Belgian Grand Prix - Fisichella takes first pole for Force India

Picture by Eugene Flores

Veteran Italian F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella has claimed a shock pole position for tomorrow's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa which promises to be a classic (at least compared to last weeks run round the "Tesco car park" as Mark Webber described it!).

Fisichella's pole, the first ever for the Force India team, was gained in dry conditions so could not be put down to inclement weather and was therefore on merit. After fuel correction he would have been fourth - still an excellent achievement.

The Force India cars were consistently fast in all three qualifying sessions today.

After a poor showing in Valencia, the Toyota and BMW teams each qualified both of their cars in the top ten. Trulli (Toyota) is second on the grid with his team mate Glock seventh. Heidfeld is a season's best third for BMW with his team mate Kubica fifth.

On the other end of the scale Luca Badoer put in another lacklustre performance in what could/should be his last qualifying session for Ferrari. He spun off the track and will start plum last - again.

Jenson Button's title push was dealt another blow. He qualified in fourteenth on the grid whilst his team mate Barrichello, still on a high following victory in Valencia last weekend, was fourth. Button was some 0.4 seconds slower than his team mate.

I can see Button being overhauled in the Championship before the end of the season. He has been mediocre in the last few races and does not seem to be holding up to the pressure.

At the beginning of the season, the Brawn car was without doubt the best in the field, especially in the hands of Button.

Since then, the likes of Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari have gradually caught up and now there is little to chose between them at most circuits.

At the same time, Barrichello has raised his game perhaps realising that at this stage of his career this could be his last tilt at the driver's Championship. His issues with the Brawn team earlier in the season now seem to have been ironed out.

When everything is going swimmingly Button is fine. As soon as things start to get difficult he seems to lose the plot and his head goes down.

The Red Bull's were having a poor day by their standards. Vettel qualified eighth after making a mistake and Webber ninth. Rosberg for Williams struggled into tenth but is fueled heavier than the other top runners.

I have not mentioned Kimi Raikkonen so far. Although he qualified sixth he is definitely a possible contender for the victory tomorrow. He will have the benefit of KERS so should make up a few places off the start. He also has a string of Spa victories under his belt.

Others to watch will be Trulli and Barrichello. Having said that, if the weather changes, as it often does without warning at Spa, anything could happen!

Lewis Hamilton Takes Hungarian GP Victory

Pic by Eugene Flores

Lewis Hamilton returned to winning ways in style at the Hungaroring taking his first victory of the season.

Hamilton started from fourth on the grid but quickly managed to overhaul the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel off the line and Mark Webber a few laps later thanks partly to the KERS fitted to his McLaren.

Fernando Alonso scampered off from pole but had to make an earlypit stop as his car had been fuelled much lighter than Hamilton and the Red Bulls.

At the pit stop, Renault failed to secure the right front wheel of Alonso's car which subsequently detached bouncing down the track. Fortunately no repeat of the Henry Surtess tragedy at Brands Hatch the week before.


Alonso crawled back to the pits on three wheels andlater into retirement. Hamilton took over the lead and from that point on controlled the race to the chequered flag.

Sebastian Vettel also retired from the race following suspension damage caused to his car off the start by Raikkonen.

Kimi Raikkonen got off to a flyer, again thanks to KERS, and maintained good pace throughout the race. The Ferrari like the McLaren is steadily improving race by race putting further pressure on Jenson Button and the Brawn team.

Raikkonen was able to work his way to a second place finish in front of Mark Webber who has now leap frogged Vettel into second place in the driver's Championship.

Nico Rosberg continued his good form and finished in fourth. Unlike earlier in the season, Rosberg's Williams is able to remain consistent throughout a whole weekend and not just during Friday free practice.

Hamilton's team mate Kovalainen took fifth place giving McLaren a welcome double points finish. They are optimistic this form will continue at the next race in Valencia.

The two Toyotas of Glock and Trulli finished sixth and eighth respectively.

Jenson Button's grip on the driver's Championship continues to slip. He could only manage a seventh place finish and two points. Fortunately for him, due to Vettel's earlier retirement the damage to his lead was limited.

On the current trend I can see Brawn failing to win both the constructors and the driver's Championships.

POST RACE UPDATE

Following the incident with Alonso's wheel, Renault have received a one race suspension from the stewards and will therefore not be able to compete in Valencia. Renault have already lodged an appeal.

Massa's condition is said to be no longer life threatening and he is conscious and talking to members of his family.

It is almost certain he will not be able to compete for the rest of the season and there is even a suggestion that he has a problem with his left eye that could permanently curtail his F1 career.

Let's hope it is not that serious and he is back in the Ferrari next year.

Speculation is rife as to who will replace Massa at Ferrari until the end of the season.

One name being touted is 40 year old Michael Schumacher who still has an advisory role at Ferrari.

Although not a fan of Michael Schumacher's antics on track during the course of his F1 career (e.g. parking on the corner at Monaco), if he were to come back Mansellesque style it would certainly bring some welcome added spice to the remainder of the season.

Chinese Grand Prix Pre Race Update

The main news today is the departure of Ron Dennis from the McLaren F1 team.

It would appear that Dennis may have fallen on his sword following the Lewis Hamilton "cheating" scandal at the season opening Australian GP last month.

Dennis who has been involved with Formula 1 for the last 43 years will now concentrate on McLaren's sports car business.

Diffuser Row - After the FIA ruling earlier this week in favour of Brawn Gp, Toyota and Williams, we understand that McLaren and Renault will be running revised diffusers on their cars in China this weekend. It remains to see how they will fare in qualifying and the race.

KERS - after experiencing unreliability problems in Australia and Malaysia, Ferrari have decided not to run with KERS at the Chinese GP.