2007 Belgian GP: Räikkönen's Spa hat-trick, Ferrari clinch constructors' title

Kimi Räikkönen started the 2007 Belgian GP from pole position and won ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa. Behind them, the two McLaren drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton finished third and fourth. The top 4 therefore crossed the line in exactly the order they had started. The race was effectively decided at the first corner: the Ferraris pulled away at the front while Alonso and Hamilton fought a hard battle on the way to Eau Rouge.

For Räikkönen it was a third consecutive win at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and his fourth of the season. There had been no race in Belgium in 2006, and Formula 1 returned in 2007. After the race, Ferrari had the constructors' title wrapped up.

In qualifying, Räikkönen had set the fastest time with a 1:45.994. Ferrari thus locked out the front row, with Alonso and Hamilton on the second. At the start Massa briefly tried to go round the outside of Räikkönen, but then slotted in second.

The real action was one row back. Alonso got away slowly and moved left to block Hamilton. The rookie had more momentum on the outside, but at La Source Alonso pushed him onto the asphalt run-off area. Hamilton found grip again and drew alongside on the run downhill. Alonso held on around the outside through the first part of Eau Rouge and had third place secured when the track kinked to the right. Afterwards there were two versions: Alonso said he had been forced to take avoiding action because of the slow Massa. Hamilton, by contrast, accused his team-mate of having “pushed me wide quite deliberately” (according to grandprix.com). Relations between the two title rivals in the same team were already strained, and this moment did nothing to improve them.

From then on Räikkönen dominated the race. He led Massa by around four seconds and kept that gap practically to the end. He only gave up the lead twice, each time for one lap during his pit stops: on lap 16 and lap 32 Massa was briefly in front, and a lap later Räikkönen was back at the head of the field. According to crash.net, Räikkönen pitted first at both stops, with Massa coming in a lap later each time.

McLaren opted for longer stints but still could not match Ferrari's pace. In the middle phase of the race the Silver Arrows lost around 20 seconds. Before the second stop Hamilton ran four laps longer than Alonso, but the Spaniard was quicker on fresh tyres. Hamilton rejoined six seconds behind him and slid off the track at Pouhon while giving chase (according to autosport.com).

At the flag Massa was 4.695 seconds behind Räikkönen, having eased off on the final lap. Alonso finished 14.343 seconds down, Hamilton 23.615 seconds. Massa set the fastest lap with a 1:48.036 on lap 34.

Nick Heidfeld was the best of the rest behind the four top cars in fifth for BMW Sauber, but finished 51.879 seconds behind the winner. A longer strategy had taken him past Nico Rosberg around mid-race. Rosberg finished sixth for Williams. Behind him, Mark Webber took 7th place for Red Bull – in his 100th Grand Prix, no less. Heikki Kovalainen claimed the final point for Renault in eighth with a one-stop strategy.

Winners of the day were Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil, who each gained five places. Kubica had been handed a ten-place grid penalty for an engine change and started only 14th. He passed several cars in the opening phase and, according to crash.net, got by Kovalainen at the Bus Stop chicane on lap 11. After the stops, however, he was back behind the Finn and finished ninth, just outside the points. Sutil took his Spyker from grid position 19 to 14th.

Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli finished tenth and eleventh for Toyota. Trulli lost three places, more than any other finisher. Vitantonio Liuzzi took twelfth, his best result of the season so far for Toro Rosso. They were followed by Rubens Barrichello (Honda), Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson for Super Aguri, and Sakon Yamamoto (Spyker).

Five drivers failed to finish:

• Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) had to start from the back of the field after an engine change following qualifying. He retired after just one lap with a suspension failure.
• Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) parked his car after eight laps. The official reason was steering.
• David Coulthard (Red Bull) retired after 29 laps with a hydraulic failure. Having lost nine places compared with his grid position, he was the big loser of the day.
• Alexander Wurz (Williams) spun early in the race and dropped to the back of the field. His race ended after 34 laps with a fuel pressure problem.
• Jenson Button (Honda) also retired with a hydraulic failure after 36 laps.

In the 2007 standings Hamilton led after Spa with 97 points, just two ahead of Alonso on 95. Räikkönen was 13 points behind on 84, Massa 20 behind on 77. With three races remaining, there were still 30 points up for grabs. That meant all four drivers from the two top teams still had a shot at the title.

In the constructors' championship Ferrari were well clear on 161 points, ahead of BMW Sauber on 90. That was enough for the title, as McLaren had been excluded from the standings a few days earlier over the spy scandal and stood on zero points. Autosport therefore described Ferrari as champions, provided McLaren did not lodge an appeal.

The weekend was overshadowed by the death of former World Rally Champion Colin McRae, who had been killed in a helicopter crash on the Saturday.