Race – Hamilton victorious after a thrilling and explosive finale!

Lewis Hamilton snatched a spectacular victory from Kimi Räikkönen in the final two wet laps of an incredible Belgian Grand Prix.

Räikkönen led the race throughout and believed he was about to end several months of victory drought. But the rain came in the very last seconds of the Grand Prix, with Hamilton getting closer and closer to the Finn. The latter held on with his dry tires on an increasingly slippery track.

After an exceptional game of cat and mouse between Hamilton and Räikkönen, it is the Briton who takes the advantage as the reigning world champion crashes into the safety barriers, allowing his teammate Felipe Massa to secure second place.

Nick Heidfeld for BMW-Sauber after a lightning-fast pit stop to switch to intermediate tires snatched third place on the last lap, ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Renault and Sebastian Vettel’s Toro Rosso.

The rain had already fallen before the start of the race, which is why the track was very wet at the start. Almost the entire F1 grid began the GP on slick tires, but each driver had to be very cautious as the track dried.

Räikkönen made a fabulous start by fending off his teammate Massa to take the inside line and chase after Hamilton, who had maintained his lead at this stage.

The Finn, who had much more pace at the beginning of the race, logically attacked Hamilton on the second lap at Les Combes. At this stage, Kovalainen, who started 3rd on the grid, found himself far behind due to a very poor start and a braking issue.

The Räikkönen/Hamilton pair remained stable until the first pit stop while Massa struggled to keep up with their pace. However, the 2007 vice world champion lost ground during the first stop, ending up behind Sébastien Bourdais and Robert Kubica. The gap between the two leaders increased to five seconds.

The situation remained static until the second pit stop. There was a change of tires. Big clouds began to gather over Spa-Francorchamps. Hamilton increased his pace to reduce the gap with Räikkönen to less than a second.

Then, when the rain arrived with three laps to go before the checkered flag, Hamilton was just behind the Finn and took the initiative. From that precise moment and for a minute, the two drivers engaged in an incredible battle amidst total confusion. The two cars first collided, but the McLaren took the advantage at La Source.

This was short-lived as he slid on the grass, allowing Räikkönen to overtake. But it didn’t factor in a first spin-out for the Ferrari. The Brit managed to catch up and this time maintained the lead until the end of the race as Räikkönen lost control of his car for the second time, violently going off at the exit of Blanchimont to crash into the barriers.

On the final lap, Hamilton and Massa preferred to play it safe because the track was soaked. They crossed the finish line in first and second position under the eyes of a distraught Räikkönen, who saw a second title slip away in the Belgian sky.

In their wake, many drivers chose to pit for intermediate tires. As a result, on the final lap, they were half a minute faster than those who stayed on track.

This situation benefits Heidfeld, who takes the third spot on the podium ahead of Alonso. The Spaniard, who was 4th throughout the race, decided to change tires, dropping to 8th place but ultimately regains this position at the finish line, leaving commentators and spectators utterly bewildered.

Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica enter the top 6 ahead of the unfortunate Sébastien Bourdais. He decided to keep his dry tires and saw three drivers pass him just a few meters from the checkered flag. He finishes 7th after being comfortably in 5th position throughout the race. Timo Glock manages to score a point for Toyota.

Heikki Kovalainen had a disastrous race. After a poor start, he was one of the victims of the congestion at the first corner after the start. The congestion was caused, among other things, by Bourdais, who went on to hit the rear of Jarno Trulli’s car. The Italian couldn’t recover, finishing the race in 16th place.

The former Renault driver is then 13th after the first lap and begins a fantastic comeback that will end with a drive-through penalty after a collision with Mark Webber. The Red Bull still spun out.

And even though Kovalainen climbed up to 7th place, he retired on the final lap but finished 10th behind Webber! From 11th to 15th place, Coultard, Rosberg, Sutil, Nakajima, and Button survived.

Piquet for Renault went off the track at the start of the race and had to retire, while Barrichello returned to the pits but never came back out.

Race Result – Belgian GP – September 7, 2008