2008 Grand Prix of Belgium – Kimi’s Spa Resurgence Ends In Crash After Chaotic Battle

Lewis Hamilton has lost his victory at the Belgian Grand Prix after he was given a penalty for cutting a chicane when fighting with Kimi Raikkonen.

The stewards gave Hamilton a drive-through penalty after the race had ended, meaning 25 seconds were added to his time.

The win goes to Brazilian Felipe Massa, second in the race. The penalty has dropped Hamilton to third place in the race…(read original race report and results here)

Pos  Driver        Team                      
 1.  Massa         Ferrari
 2.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber
 3.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes    
 4.  Alonso        Renault
 5.  Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari

 6.  Kubica        BMW Sauber
 7.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari
 8.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault
 9.  Glock         Toyota
10.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes
11.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault
12.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota
13.  Sutil         Force India-Ferrari
14.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota
15.  Button        Honda
16.  Trulli        Toyota
17.  Fisichella    Force India-Ferrari
18.  Raikkonen     Ferrari

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:47.930
Kimi’s Post Race Comments: "I was prepared to win or lose, but unfortunately I went off. I only wanted to win. I slid wide on the fast left hander, and tried to come back on the circuit but I spun. 
"I needed to get points so wanted to win it or lose it but unfortunately went off. I didn’t want to finish behind we would have lost points. We see what we can do." 
"There are rules about cutting chicanes and gaining an advantage and they are looking it. So I don’t have anything to say." 
"It is not up to me if he (Massa) wins or not. I will do the best I can do and we see what the situation is. I try to win races and we will see what happens." 


 | Race Videos
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   http://www.viddler.com/simple/5e96d3e8/



  Well as I managed to tell you all earlier, I had already written my thoughts down and unfortunately, like Kimi today, my laptop crashed before I could even save it and publish. Nevermind. It’s better that I have to write again, even though the true and first hand feelings won’t be there, at least I have all the information needed to base my views on correctly. So, it’s a long review I’m afraid! (All quotes and information are posted at the end.) 
That race was just….awesome? Chilling? Breath taking? I don’t know what word describes it but the name Kimi Raikkonen says enough for me today. He was flying. And despite the crash, he’ll keep flying! I‘m

just really shocked at how poor the Ferraris’ are in the wet. We saw it

at Monaco, both Kimi and Felipe struggled and went off track once and then Kimi had that crash at the end. At

Silverstone, Massa couldn’t control his car the whole time and

eventhough Kimi was doing okay behind Lewis and was actually even faster up until the pitstops, even he couldn’t keep the car on track

whereas the McLaren’s have had no issues whatsoever with spinning in

the wet and etc. We saw at Spa unfortunately the better package with McLaren

prevail over Kimi and his Ferrari.

McLaren all season warm their

tyres up much quicker, so it was no surprise Hamilton came chasing down

instantly on the hard tyres whereas Kimi had to really push and work

hard to keep his lead in an inferior package. Kimi really deserves credit

for his race, no matter how he ended in the wall. 
The start: Rain fell on the track hours before the grid lined up, the rain had stopped slightely for the start but it remained damp enough to cause a bit of drama at turn 1. Kimi said on Saturday that he was hoping for dry weather and knew it would be difficult if it rained. But that didn’t stop him going all out off his start line. It was one of the best grid starts up front all season, in that he later continued to use it to pass the two cars infront. As expected Kimi went around the outside for turn 1 as Heikki had a terrible start, so one job was already done, to pass that McLaren. But that was not all – Kimi wanted to pass everyone. He ran wide out of turn 1 and loved to use the extra tarmac area in the run up to Eau Rouge, as he gained a lot of speed, while Massa who stayed on the right line exiting the corner didn’t have as much speed as Kimi. Kimi already planned the night before to sort his teammate out once and for all, well at least for today, and he did it. Great move on Felipe and it was actually the first overtaking between the two on equal measures. I was clapping, and I’m sure all of you were too! 
Then Lewis was next, and yes, oh yes, Kimi looked so scary in Lewis’ mirrors that it caused Lewis to spin on the second lap at turn 1 I guess! Kimi was pushing hard and ran wide at the exit again using the extra run off area, but I have a feeling that he liked to use it to gain more speed as he knew he was a lap lighter than Felipe, and so Kimi did everything he could to get as far ahead as possible. He’s a smart lad and a great racer. 
Lewis pitted first then as we all expected, and I laughed. But oh no, Kimi pitted just a lap later! So yes indeed Kimi was lighter than Felipe in qualifying but by only one lap as Massa pitted in the next lap. By the time Kimi pitted though, he built up such a lead that he still came out infront of Lewis with also Felipe later behind. It was close the whole race between the Ferrari and McLaren infront but Lewis consistently showed he was quicker but Kimi drove like a bat out of hell to stay in front. It’s not the first time I’ve used that phrase, perhaps Batman can be another name for Kimi! He had a good lead of 5 seconds from Lewis and it all seemed okay. There was a long way to go so I still wasn’t predicting a Kimi win just yet. 
I kept chanting, talking to Kimi as if he was there with me, “Hold it, baby, steady…fly, keep flying…”. He had a brilliant start, just exactly what he needed and what we all were waiting to see for a long, long, long time. I had completely missed the fact that Kimi had a new chassis this weekend at Spa. Since Friday I could see how much better he seemed with it. Obviously! It’s a damn brand new chassis. It took months for Kimi & co to sort his problems out, first we thought it was just qualifying like last year but then Domenicali revealed it was understeer. So bucket loads of understeer as well as qualifying issues really put Kimi in the gutter this summer. And why on earth did it take Ferrari so long to fix this? A new chassis, and voila, Kimi’s flying and fighting for wins. I was so angry when I realized this. No bloody wonder, Kimi’s been suffering. I doubt it took him 5 races to realize he’s got an understeer issue. He needed a completely new chassis. I hope everyone shuts the crap up now about his motivation, retirement and all the other bollocks they can come up with for his dismal summer. 
Anyway, it being Spa and all, Kimi clearly had more adrenalin than usual as we saw from the start, which is probably where the drivers get the most adrenalin. But oh man…we were in for some ending. The second round of pitstops were very important. Kimi and Lewis both pitted on the same lap and Kimi’s stop was longer. This was logical as his first stop was shorter than Lewis’s and Kimi had to make up the ground, which he did of course with 5 hand seconds. Lewis began closing on Kimi after a while on the harder tyres, and it seemed Kimi wasn’t as comfortable with these and he was on the softer tyre at the start. But some how Kimi increased his gap at some times and held in there. I continued chanting and praying “Steady baby, keep it cool, keep focused,” and being a typical die hard fan I felt it was working hahahaha! 
Felipe was settling for third place by then it seemed. With Heikki’s big drop at the start and having a drive through penalty for not avoiding an avoidable collision with Webber earlier, no one was there to stop Kimi. Only Lewis was. But the sun was shining and Kimi was flying…no one could have stopped him, even Lewis couldn’t have despite having a faster car as the sector times kept showing. Kimi and Spa together is like magic. The Iceman showed today that he owns this place and always will, even if he crashes out, he’ll take the fastest lap with him. Kimi was flying today and despite Lewis being quicker than him as the sector times showed, Kimi made it work. Until the rain came obviously. 
There were some great battles meanwhile down the field, with Heikki taking most of the spot light climbing through and battling with Kubica. Lewis was praying for it to rain as he couldn’t catch Kimi, well everytime he did take a few tenths out of him, Kimi would just hit back going quicker again. It was really close, but God knows how Kimi pulled it off and managed to keep it. Not knowing whether to back off and conserve the engine for Monza, Lewis kept getting closer then dropping off. It seemed Kimi could win safely with 4 laps to go. Until Lewis’s prayer was answered… 
The rain came and it was dancing time. Lewis closed in drastically in just one sector towards the end and my heart, as well as everyone else’s watching, was almost jumping through my chest! The McLaren was going to pass the Ferrari, it was just a matter of time. I wasn’t worried but just anxious. I knew Kimi would defend as well as he did. He did a brilliant job. As Lewis and Kimi braked towards the chicane, both locked wheels and Kimi remained inside on the racing line. Lewis had plenty of room, I do not care what more lies he says to the media (obviously the dumb viewers would believe him which is why he says it). Kimi allowed the whole kerb for Lewis. Lewis had the option to drive along the kerb. But he didn’t. He probably got worried about contact and cut the chicane. But he definitely had room. Kimi’s the most fair and decent racer out there, never ever been involved in cheeky tactics or incidents or penalties, so Lewis can waffle all he likes to justify cutting the corner. It’s

not the first time Lewis has been cheeky in his racing this season. His drive

through penalty at France, remember anyone? For a very similar attitude when

overtaking and cutting the chicane and not handing position back.

At

Spa, Lewis barely gave Kimi his position back, he didn’t lift off the

throttle either. Lewis only let him pass because Lewis was planning

another attack at turn 1. Not only did Kimi STICK TO THE RACING LINE at

the chicane he gave ENOUGH room on the KERB AND GREEN PATCH for Lewis

to use. What is that red and white kerb for? And that green patch? Kimi was on the inside so he had every right to stick to his line, do people really fucking believe Kimi’s

going to hand Lewis the racing line in the chicane and let him ahead? People making out

it was Kimi who was being wrong need fucking glasses. 
At the time, I was fuming and believed Lewis cut it and gained an advantage. Then the replay was shown and Kimi actually re-passed Lewis, it was just for one second before Lewis immediately passed Kimi gain before getting to the next corner. Kimi hardly had a chance to take his position back. I do not know the rules very well, but a reader here named Soren mentioned a ruling that you cannot re-pass until the next corner or you must at least let the other recover position up to the next corner. Lewis obviously didn’t do that. We’ll find out about this, and see whether that’s why the FIA penalized Lewis. There’s probably more to it, we’ll found out soon enough as McLaren typically appeal against the decision. I find it ludricrous that the FIA have to always meddle in the racing, and I’m sincerely really sorry the race has been tainted like this. If only it didn’t rain.
What happened at the chicane will probably

happen in the future, it looked normal to me and to be honest some

drivers either will do what he did or have actually waited till a

better spot to pass. 

Clearly Lewis had a faster car and he should have waited and prepared

himself for a better manouvre. Passing on the outside of a chicane like

that is always a big problem. Like I said, it’s not the first time he’s

done it like that and cut the chicane, it’s rather messy and I

personally don’t like that kind of tactic. Doing that you have the

knowledge and INTENT that "yeah, I think I’ll be on the edge enough to

be able to cut the chicane legitimately coz I obviously am on the

outside and this guy won’t hand me the racing line" and that’s a dodgy

tactic, IMO. Kimi on the other hand hasn’t had a history of overtaking

like that. His build up to passing Fisichella a Japan 2005 for example

is a good example to show how to overtake with a considerably superior

car. He didn’t attack Fisi at the final chicane but he prepared himself

for an attack on the straight. Successfully, and cleanly.
The problem the stewards had probably was just the way Lewis

composed his battle afterwards, that looked more of an issue. The thing

I disagree with totally, and I guess which made me mad, was Lewis

saying after the race that Kimi basically ‘pushed him right off’ at the

chicane and could have given him more room, lol. Lewis was really rude

in what he said. I don’t have the quotes with me now, but it was utter

bullshit. And that’s why I think people fell for it and assumed it was

because of Kimi that Lewis was penalised in the end. 
But oh my goodness, my heart was thumping like mad even more, and my brother who is actually a full grown man soon getting married was screaming like a girl, on the edge of his seat. I’d love to hear what you guys were doing! I kept chanting “Steady Kimi, hold it hold it hold it…” and Kimi and Lewis were at it like we haven’t seen in ages! Absolutely brilliant! Only a track like Spa could give that entertainment. Opportunities were written all over the place between the two fighters. Kimi took his usual aggressive outside line again for turn 1 and tried to get Lewis back, his front wing touched Lewis’ rear right wheel it seems but it no major contact and they continued on up to Eau Rouge. The rain was getting heavier and I nearly had a heartattack! Imagine the adrenalin between the actual racers! 
Both guys were wobbling and dancing and Kimi was just going mad, running on the run-off areas everywhere! Lewis ran off onto the grass somewhere and that seemed the only chance Kimi could run off with it. But as they moved on, the track became harder and harder to stick on. Lewis and Kimi both slipped and with the backmarker Williams just ahead, Kimi took evasive action to avoid hitting Lewis by just inches! Kimi got back infront and then spun but managed to get back on track without losing too much ground. Oh dear. Lewis was ahead and Kimi was not going to settle for second, no bloody way. Settle for second with Lewis next to him on the top step of the podium? No thanks! 
That’s Kimi for you. The same Kimi that we all adored since his younger days at McLaren. Risking it – all for the win, or nothing. That’s the kind of passion you can never get bored off.  People said he had changed, he is lacking. No. Just no. 
The corner where Kimi ran wide and spun and then crashed – Lewis also had a tiny moment there as the videos just barely show. The puddles and no traction control just caught Kimi out, this time. He was too eager on the exit to get back to Lewis before the finish and no TC meant he was off. He crashed into the wall and, oh, my heart sank with the thousands of other fans watching. Head in my hands! “Oh Kimi….Kimi……damnit, damn you all to hell!” Just joking, I didn’t really say the last part. But yeah, it’s just the fact that Kimi didn’t get to the finish in P1 and hold that trophy, see his smile, which hurt the most. The main thing, and the only thing we should be happy about is that Kimi is happy in his car finally. He was going to win at Spa again. He won it. Don’t worry about the points or whatever, he won this one, and just because the results won’t give credit to him, doesn’t mean he didn’t perform as he should have. He did what he is made for. Gotta praise it. Would you have rather Kimi settle for second? And what if he did, and Lewis being penalized and all, would you liked Kimi to inherit the win like that? Nah. His instincts were right. Oh my word…I love you Kimi. Love you so much. Never ever change! You did the right thing. Massa inherited victory in the end; he was a good boy to play it safe in that rain, good boy, don’t want to ruin it all by spinning off and Ferrari are lucky he was there. It’s kind of funny how after all that, with Kimi owning the field at Spa again, Massa ended up winning it. 
And should Kimi back Massa for the title now? No! They both have chances. Instead of being 23 points off Lewis in the title, Kimi is now 19 compared to Massa’s 2. As soon as it’s mathematically impossible for Kimi to win the title, then Ferrari can ask him for a favour. Just as they did with Massa last year, who was actually out of contention by Monza. I expect Ferrari to treat Kimi with the same respect, and at least let Kimi have the chance to fight Lewis one more time. Kimi is happy with the car, it’s a bit late (thanks for helping him out Ferrari, could have done it sooner though you think!) but it’ll be just cruel to take it away from him so soon. I don’t know how Heikki can put up with it at McLaren, being Lewis’s bitch. It was satisfying to see Heikki hold Lewis up in the race, hehe. Kimi for sure won’t as long as it makes no difference to Massa’s situation. And damn right, Kimi said after the race he’s going to try and win all the races. I can’t help feeling the FIA just penalized Lewis to butter up the championship drama. Nothing more, nothing less. The biggest winner today was Heidfeld who was in 9th position before the last 3 laps! He must be pretty chuffed. Others were also disappointed though, such as Bourdais who was doing superb until the rain hit him too.

With Lewis’s prayers for rain being met, my prayers of course were kind of answered in the end afterall. I just wanted Kimi to go mad and have fun on his favourite track. He looked like he did, didn’t he? So I can’t complain. It had been such a long time, but there was the Kimi we’ve been longing to see. So I couldn’t be happier. He was there all along, it’s just that damn car of his held him back for months. He even said to ITV before the race that he knows he’s fast, it’s just been difficult getting everything working together. Today was proof that he was indeed held back and he just let rip today. Awesome! And you see what happens when Kimi lets it all out? He flies, and his teammate, and the faster McLaren, don’t have an answer. Not at Spa at least. I’m going to go to Spa next year, I’ll try my hardest to go and to see the magic in real life, just once at least. Every Kimi fan should experience it. I’ll admit that I really wanted to cry once Kimi hit the wall. I can’t be positive about it all. It really, really, really hurt. Even more so than the hard days at McLaren. It felt a bit like Nurburgring 2005. But this one hurt the most, simply because it took a lot of time and effort and courage. Kimi wasn’t lacking confidence today, he’s that guy who pulled off the last lap win in Japan 2005 remember. It was just…jinxed I guess. I’ll be going through all the pictures tonight, and having already seen one of Kimi with what looks like tears on his cute cheeks, I’ll probably cry to be honest! And eventhough Kimi is a very strong person mentally, I wouldn’t be surprised if his eyes just watered up due to the adrenalin and shock and everything. Just imagine getting out the car after all that. Your heart would be beating like mad and you’d be shaking. Tears may come naturally. RTL claimed to have seen Kimi tearful in the pitlane but he was smiling soon after with his race engineer and trainer. 
Let’s get on with it. What’s has happened, nothing can change it. It’ll be a great battle for Kimi to fight in the next two months, now going to Monza next weekend. He had a new engine today at Spa like Hamilton, and Massa had his Valencia one. I think Monza will be hard to win for Kimi, unless he changes his engine. He might aswell just go for it and have fun as I said. That’s up to him and depends on whether he feels he can qualify decently at Monza. Kimi took pole at the Italian circuit in 2006 with a win-less McLaren car. He finished 2nd behind Schumacher. Last year of course Kimi had a big accident in practice at Monza and his neck injury affected his race but he still came 3rd. It’s going to be exciting. 
I hold a toast to Kimi for what he did today – may he always be happy and content with his instincts and have all the fun he can in the remaining 5 races of 2008. He kept his word by going pedal to the metal this weekend. He’ll keep his word about winning the next races. So cheers and… KEEP FLYING KIMI!!!!!!!     
 | Race Quotes, Kimi Not Giving Up

"I came here to win and I came close. In the final laps the track conditions were very critical and unfortunately, I ran wide and when I tried to get back on track, I spun and ended up in the wall. It was a shame because today the car was working really well. 
"I got a good start and managed to pass Felipe on the straight and then overtook Hamilton when he spun at the start of the second lap. On the soft tyres, I could run at a good pace, while the final set, the harder ones, was not quite there – definitely not as good in performance terms as those I’d used in the past couple of days – and the balance of the car was not as good as earlier. 
"The arrival of the rain definitely did not help. In these conditions, if you are in front you have to be more cautious as you don’t know how much grip you’ll find in each braking area. That’s how Hamilton managed to close on me and then happened what you all saw. It’s the second race in a row that I’ve failed to score points. Clearly the championship situation is what it is, but I’m not the sort to give up that easily." 
McLaren Have "No Choice But To Appeal":  "We looked at all our data and also made it available to the FIA stewards. It showed that, having lifted, Lewis was 6km/h slower than Kimi as they crossed the start/finish line. 
"Having passed the lead back to Kimi, Lewis repositioned his car, moving across and behind Kimi to the right-hand line and then outbraked him into the hairpin. Based on this data, we have no option other than to register our intention to appeal." 
Q&A With Stefano Domenicali:  Q. Could just give a general summary of Kimi Raikkonen today? We seemed to see a different Kimi during the race itself? SD: Yes, you’re right. It was really a shame that he was not able to finish the race, because he did a fantastic job. He was pushing as you can see from his laptimes. He was pushing very very hard and then he found it a little bit more difficult on the last set of hard tyres on which he was not able to push as hard as he wanted, and of course at the end, it was really difficult because he went off. 
There are so many different elements that make going in the car on the one side or the other side. You saw when Lewis went off Kimi was able to be in the middle and then unfortunately went off again, but that’s racing. But it was good to see that he is very motivated and he’s pushing as hard as he can." 
Ferrari In No Rush For Team Orders: "We will take the decision in the team interests," he said at Spa-Francorchamps. "In my view, the situation that we have now is something that we need to think about with no rush because it’s something that is part of our approach to the races. 
"If we feel that it’s the right time we are going to do it. But let’s take this Sunday, with so many events that we take back home, (and) prepare for Monza in the right way. This is the main target that we need to be focused on in the next few days."