2012 Belgian GP: Button cruises to victory as start chaos stops Alonso

Jenson Button won the 2012 Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps from grid position 1, leading from the start all the way to the chequered flag. Sebastian Vettel finished 2nd in the Red Bull after starting from grid position 10. Third place went to Kimi Räikkönen in the Lotus F1. In truth, the race was decided at the very first corner: a multi-car pile-up at La Source eliminated championship leader Fernando Alonso and three other drivers.

The opening phase at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps was chaotic from the outset. Pastor Maldonado in the Williams let the clutch out before the lights went out. The Venezuelan was starting from grid position 6 after a three-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Hülkenberg in the first part of qualifying.

Behind him, Romain Grosjean in the Lotus squeezed Lewis Hamilton towards the pit wall, and the two cars touched wheels. Grosjean then slammed into the back of Sergio Pérez's Sauber, was launched into the air and flew over the front of Alonso's Ferrari, narrowly missing Alonso's head. Hamilton also collided with Kamui Kobayashi and Alonso.

In the end, Grosjean, Hamilton, Pérez and Alonso were all out without completing a lap. The official reason given in the results was “Collision” in every case. The Spaniard escaped with pain in his shoulder. Alonso himself said: “The pain is only from whiplash” (quoted by grandprix.com). Kobayashi had lined up alongside Button on the front row. He had to pit with a large hole in his car and rejoined in last place. The Safety Car was deployed and came in after four laps.

Button had secured his first pole position for McLaren with a time of 1:47.573, which was also his first since Monaco 2009. In the race, he kept the lead through the Safety Car period. After the restart he pulled away lap after lap: by the end of lap 5 he was 2.8 seconds ahead, and a few laps later the gap was already 6.3 seconds.

The surprise of the day was Hülkenberg in the Force India. Behind the Safety Car he was still running 3rd. He then passed Räikkönen, whose Lotus, set up for high downforce, lacked speed on the straights. The German held 2nd for almost the entire opening phase of the race and only dropped back at his first pit stop on lap 13.

Button made just one stop, pitting on lap 20, and immediately retook the lead afterwards. According to the FIA, the number of stops was initially open for him, but the tyres held up, and out front he was able to manage their wear well. He crossed the line 13.624 seconds ahead of Vettel. It was the 14th Grand Prix win of his career and his second of the season after the opener in Australia.

Vettel made a poor start and dropped to 12th. Red Bull therefore opted for a one-stop strategy: the world champion had started on new medium tyres and ran a long first stint. By lap 15 he was already third, with many of his overtakes coming at the Bus Stop chicane. Around lap 19 there was a hairy moment there with Michael Schumacher: the Mercedes driver moved across to the inside late, and Vettel had to take evasive action. The stewards investigated the incident but took no action. Vettel made his only stop on lap 21 and went on to finish safely in 2nd.

Räikkönen, third on the starting grid, ran a two-stop strategy instead and had to fight for his podium. The highlight was a brave overtake on Schumacher through Eau Rouge. From lap 31 the Finn held 3rd and kept that position to the flag. It was his sixth podium of the season.

Schumacher was contesting his 300th Grand Prix at Spa. The record world champion ran 2nd at one stage but then had to abandon his planned one-stop strategy. He finished seventh. Mark Webber had qualified seventh but started only 12th because of a gearbox change. By mid-race he had worked his way up to 4th, but then lost places to Vettel and Felipe Massa and crossed the line sixth.

• Romain Grosjean, Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Pérez, Fernando Alonso: retired at the first corner without completing a lap (collision).
• Pastor Maldonado: At the restart after the Safety Car period he crashed into Timo Glock's Marussia. His race ended after lap 4 (collision).
• Narain Karthikeyan: A wheel came off his HRT. He spun and hit the tyre barrier backwards. His race was over after lap 29 (spin).

The penalties handed out after the race were severe. Grosjean received a one-race ban, ruling him out of the following Italian GP at Monza, plus a €50,000 fine. The stewards described the incident as an extremely serious breach of the rules that could have injured others. Maldonado was handed two five-place grid penalties for Monza: one for the jump start and one for the collision with Glock.

Caterham paid €10,000 for an unsafe release of Heikki Kovalainen from the pits, which resulted in contact with Karthikeyan. A similar charge against Webber had no consequences: the stewards also looked into a possible unsafe release in his case but cleared him.

Winners:

• Nico Hülkenberg: He climbed from grid position 11 to 4th, the best result of his Formula 1 career up to that point. Teammate Paul di Resta took the final point in tenth.
• Felipe Massa: He gained nine places, moving from grid position 14 to 5th, and scored his best result since the British GP.
• Nico Rosberg: Nico Rosberg went from grid position 23 to 11th. His twelve places gained were the most of anyone, but there were no points for it.
• Toro Rosso: Jean-Éric Vergne finished eighth, Daniel Ricciardo ninth. Both gained seven places and together scored six points for Toro Rosso.

Losers:

• Kamui Kobayashi: He started from grid position 2, but the collision at the start set him back. After three pit stops he could only finish 13th.
• Bruno Senna: Bruno Senna was in the points in 8th when a slow puncture forced him into the pits four laps from the end. He eventually finished twelfth. One small consolation remained: the fastest lap of the race.
• Fernando Alonso: For the first time since the 2011 Canadian GP, the Spaniard came away empty-handed.

Despite his retirement, Alonso stayed top of the drivers' championship on 164 points. His lead shrank considerably, though: Vettel moved up to 2nd on 140 points, just 24 behind. Webber (132) dropped to 3rd, narrowly ahead of Räikkönen (131). Hamilton stayed on 117 points after his retirement and is now only fifth. Button is sixth with 101 points.

In the constructors' championship, Red Bull extended its lead with 272 points, ahead of McLaren (218), Lotus F1 (207) and Ferrari (199). You can find the full standings on our 2012 standings page.

In sporting terms, Spa showed two things. McLaren and Button were back to the form they had been searching for recently. And with the right strategy, Vettel was dangerous even from grid position 10. Above all, though, the race will be remembered for the first corner: Grosjean's flight over Alonso's cockpit was a reminder of how much is at stake at race starts. The FIA's decision to ban a driver sent a clear message. You can find all the data on the starting grid, result and pit stops on our 2012 Belgian GP race page.