Button has already started working on his psychology ahead of next month's race in Italy in an attempt to rescue his title hopes.

After being t-boned by title rival Sebastian Vettel in the Belgian Grand Prix when running second, Button was understandably dejected in the immediate aftermath.

The loss of 18 potential points means Button is now 35 adrift of McLaren team-mate and Championship leader Lewis Hamilton and facing an uphill battle to retain the crown he won with Brawn GP last year.

But after a couple of hours of contemplation, Button's demeanour had changed dramatically, and now he will head to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix on September 12 in an ebullient mood.

From Button there were no such phrases as 'I think' and 'I hope', instead they were replaced by 'I will' and 'I can'.

For Button, it is a case of changing his mindset, forgetting all about the title battle and instead focusing singularly on the race itself.

"When I got out of my car and walked into my drivers' room I said what happened had massively hurt my championship, and coming back from it would be very difficult," said Button.

"But I was very down at that point, as you would be after losing so many points. I had gone from a massive high to a massive low.

"Looking at it now 35 points is still a lot, which in old money is about 14 points, but it's definitely still possible.

"I go to Monza positive I can have a good race, but also forgetting the Championship.

"I'm in a position now where I have to work towards a race victory because if I come away with that it's a very different atmosphere and a very different feeling for me.

"So that's my aim. It's a circuit I love, one I will do very well on this year, confident in the car and that I'll have a good weekend.

"I learned last year that you have to take every race as it comes and work on fine-tuning the car, on making sure it's the best for that race and not thinking too far ahead.

"And I'm definitely thinking like that for now. In two weeks' time we'll be in Monza, we'll have a good car and I will be fighting for a victory."

Naturally enough, Button still could not help but feel riled at what had unfolded on lap 17 of the 44-lap race.

Vettel at least had the good grace and sensibility to apologise to Button after losing his Red Bull under braking into the bus stop chicane as he attempted to pass the 30-year-old.

As he wrestled for control of his car, Vettel speared into the left-hand side of Button's McLaren, bursting the radiator and sending the Briton into retirement.

Vettel was remarkably able to continue, but after serving a drive-through penalty and later sustaining a puncture he wound up a lowly 15th.

Given it was the second major accident Vettel had been involved in this season after his shunt with team-mate Mark Webber in Turkey, there was inevitable post-race criticism.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh accused Vettel of being a "crash kid," perhaps a sense he is starting to become something of a liability.

Button, even after time to reflect on Sunday, was still pulling no punches regarding his feelings towards Vettel.

"He just made a mistake, and for me it was a big mistake that cost me a lot of points," added Button.

"It was a very costly mistake and I'm the person who has paid for it, but he's made a couple of them this year.

"I'm not saying he's dangerous, I'm saying that for me he has made too many mistakes this year to fight for the World Championship."

[MIKA27]

Horner defends 'very talented' Vettel

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has launched a vigorous defence of Sebastian Vettel following criticism of his young star's latest shunt.

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh accused Vettel of being a "crash kid" whose error in the Belgian Grand Prix that sent Jenson Button into retirement was more prevalent to "junior formulae."

It was Vettel's second heavy smash this season after he also ran into team-mate Mark Webber in Turkey, sparking the furore relating to likely team orders within the Milton Keynes-based marque.

Although able to continue at Spa, unlike in Istanbul, the stewards took a dim view of the incident and handed Vettel a drive-through penalty, his second in successive races.

Vettel's woeful weekend ended with a puncture sustained after the German ran over the front wing of Vitantonio Liuzzi's Force India, eventually finishing 15th.

Button was naturally left far from impressed by Vettel's driving, suggesting it was "a strange mistake," and that he has made too many this year for a title contender.

Such comments have forced Horner into championing Vettel as he said: "I think Sebastian, without a shadow of a doubt, is a very talented driver.

"This was one of those races where it just did not go his way. It just didn't work out for him so he needs to stay calm and focused, and eventually it will go his way."

Suggested to Horner that Vettel was now trying too hard in a bid to atone for his aberrations, the 36-year-old added: "It is difficult for him.

"You have to make split-second decisions, and I think he made one mistake when he was racing with Jenson.

"In trying to avoid him he got himself into a spin that ultimately collected Jenson in very, very difficult conditions.

"But he is a great racing driver who is still a very young guy.

"It's easy to be very critical of somebody who is relatively inexperienced, but he will learn a lot from what happened."

Vettel, who is now 31 points behind Championship leader Hamilton following the McLaren driver's victory, would appear to be blowing his golden opportunity for title glory this season.

"Nobody knows that better than Sebastian who is a pretty mature individual," said Horner.

"He analyses his own performance very, very carefully and I am sure he will bounce back from this. It would be foolish to write him off at the moment."

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Belgium could alternate with Germany in 2013

The Belgium grand prix could alternate with the German GP, according to the Chairman of the Spa Grand Prix Association, Viscount Etienne Davignon.

The idea is under consideration, as both races are losing vast sums of money during the race weekend - partly down to the high fees paid to Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One Management (FOM).

Davignon was happy with how the 2010 race went, and has already been congratulated by the boss of Formula One, he told HLN.be.

"We have already received congratulations from Bernie Ecclestone [for the race]. The teams have told us our facilities are perfect."

Despite this, and the fact it is one of most highly rated tracks by fans and drivers, the organisers have been struggling to reduce the financial losses, thought to be in the region of £2.5 million (€3m) annually.

"I have said previously that we will look at the figures and examine them year-on-year.

"We have certain overall targets in terms of income and expenditure. I don't want to give precise figures now, but ticket sales on Tuesday and Wednesday were good.

"However, what will happen in the future we don’t know. We are playing with the hypothesis of the GP alternating with a circuit nearby (the Nurburgring in Germany). This is the topic of discussions but we are not quite at this stage yet."

If the move goes ahead, it is unlikely to happen until 2013 as Spa-Francorchamps has a contract for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

MIKA: Yet another track, the very best of them all IMO is under fire, possibly losing out due to Bernie being money hungry! There is no way F1 should lose Spa, just like Monacco, both "are" Formula 1 in themselves.

If anything, Bernie should be paying them to keep the race going.

[MIKA27]

Korean organisers release venue photos

The organisers of the Korean GP have released several images in a bid to reassure the teams and fans that the circuit is nearing completion.

Several rumours have been circulating recently which suggest the inaugural Korean GP, planned for October 24th, won't be going ahead due to building delays, partly down to bad weather in the area.

The organisers, circuit designer Herman Tilke and Bernie Ecclestone have rubbished such claims, but the photo's will do little to silence the doubters as they only reveal the pit buildings and grandstands.

Main Grandstand

Media Centre

Pit Buildings

Pit Buildings

Team Buildings

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To F-duct or not to F-duct in Monza?

That is the question... on the minds of many team principals.

McLaren look set to take with them an F-duct spec low downforce rear-wing as well as a non F-duct version to the Italian circuit. If they opt to run without the system, it will be the first time this season.

Whilst Ferrari confirmed to Autosport that the rear-wing stalling device will be on their cars.

"I have to say that at the moment the F-duct will stay on the car for Monza," team principal, Stefano Domenicali said.

At the other end of the table, Renault's newly debuted system, which has been praised by Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov for working supremely well, is likely to be ditched for the next race.

"Monza will be quite a tricky race. It is a completely different downforce level track and I most probably will not have the F-duct there," the Pole said in Belgium.

The case against the system is down to the track layout. Monza is basically four long straights connected by a few corners. This would seem perfect territory for a device which reduces drag on the straights, thus increasing top speed.

However, all the teams will introduce a low downforce package which is unlikely to be seen at any other race.

This negates any benefit provided by the F-duct because the rear-wing will be set to a very low angle, providing as little downforce as needed, with maximum top-speed.

The case for the system is that it will allow the teams to run ever so slightly more downforce through the corners, providing better grip, with the F-duct balancing it out on the straights, although it could result in a lower top speed than not running the system.

The teams will likely use Friday's practice sessions to experiment with the system and without.

[MIKA27]

Domenicali: Winning the title isn't impossible

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali, has urged his team that whilst the title fight is getting more difficult, winning it is still not impossible.

A poor result for the Italian outfit saw their number one driver leave the Spa-Francorchamps circuit without a single point. Meanwhile Felipe Massa managed to finish fourth - but with the team throwing their full weight behind the Spaniard and an 80 point deficit in the constructors championship, glory is slowly slipping away.

"For sure it was not really a positive weekend for us," said Domenicali. "From the points point of view for sure we lost ground, no doubt about it – and it is more difficult but it is not impossible.

"For sure it is more difficult but we want to keep pushing because out of the top five drivers, we were one of the three that did not score a point," he added.

The Italian is hoping for a change of luck in the coming races, having seen one of their title challengers, McLaren, back on the pace.

"Maybe in the next couple of races something will happen the other way around, so we just need to be there and to not give up.

"We did not go out this weekend with the performance that we were expecting, and we need to understand why. We need to be very cautious because two races ago we saw one of our competitors, McLaren, seemed to be suffering and now it seems to be that they were very strong.

"Race by race, the scenario is changing so quickly that it is difficult to predict something. It is important to be there because with these conditions anything can happen."

[MIKA27]

Belgian Grand Prix datafile

In the latest instalment of our regular post-race feature, itv.com/f1 brings you a driver-by-driver rundown of how the 24-man field fared over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

With the three-day meeting being dogged by changeable weather, few drivers enjoyed straightforward weekends as Mother Nature made them adapt to different track conditions all the time.

Jenson Button - McLaren-Mercedes

Practice: 6th / 7th / 4th

Total practice laps: 43

Qualifying: 9th / 2nd / 5th

Pit stop laps: -

Result: retired, lap 15, collision damage

Summary: Having been pleased with both his MP4-25’s handling and general performance on Friday, Button was annoyed to only qualify fifth but felt, with changeable conditions likely, he was still in a good position for race day. That was going to plan largely too, a damaged front wing end plate aside, until Vettel unceremoniously took him out.

Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes

Practice: 2nd / 3rd / 2nd

Total practice laps: 38

Qualifying: 6th / 1st / 2nd

Pit stop laps: 24, 35

Result: 1st

Summary: The largely academic Q1 aside, Hamilton was never out of the top three throughout the three-day Spa weekend and took full advantage of McLaren’s return to form. Once he passed the sluggish Webber off the line, he was never headed for the entire 44-lap race despite the changeable conditions and his own late scare at Rivarge.

Michael Schumacher - Mercedes

Practice: 10th / 12th / 14th

Total practice laps: 48

Qualifying: 5th / 11th [starts 21st due to penalty]

Pit stop laps: 34

Result: 7th

Summary: Schumacher always knew his return to the race track he affectionately refers to as like his “living room” was always going to be difficult with a 10-place grid penalty hanging over him even before Mercedes showed little in the way of the top-10 pace throughout practice and then qualifying. Yet it turned out to be a largely encouraging weekend as he set a quicker qualifying lap than Rosberg (for just the third time) and then used all his experience to move up from 21st to seventh in the race as other young bucks faltered.

Nico Rosberg - Mercedes

Practice: 13th / 13th / 15th

Total practice laps: 36

Qualifying: 1st / 12th [starts 14th due to penalty]

Pit stop laps: 34

Result: 6th

Summary: Rosberg struggled with understeer throughout Friday as Mercedes tried to get its refitted exhaust-fed diffuser to finally work without problem on the W01, then had to take a gearbox change after final practice which dropped him to 14th on the grid. He had opted for a wet set-up in qualifying though, which aided him after the late re-start when he impressively passed both Kobayashi and Schumacher by Les Combes.

Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull-Renault

Practice: 4th / 6th / 3rd

Total practice laps: 42

Qualifying: 11th / 3rd / 4th

Pit stop laps: 16, 26, 33, 36

Result: 15th

Summary: Mistakes in the slippery conditions on both his Q3 laps ended his run of four straight poles and the errors continued into Sunday’s race as he clattered into Button after losing his RB6 on a bump – for which he earned a drive-through penalty – before later picking up a puncture when he clashed with Liuzzi. A late throw of the dice saw him take on the extreme wet tyres, which also failed to work.

Mark Webber - Red Bull-Renault

Practice: 7th / 18th / 1st

Total practice laps: 40

Qualifying: 8th / 4th / 1st

Pit stop laps: 22, 35

Result: 2nd

Summary: The pre-weekend points leader played down his 18th place Friday finishing position amid the “messy” conditions, and on Saturday showed he indeed had no reason to be concerned as he topped final practice and then the decisive pole shootout. After his anti-stall kicked in off the startline it seemed a long way back to the podium, but some shrewd early passes, team-mate Vettel’s wayward driving and Kubica’s pit-stop slip combined to give him a potentially important 18 points.

Felipe Massa - Ferrari

Practice: 11th / 5th / 7th

Total practice laps: 50

Qualifying: 10th / 7th / 6th

Pit stop laps: 23, 35

Result: 4th

Summary: Overshadowed by Alonso again on Friday, Massa qualified four places ahead of the Spaniard – despite some hairy moments in the wet – as Ferrari’s challenge surprisingly faded. The Brazilian then drove a steady race to fourth, keeping his head while others lost theirs in the sometimes very challenging conditions.

Fernando Alonso - Ferrari

Practice: 1st / 1st / 6th

Total practice laps: 53

Qualifying: 7th / 8th / 10th

Pit stop laps: 1, 4, 34

Result: retired, lap 37, spun off

Summary: His championship fightback seemed set to continue after he dominated Friday’s rain-affected running, but in qualifying had only one set of new slicks available for Q3 which he used for final run when it started raining. Moved up two places at the start, but was clobbered by Barrichello at the end of the first lap. Somehow he was able to continue, but immediate gamble to inters backfired. By the time of the late rain shower he had fought his way back up to eighth, but then dropped it on a wet kerb at Malmedy.

Rubens Barrichello - Williams-Cosworth

Practice: 9th / 9th / 13th

Total practice laps: 43

Qualifying: 3rd / 9th / 7th

Pit stop laps: -

Result: retired, lap 1, crash

Summary: F1’s most popular Brazilian was thoroughly enjoying his 300th grand prix weekend in the typically knife-edge Spa-Francorchamps weather conditions and equalled his season-high grid position of seventh. His milestone race lasted less than 4.35-miles however when he underestimated how wet the braking zone for the Bus Stop was and slammed into the side of Alonso.

Nico Hulkenberg - Williams-Cosworth

Practice: 12th / 15th / 9th

Total practice laps: 53

Qualifying: 2nd / 10th / 9th

Pit stop laps: 16, 37

Result: 14th

Summary: The improving Williams rookie again did a solid top-10 job in qualifying and was running as high as seventh before a throttle control problem, which had developed earlier in the race, caused his FW32 to cut out at his lap 16 pit stop. From there the throttle issues caused him to have several spins, while an ill-advised gamble to stay on slicks in the late rain hardly helped matters.

Robert Kubica - Renault

Practice: 3rd / 4th / 5th

Total practice laps: 51

Qualifying: 4th / 6th / 3rd

Pit stop laps: 23, 35

Result: 3rd

Summary: With Renault impressively getting its long-awaited F-duct to work well straight out of the box, the straightline speed boost allowed Kubica to run in the top six all weekend. Indeed he might even have hung on to his provisional front row slot had his R30 not cut out in the pit entry prior to his final Q3 run. In the race he drove strongly throughout, but let second slip when he overshot his pit box with nine laps to go while he adjusted settings on his steering wheel.

Vitaly Petrov - Renault

Practice: 17th / 11th / 12th

Total practice laps: 54

Qualifying: 24th [starts 23rd due to penalties ahead]

Pit stop laps: 16, 34

Result: 9th

Summary: As rookie mistakes go, spinning on your Q1 out lap after going too far over a clearly wet piece of kerbing was a fairly embarrassing one to make. The tenacious Russian more than made up for it in the race though: he was up to 11th from 23rd by lap two, put the manners on Rosberg with an aggressive move at Les Combes and then held it all together to come home in the points again.

Adrian Sutil - Force India-Mercedes

Practice: 5th / 2nd / 8th

Total practice laps: 46

Qualifying: 12th / 5th / 8th

Pit stop laps: 21, 34

Result: 5th

Summary: Served notice of Force India’s Spa potential with Friday’s second-fastest time in the drying afternoon session and then, after solidly making Q3 on Saturday, was a competitive proposition throughout the race and equalled the team’s season-high watermark of fifth.

Tonio Liuzzi - Force India-Mercedes

Practice: 15th / 16th / 18th

Total practice laps: 37

Qualifying: 15th / 14th [starts 12th due to penalties ahead]

Pit stop laps: 10, 25, 34, 37

Result: 10th

Summary: Complained of more top-speed problems on Friday despite the speed trap charts seeming to suggest otherwise and failed to follow Sutil into Q3. In the race was running 11th before breaking his front wing in a collision with Vettel and, despite making four stops, that’s where he finished on the road. Afterwards he was promoted to 10th after Alguersuari was handed a retrospective penalty for cutting a chicane.

Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso-Ferrari

Practice: 18th / 17th / 16th

Total practice laps: 51

Qualifying: 14th / 15th [starts 16th due penalty]

Pit stop laps: 1, 3, 33, 37

Result: 12th

Summary: Buemi’s weekend got off to a disrupted start when a gearbox problem limited him to just six laps in the wet FP1 and was then outqualified by Alguersuari in Saturday’s changeable conditions. He was involved in yet more first-corner contact when another car slit his rear tyre and damaged the diffuser, giving way to a race fighting against a handling imbalance. A series of wet tyre gambles failed to get him higher than 12th.

Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso-Ferrari

Practice: 16th / 14th / 17th

Total practice laps: 59

Qualifying: 13th / 13th [starts 11th due to penalties ahead]

Pit stop laps: 2, 4, 34

Result: 13th [after 20s time penalty]

Summary: The Spanish youngster admitted he was enjoying the rain at Spa and qualified a commendable 13th – which became a career-high 11th on the grid. He described his adventures on Sunday as “the most exciting race of my career”, in which he fought back from a unnecessary pit stop for intermediates on lap two to take 10th ahead of Liuzzi on the road. Stewards weren’t happy with the way he defended from the Force India driver two laps from home however, when he cut the Bus Stop, and punished him with a 20s penalty.

Jarno Trulli - Lotus-Cosworth

Practice: 21st / 20th / 19th

Total practice laps: 50

Qualifying: 18th [starts 15th due to penalties ahead]

Pit stop laps: 33

Result: 19th

Summary: The veteran vented his frustrations at his continuing misfortune after failing to follow Kovalainen into Q2 in the rain-hit first session, criticising di Grassi for not letting him by prior to their contact and then bemoaning the timing of yellow flags on his best lap. Race day was better though as he held 16th prior to the late appearance of the safety car, although he tumbled to 19th on the restart when he spun after putting a rear wheel on a slippery white line.

Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus-Cosworth

Practice: 23rd / 19th / 21st

Total practice laps: 44

Qualifying: 16th [starts 13th due to penalties ahead]

Pit stop laps: 1, 3, 33

Result: 16th

Summary: Kovalainen was happy with the performance of the T129 in the wet on Friday and then repeated his efforts from Sepang by taking Lotus into Q2. A catalogue of problems on the opening lap of the race – a poor getaway, broken wing and switch to inters – put him on the backfoot early on, but he typically battened down the hatches and later picked up a couple of positions when he was one of the first to this time stop correctly for the inters again in the late shower.

Sakon Yamamoto - Hispania-Cosworth

Practice: 24th / 23rd / 24th

Total practice laps: 52

Qualifying: 21st [starts 19th due to penalties ahead]

Pit stop laps: 13, 32

Result: 20th

Summary: The Japanese journeyman was delighted to qualify ahead of three drivers on merit in the tricky Q1 conditions and then a super start in the race meant he ended the chaotic lap in the unusually heady heights of 13th. He naturally fell back afterwards and late on experienced graining on the extreme wet rubber after HRT had anticipated a heavier rain shower than never came.

Bruno Senna - Hispania-Cosworth

Practice: 22nd / 22nd / 20th

Total practice laps: 46

Qualifying: 20th [starts 18th due to penalties ahead]

Pit stop laps: 2, 3

Result: retired, lap 5, suspension

Summary: Senna’s first experience of the Belgian Grand Prix saw him make the most of the rain in Q1 to achieve his best qualifying result to date. But his race only lasted five laps after his HRT’s rear suspension failed, adding to the broken front wing he had picked up on the opening lap which had necessitated a second-lap pit stop and a short-lived gamble on wet tyres.

Pedro de la Rosa -Sauber-Ferrari

Practice: 14th / 8th / 11th

Total practice laps: 59

Qualifying: 22nd [starts 24th due to penalty for 9th engine]

Pit stop laps: 1, 3, 34, 38

Result: 11th

Summary: After Sauber had showed solid top-10 pace throughout practice, de la Rosa had high hopes for qualifying so was mightily annoyed the teams’ gamble on slick tyres in the drying closing stages of Q1 backfired so spectacularly as both he and Kobayashi crashed out. An engine penalty for a ninth engine hardly made much difference to his already lowly grid slot and from there he fought back well into the points, only to throw away 10th when, struggling on overheating wets, ran into the gravel again three laps from home.

Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber-Ferrari

Practice: 8th / 10th / 10th

Total practice laps: 58

Qualifying: 19th [started 17th due to penalties ahead]

Pit stop laps: 2, 34

Result: 8th

Summary: Like his team-mate, Kobayashi dropped it on slicks while battling for a Q2 berth when a pole shootout appearance had seemed inevitable. Not for the first time this season though, the Japanese battled back on race day, getting his mandatory stop out of the way early after a strong first lap, and then shadowing the Mercedes drivers for the remainder of the afternoon to take eighth.

Timo Glock - Virgin-Cosworth

Practice: 19th / 24th / 23rd

Total practice laps: 31

Qualifying: 16th / 17th [starts 20th due to penalty]

Pit stop laps: 1, 2, 32

Result: 18th

Summary: The German driver made an inauspicious start to the weekend when he crashed in Friday’s second practice session, but followed rival Kovalainen through into Q2 – although a later penalty for blocking undid most of his hard work. In the race his avoidance action for the Barrichello/Alonso tangle on lap one only sent him into a collision course with a marker board which broke his VR-01's front wing, while gambles on wet tyres at the start and end of the race failed to pay dividends.

Lucas di Grassi - Virgin-Cosworth

Practice: 20th / 21st / 22nd

Total practice laps: 60

Qualifying: 23rd [starts 22nd due to penalties ahead]

Pit stop laps: 33

Result: 17th

Summary: Hopes of a first Q2 berth were scuppered when he was hit by an agitated Trulli at the start of the first stage, but race day was far more encouraging as his side of the garage made all the correct tyre calls and he finished close to Kovalainen in the battle for the new teams’ honours.

[MIKA27]

Hamilton looks to join elite company

Lewis Hamilton has his sights set on completing Formula One's own version of the awesome foursome.

Hamilton returned to the top of the drivers' standings on Sunday with victory in the Belgian Grand Prix, his third win of the year and 15th of his career.

The 25-year-old's triumph at Spa now sits alongside those at two of F1's other great historic circuits in Silverstone and Monaco.

The only other track to tick off on his list of must-wins is Monza, scene of next month's Italian Grand Prix.

That race, along with the Monaco, British and Belgian Grands Prix, are the only ones still surviving from the original 1950 calendar.

And in the 60 years since, only eight drivers have managed to win all four during their careers - Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Juan Manuel Fangio, David Coulthard and Jody Scheckter.

"I've never won before at Monza," said Hamilton, whose best result was second in 2007.

"It is a very historic circuit, Ferrari's backyard as well, so one where you want to win even more.

"Of course, you want to win every grand prix, but there are certain ones that mean a lot more, have more significance."

Hamilton's lead may only be three points from his closest rival in Red Bull's Mark Webber, but his every intention now is to hold onto that advantage through to the end of the season.

"I flippin' hope so," said Hamilton. "That's what I'm working on, that's the plan, but it's difficult to know what will happen.

"We've generally always been very good in Monza. The straights will be good for us there, so hopefully our overall package will too.

"But then we go to Singapore and Japan, and they are going to be two very tough races because they require high downforce and our car does not work very well with that, as we all saw in Hungary.

"But these next few weeks we're really going to be working hard to try and optimise the set-up for high downforce because there's something we're missing."

Should McLaren crack that issue then it should prove to be a fight to the finish between Hamilton and Webber, runner-up at Spa.

Despite his experience, Webber has yet to be tested in a title scrap, unlike Hamilton who fought to the finish in 2007 and 2008.

"That should count for something," said Hamilton.

"But Mark has his head firmly screwed onto his shoulders, his feet on the ground.

"Whether he'll be fazed by any pressure I don't know, but he's a world-class driver, so I'm sure he'll be fine."

However, the 25-year-old is far from ruling out Sebastian Vettel, team-mate Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, who all failed to collect a point yesterday for one reason or another.

"We just don't know what's going to happen," added Hamilton.

"There are still so many races and 150 points available, which is a lot to play for, so people can jump up from there."

[MIKA27]

Teams opt for six pre-season tests

Formula One teams will be afforded more track time to fine-tune their new challengers for the 2011 season after it was confirmed that the pre-season tests will be increased next year.

There were only four winter testing sessions - two at Jerez and one each at Barcelona and Valencia - this year and with in-season testing banned, teams felt they didn't have enough mileage under their belts for the new season.

However, McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh has revealed that teams have opted to add two more testing sessions to the 2011 calendar.

"We've agreed there will be six tests during the winter and probably the last one will be in Bahrain but it hasn't been quite agreed yet," Whitmarsh, who acts as chairman of the Formula One Teams' Association, is quoted by Reuters.

"We want to make sure that it's cost effective for the small teams."

There have been requests for in-season testing to return, but Whitmarsh says it is unlikely to happen.

"I personally would like to see more testing but I am respectful of the fact that there are teams still hurting," said Whitmarsh.

"We've now got at least six tests in the winter so that's a step further forward. What we haven't got at the moment is agreement to test during the season.

"I'd like to see a couple of tests but we've made some progress. To have six tests in the winter is more than we've had in recent years."

MIKA: Well its not much more testing but it's a little more than this season.

[MIKA27]

Ferrari to conduct straight-line aero test

Ferrari will conduct a straight-line aerodynamic test at Vairano as they look to bounce back from their disappointing showing at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso's hopes of winning the World Championship during his debut season at Ferrari took a massive blow at Spa. He started a disappointing 10th on the grid and then failed to finish the race following a crash into the barriers late in the race.

The team are hoping to hit back at their home race at Monza in a fortnight and they will use one of their permitted straight-line aerodynamic tests to iron out some problems.

Although in-season testing is banned, teams are allowed to conduct six one-day straight-line aerodynamic tests.

A statement on the Ferrari website read: 'One can never count on new solutions that have never been track-tested before immediately delivering results: that has been the case several times this year for all the teams. On top of that, the changeable weather during Friday's free practice certainly did not make the job any easier for the engineers.

'With this in mind, as well as in order to test the aerodynamic configuration to be used in the Italian Grand Prix, there will an aero test at the Vairano straight over the next few days.'

[MIKA27]

Kubica thrilled to be fighting at the front for Renault

Renault’s Robert Kubica is in a buoyant mood after clinching his third podium of the year at Sunday’s Spa Belgian Grand Prix.

Although he could have finished in second, had he not have made a mistake during his final pit stop, Kubica left Spa-Francorchamps feeling pleased with his third-place finish and the performance of his R30, which was running with an F-duct system for the first time.

“It was a really incredible race, but also a difficult race because of the changeable conditions and it was very easy to make mistakes,” he said in his blog on Renault’s official website. “I didn’t make any big mistakes on the track, but unfortunately I made one in the pit lane, which cost me second place. But third place is still a very good result for the whole team and I think it’s a very nice reward for all the guys in the factory and at the track for all their hard work recently."

Despite characteristically unsettled weather at the Belgian circuit, Kubica’s entire Spa weekend had been encouraging. Not only did the Polish driver finish all three practice sessions in the top five, he also took third on the grid after outpacing Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel by over two hundredths of a second during qualifying.

“We were fighting with the McLaren and the Red Bull drivers so I’m really pleased about the performance of the car," Kubica added. "In fact, we had great pace all weekend and whatever the conditions we were always in the top five. And finally we got the F-duct on the car, which was working really well and gave us a big improvement with our pace. I was very happy to be fighting at the front with the big teams so let’s hope we can continue in this direction.”

With his haul of 15 points from Spa, Kubica has moved into seventh in the drivers’ standings. Renault, meanwhile, have retained their fifth place in the constructors’ table and are now just 23 adrift of fourth-placed team Mercedes GP.

[MIKA27]

RBR: Monza will be our weakest track

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner expects his team to have a “tough” Italian Grand Prix and says its task will be to lose as little ground as possible to championship rivals McLaren and Ferrari.

Red Bull admits its Renault-powered RB6 is no match for the McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 and Ferrari F10 in a straight line, with Horner estimating its power shortfall at 30-40bhp.

Given the importance of straightline performance at Spa, Horner was delighted with Mark Webber’s runner-up finish in last Sunday’s Belgian GP.

“You could see very, very clearly, even against the [Mercedes-powered] Force Indias, how much we struggle in a straight line,” he said.

“We knew Spa and Monza are McLaren territory and we just have to limit the damage, as we managed to do with Mark.

“Actually to come away with a second place was a very good result for us.”

Horner fears that Monza – F1’s fastest track, which requires a lower downforce set-up than Spa – will punish the RB6 more.

But he still thinks Red Bull should be able to salvage a decent result, and is confident the five subsequent venues will suit its car much better.

“Monza will be a tough weekend for us, for sure,” he said.

“But we knew that. Here we didn’t expect to be as strong as we have been; hopefully in Monza we can do likewise.

“We performed better than expected in Montreal and Valencia this year.

“And if you compare this with the tracks that McLaren have performed badly at – for example Hungary, where Mark lapped Jenson – at a track that doesn’t suit us, we still managed to get a second place out of it.

“I think Monza will be our weakest circuit of the year arguably, so a bit of rain there might be nice.

“And then we come back to circuits that will much more suit our car.

“Singapore, Japan… Korea has a very long straight, but Brazil and Abu Dhabi we were strong at last year.

“This championship will ebb and flow, there’s a long way to go, and I think whoever strings a succession of results together consistently and probably wins another one or two races between now and the end of the year will ultimately come out as the victor.”

When asked if he would settle for a repeat of the Spa result at Monza, Horner replied: “With Mark, yes; with Sebastian [Vettel] I hope we have a slightly less incident-packed race…”

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali felt Horner might be talking down Red Bull’s Monza chances a little too much.

“The weakest track for them? I would love to be in their position!” he said.

“You can tell Christian that.

“I would love to have the weakest situation for them in Monza. I don’t think so…

“I think they have a very good car, and the numbers speak for themselves.

“Let’s see if it’s just tactics or it’s true.”

[OZCUBAN]

Belgium could alternate with Germany in 2013

The Belgium grand prix could alternate with the German GP, according to the Chairman of the Spa Grand Prix Association, Viscount Etienne Davignon.

The idea is under consideration, as both races are losing vast sums of money during the race weekend - partly down to the high fees paid to Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One Management (FOM).

Davignon was happy with how the 2010 race went, and has already been congratulated by the boss of Formula One, he told HLN.be.

"We have already received congratulations from Bernie Ecclestone [for the race]. The teams have told us our facilities are perfect."

Despite this, and the fact it is one of most highly rated tracks by fans and drivers, the organisers have been struggling to reduce the financial losses, thought to be in the region of £2.5 million (€3m) annually.

"I have said previously that we will look at the figures and examine them year-on-year.

"We have certain overall targets in terms of income and expenditure. I don't want to give precise figures now, but ticket sales on Tuesday and Wednesday were good.

"However, what will happen in the future we don’t know. We are playing with the hypothesis of the GP alternating with a circuit nearby (the Nurburgring in Germany). This is the topic of discussions but we are not quite at this stage yet."

If the move goes ahead, it is unlikely to happen until 2013 as Spa-Francorchamps has a contract for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

MIKA: Yet another track, the very best of them all IMO is under fire, possibly losing out due to Bernie being money hungry! There is no way F1 should lose Spa, just like Monacco, both "are" Formula 1 in themselves.

If anything, Bernie should be paying them to keep the race going.

I could think of a hand full of tracks that i would rather see go than spa ,Hungry for one ,hell i would rather see Monaco go before spa

I think it is well past the time that Bernie (aka harry potter )should start to step back and relinquish power to other persons,

IMO This wizards day in the sun is well past its use by date

Cheers OZ

[OZCUBAN]

RBR: Monza will be our weakest track

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner expects his team to have a “tough” Italian Grand Prix and says its task will be to lose as little ground as possible to championship rivals McLaren and Ferrari.

Red Bull admits its Renault-powered RB6 is no match for the McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 and Ferrari F10 in a straight line, with Horner estimating its power shortfall at 30-40bhp.

Given the importance of straightline performance at Spa, Horner was delighted with Mark Webber’s runner-up finish in last Sunday’s Belgian GP.

“You could see very, very clearly, even against the [Mercedes-powered] Force Indias, how much we struggle in a straight line,” he said.

“We knew Spa and Monza are McLaren territory and we just have to limit the damage, as we managed to do with Mark.

“Actually to come away with a second place was a very good result for us.”

Horner fears that Monza – F1’s fastest track, which requires a lower downforce set-up than Spa – will punish the RB6 more.

But he still thinks Red Bull should be able to salvage a decent result, and is confident the five subsequent venues will suit its car much better.

“Monza will be a tough weekend for us, for sure,” he said.

“But we knew that. Here we didn’t expect to be as strong as we have been; hopefully in Monza we can do likewise.

“We performed better than expected in Montreal and Valencia this year.

“And if you compare this with the tracks that McLaren have performed badly at – for example Hungary, where Mark lapped Jenson – at a track that doesn’t suit us, we still managed to get a second place out of it.

“I think Monza will be our weakest circuit of the year arguably, so a bit of rain there might be nice.

“And then we come back to circuits that will much more suit our car.

“Singapore, Japan… Korea has a very long straight, but Brazil and Abu Dhabi we were strong at last year.

“This championship will ebb and flow, there’s a long way to go, and I think whoever strings a succession of results together consistently and probably wins another one or two races between now and the end of the year will ultimately come out as the victor.”

When asked if he would settle for a repeat of the Spa result at Monza, Horner replied: “With Mark, yes; with Sebastian [Vettel] I hope we have a slightly less incident-packed race…”

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali felt Horner might be talking down Red Bull’s Monza chances a little too much.

“The weakest track for them? I would love to be in their position!” he said.

“You can tell Christian that.

“I would love to have the weakest situation for them in Monza. I don’t think so…

“I think they have a very good car, and the numbers speak for themselves.

“Let’s see if it’s just tactics or it’s true.”

Lets just hope they can limit the points damage and then make up ground in the remaining races .

or they can employ Vettel to crash into and take out the majority of the field so mark can maximise his points

OZ

[MIKA27]

RUBENS BARRICHELLOS CAREER IN PICTURES:

Barrichello cut his teeth racing in the European junior formulae, winning the Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries in 1990

The baby-faced 18-year-old proudly carried the flag for Brazil and dreamed of following in the footsteps of his hero Ayrton Senna, then a dominant force in F1

In 1991 Barrichello continued his progress up the racing ladder, pipping David Coulthard to the British F3 title

Next stop F3000 - Barrichello missed out on the championship this time but his quality was evident

Always a good talent-spotter, Eddie Jordan snapped up the promising youngster for his fledgling F1 team in 1993

Rubens made his F1 debut at Kyalami in South Africa, aged 20 years and 10 months. It was the start of a remarkable odyssey

In just his third grand prix, Barrichello grabbed the world's attention by climbing to a sensational second place in changeable weather conditions at Donington

His Donington performance showed an affinity for driving in the rain, and fingertip car control, that would stand out throughout his career

Barrichello flanks his future team-mate Michael Schumacher after claiming his first podium finish in the 1994 Pacific GP at Aida

Then came the trauma of Imola. Barrichello was airlifted to hospital after a huge practice crash, and later that weekend Roland Ratzenberger and Rubens's mentor Senna were killed in freak accidents

Later that year Barrichello achieved his next career milestone, capitalising on a wet qualifying session at Spa to take a shock pole position. He spun out of fifth place in the race

The 1995 Jordan-Peugeot was a better car than its Hart-powered predecessor and Barrichello finished a career-best second in Canada ahead of team-mate Eddie Irvine

Barrichello sent the Brazilian crowd into raptures by qualifying on the front row for his home GP in 1996, but it came to nothing on race day

Riding the Monza chicane kerbs en route to fifth place in the '96 Italian GP

After four years at Jordan, Barrichello moved to the new Stewart Grand Prix team in 1997. Second place in Monaco was the glorious highlight of a season blighted by unreliability

Like most of his fellow F1 drivers, Rubens rarely passes up an opportunity to return to his karting roots

The 1998 Stewart-Ford was woefully uncompetitive as well as unreliable, but Rubens still managed to qualify fifth in Austria

Stewart made a quantum leap forward in '99 and claimed its first - and only - victory at the Nurburgring. Although Barrichello was the quicker driver for most of the season, it was Johnny Herbert who came up trumps in the damp conditions

In 2000 Barrichello moved to Ferrari, finishing second behind team-mate Michael Schumacher on his debut for the Scuderia in Australia. He would continue to play second fiddle throughout his Ferrari career

An inspired drive in the rain at Hockenheim brought Rubens his first grand prix win

Shaving the barriers at Monte Carlo - how's this for precision?

After dominating the 2002 Austrian GP, Barrichello was notoriously ordered to let Schumacher win - and complied within yards of the finish line

When Michael invited him onto the top step of the podium, it only compounded the public backlash. Rubens admits the episode haunted him for years

Schumacher's clumsy attempt to repay the favour at Indianapolis resulted in Barrichello winning by 0.011s in a staged finish

Brazil 2003: Rubens's wretched home luck strikes again and robs him of a potential win

Rubinho celebrates with Juan Pablo Montoya after one of his greatest wins, at Silverstone in '03. He drove like a man possessed and put a breathtaking move on Kimi Raikkonen to seal the victory

As Ferrari swept all before it in 2004, Schumacher again asserted his intra-team supremacy. Monza was an exception, as Barrichello led a Maranello 1-2

Barrichello's loyalty to Ferrari was strained further when Schumacher passed him for seventh place on the final lap at Monaco in 2005 with a do-or-die move at the chicane

Rubens's final year at Ferrari was a frustrating one as Bridgestone was outclassed by Michelin in the tyre war

A switch to Honda in 2006 allowed him to make a fresh start away from the team tactics and number two status he had endured at Ferrari

Honda's '07 'Earthdreams' car was an unmitigated disaster, however, and Barrichello failed to score a single point

Barrichello became the most experienced driver in F1 history in Turkey 2008, his 257th start eclipsing the record held by Riccardo Patrese

The '08 Honda was only a marginal improvement on its predecessor, but Rubens got the most out of it and even managed a podium finish at a rain-lashed Silverstone

By 2009 Honda had withdrawn from F1 and the 'Brackley team' had morphed into Brawn GP. It got off to a fairytale start, with Jenson Button heading Barrichello in a 1-2 in Melbourne

After being overshadowed by Button in the first half of the season, Barrichello found his form and ended a nearly five-year win drought at the European GP in Valencia

He added another consummate win at Monza, whre he beat Button in an absorbing race-long duel

With Mercedes taking over Brawn GP, Barrichello moved to Williams for this season

His best result to date has been a fourth place on the Valencia streets

Barrichello is one of F1's most popular drivers and plenty of his peers turned up to an event at Spa on Thursday to help him celebrate his 300th GP weekend

MIKA: Looking back at the pictures one can clearly see Rubens is a battler who never gives up. He is the master of wet weather racing and I admire his tenacity to 'push hard' which can often bring favourable results as well as bad luck. A fascinating career thus far and I'd love to see him get a podium with Williams.

[MIKA27]

United States GP track layout revealed

The man behind the United States Grand Prix has paid homage to some of Formula One's legendary tracks after unveiling the layout of his circuit for the first time.

The city of Austin in Texas is due to host the USGP in 2012 after signing a 10-year deal in May, with a purpose-built facility to be constructed close to the city's airport.

After consulting with track designer Hermann Tilke, the Austin venue has finally come to light, with the anti-clockwise 3.4-mile circuit planned to incorporate 20 turns.

According to Tavo Hellmund, the managing partner of promoters Full Throttle Productions, some sections will be familiar to drivers and fans.

There is sweep of bends at turns three, four, five and six similar to the Maggotts-Becketts complex at Silverstone.

Turns 12, 13, 14 and 15 are reminiscent of the stadium complex at Germany's Hockenheimring, while turns 16, 17 and 18 are a triple apex right-hander akin to Istanbul's renowned turn eight.

"It should be nice. I think drivers and fans should really like it," Hellmund told Austin newspaper American-Statesman.

Crucially for Formula One there are four overtaking spots, notably the uphill turn one which Hellmund feels will be the circuit's signature corner.

"Everybody will pull out and probably go three-wide into that braking turn," added Hellmund.

It will also likely be the highest point of a track that further boasts a 1200-metre straight, will have top speeds of around 200mph and be able to hold up to 130,000-140,000 fans.

It is hoped construction will start in December, although Hellmund is reluctant to mention a timescale as yet.

"I don't want to put a date on it. Everybody is hustling and bustling," said Hellmund.

MIKA: Wow!!! That uphill incline toward turn 1 looks really steep!

[MIKA27]

Merc diffuser set for further changes

Mercedes GP will once again make adjustments to their blown diffuser as they head to Monza for the Italian GP.

The team have been plagued by an overheating issue with their blown diffuser and have struggled to rectify the problem.

Changes were made to the device for the Belgian Grand Prix, but team principal Ross Brawn reveals that MGP W01 did not enjoy a problem free weekend and that changes would be made for Monza.

"It is not completely solved," explained Brawn.

"We are a bit frustrated that we have not found a solution yet.

"There are different materials that you can use on the floor and the area that is suffering, and we didn't anticipate it getting as hot as it does. Obviously the way the exhaust gas moves around the floor it is sometimes difficult to predict. It is not perfect and there will be a revision for Monza," he added.

[MIKA27]

Webber: Title race is 'heating up nicely'

After an eventful weekend in Spa, Mark Webber admits that the race 'changed the landscape of the World Championship battle.'

With Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso failing to finish and Sebastian Vettel coming home in a lowly fifteenth spot, well out of the points, second placed Webber and Spa winner Lewis Hamilton gained a significant advantage over their rivals.

Despite having failed to secure the win after starting in pole position, Webber admits he's delighted to have managed a podium finish after enduring a horror start to the race.

"Given my appalling start, I was very happy to finish second," Webber wrote in the Herald Sun.

"When I released the clutch at the start of the formation lap, I knew immediately that there was a problem. The car bogged down as I pulled away from the line, so I made some small adjustments to the settings in an effort to rectify the situation, but it didn't work. When the lights went out, my dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree and cars streamed past me.

"Luckily, the run to Turn One is quite short at Spa; that limited the damage that the others could inflict and I only dropped back to seventh - but if the same thing were to happen at Monza in a couple of weeks' time, the boxing gloves will have to come out because it's a really long run to Turn One.

"I still had to knuckle down and work my way back into contention, which was pretty enjoyable. The car was handling well and 18 points was a great haul in the circumstances. At the [final safety car] re-start, I was right with Hamilton, but I didn't have the legs to pass him up the hill to Les Combes - and I wasn't about to risk anything stupid because second position was a great result given the weather conditions and my messy start," he added.

The Australian is understandably excited with the way the Belgian weekend worked out in his favour, and is looking forward to next week's race in Italy with hunt for the World title getting down to the business end.

"With Vettel, Button and Alonso failing to score any points, this race changed the landscape of the world championship battle. I'm just three points behind Hamilton at the top of the table, with Vettel 28 points behind me and Button four points further adrift. There are still six races to go, but things are heating up nicely. Roll on Monza!"

[MIKA27]

Red Bull deny changing front wings

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has denied that his team altered their front wings in order to pass an FIA test prior to the Belgian GP.

A number of teams questioned the legality of the Red Bull and Ferrari front wings, claiming that they flex too close to the ground.

The FIA introduced a new test specifically to answer such claims and both teams' front wings were found to be legal.

The FIA's findings prompted McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh and Mercedes GP boss Ross Brawn to question whether Red Bull had changed their front wings since the previous race in Hungary.

Horner has rubbished such suggestions and implied that it is in fact McLaren whose front wings have been altered.

"I can categorically tell you that they are the same wings that ran in Hungary a month ago," said Horner.

"Whether that is the same for our competitors I can't say but I would be very interested to know - and you might find it was a silver wing that was most flexible this weekend."

Horner did however express a desire that the controversial issue now be considered closed.

"On the basis that nothing has changed on our car, I cannot see why they should not be happy," said the Briton.

"I would be interested to know who had the most flexible front wing this weekend, because I can guarantee it wasn't us," he added.

[MIKA27]

Alonso not giving up on title hopes

Fernando Alonso still believes he can win the World title despite losing ground on his rivals at Spa.

The Ferrari driver crashed out in Belgium and his failure to score points sees him languishing 41 points behind Championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

However, the Spaniard is confident that despite the setback he can still claim his third World Championship title.

"Going into these seven races, I had said that whoever did the best job in them would take the title: clearly, there are now three of us who need to make up for ground lost in Spa," Alonso wrote in his blog on Ferrari's official website.

"With this points system and the way races swing one way or another, I am convinced we still have a significant chance. There are 150 points up for grabs, enough to turn the situation around. We must remain calm and concentrate, to try and make up the difference as soon as possible," he added.

The Monza race is important for Alonso and Ferrari not just in terms of the title race but also because it's the Italian team's home race and it will be the first time that Alonso is racing their as a Ferrari driver.

"There is no denying that the Monza race will be very important. At our home circuit we will have to do everything to avoid losing any more points: a good result here would be a great boost. If things go badly, it won't be over but it would be a hard knock for team morale," Alonso explained.

"Racing at Monza for the first time as a Ferrari driver will definitely be a nice feeling. Our team is made up of 95% Italians and you can feel the passion and the will to do well for this special event. I can't wait to be there and look forward to seeing the grandstands packed with fans: we need their support," he added.

[MIKA27]

DO YOU REMEMBER THIS?

He crossed the finish line first, then the stewards got involved but ultimately the court of appeals had the final say on who won the race.

Some will remember it as Michael Schumacher's comeback race following his recovery from his broken leg. However, the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix in 1999 will be remembered for the Ferrari bargeboard scandal.

Eddie Irvine crossed the finish line first to claim his fourth (and last) grand prix victory. He was followed home by team-mate Schumacher and McLaren's Mika Hakkinen was third. However, both Ferraris were thrown out after the race as their bargeboards had broken technical regulations.

Irvine and Schumacher's disqualifications meant Hakkinen was handed the race victory and the World Championship crown to boot as it was mathematically impossible for Irvine to overtake his points tally.

Ferrari, though, appealed the stewards' ruling and the decision was overturned by the court of appeals, meaning the Championship battle went down to the final race of the season.

[MIKA27]

Rosberg doubts more Merc podiums

Nico Rosberg fears it will be difficult for Mercedes to claim another podium finish on pure merit before the season is out, as the team admits it continues to struggle to get the most out of its recent updates.

Rosberg has claimed all of the world champion Brackley squad’s three podium finishes in its disappointing season – two in the early flyaway rounds and the other at Silverstone in July – but the team has fallen further into the midfield pack in recent races.

Team boss Ross Brawn admitted over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend that next season was now its top priority, although it was still planning to make further improvements to its 2010 car over the final six rounds.

Rosberg concedes a further podium appearance for either he or team-mate Michael Schumacher is therefore going to be tough based on the likely competitiveness of the W01 and may only be achieved by taking advantage of unpredictable races.

“It’s definitely becoming more and more difficult because [on] pure pace we’re going to struggle to get a podium I think,” the German driver said.

“But the team is continuing to work and we are still bringing improvements.

“A lot of them also because we need to try and get them to work properly for next year, which is also important.

“So it helps this year and next year. But there’s always still going to be opportunities: we have some great races coming up…there’s tracks like Singapore where there’s always going to be exciting races and a lot of things can happen.

“So it’s still a possibility definitely.”

Mercedes’s recent performances have not been helped by overheating problems with the complex exhaust-blown diffuser it originally introduced onto its car five races ago in Valencia.

Last weekend the Brackley outfit reintroduced a revised version of the new floor it first raced in Germany after parts of the W01 again overheated there – but Brawn admits it experienced further troubles at Spa.

He now hopes these would now be resolved for Monza next week.

“It’s not completely solved and we’re a bit frustrated we haven’t found the solution yet,” Brawn revealed.

“There are different areas you can use for the floor and the area that’s suffering we didn’t anticipate getting as hot as it does.

“Obviously the exhaust gasses moving around the floor, it’s sometimes difficult to predict.

“So it’s not perfect. There will be a revision for Monza.”

Although Brawn added that on the plus side the performance of its rear-wing stalling F-duct in Belgium had been “pretty reasonable”, he conceded the general results of its recent development push had been disappointing.

“We’ve done a lot of work on the cars the last few races and it hasn’t brought the performance we hoped for,” he added.

“So our position has dropped back a bit from where we wanted to be. So there’s no lack of effort or work or commitment, but we haven’t found the performance from some of the modifications we introduced to the level we hoped.

“We have got to understand that to try and get the full use from them.”