Kimi Räikkönen wins at Spa

With a completely disrupted starting grid, the Belgian Grand Prix promises twists and turns from the start. And, as traditionally, the first round of this event brings spectacle. Author of a very good start, Giancarlo Fisichella escaped to the front, Robert Kubica rushing to the rope to glean second place. Starting on the outside, Kimi Räikkönen accelerates advantageously to insert himself between the two leading men.

After the Combes bend, the end of the peloton suffered a collision which sent the two Britons from the field to the mat. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, accompanied by Jaime Alguersuari and Romain Grosjean, give up in the first round. The safety car enters the track and freezes the positions. At the restart, Kimi Räikkönen only needed a few seconds to take first place, taking advantage of the slipstream and the benefit of his SREC. Despite everything, Giancarlo Fisichella remains behind the Finn, offering a similar pace.

Loin de là, les Toyota cumulent les ennuis, alors que la victoire était envisagée en début de course. A l?approche de la mi-course, Jarno Trulli doit abandonner alors que Timo Glock se bat à l?arrière du peloton. Aux avant-postes, derrière Räikkönen et Fisichella, la bagarre est rude pour la conquête du podium : Sebastian Vettel and the two BMW drivers, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica are fighting for the places of honor. Mark Webber said goodbye to this battle, having to go through the pit lane for a drive through, having hampered Nick Heidfeld during his refueling.

Halfway through the race, Fernando Alonso surprises observers, having not yet returned to his stand and moving towards a one-stop strategy. But this stop from the Spaniard is fatal to him. His mechanics noticed a problem with the fixing of the left front wheel, following a collision in the first corner of the race. After leaving again, Fernando Alonso was forced to retire.

At the front, Räikkönen and Fisichella continue to wage a great battle for the race lead. For their second refueling, the two men stopped on the same lap and left with the same gap. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel whips into the lead and delays his second stop. After some very good times and his refueling, the German leaves in third position.

The final laps offer few surprises, other than the smoke escaping from the rear of the car by Rubens Barrichello, seventh with three laps to go. But, by keeping a pace high enough to keep his position, but not too high, so as not to put too much strain on the mechanics, the Brazilian manages to keep his advantage over Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber.

After 44 laps of the track, Kimi Räikkönen crossed the line as winner, just one second ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella. Sebastian Vettel, who started from afar at the start, inherited a good third place on the podium. Behind, the two BMW drivers, Robert Kubica and Nick Hedifeld put in a top performance, as did Heikki Kovalainen, sixth. Rubens Barrichello and Nico Rosberg also scored.

The Belgian Grand Prix therefore offers two "firsts" this season, with the success of Kimi Räikkönen, who had not won since the Spanish Grand Prix in 2008. For his part, Giancarlo Fisichella offers his first points and, therefore, his first podium at the Force India team. Clearly, the Spa-Francorchamps race had some surprises to deliver.