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Belgian GP: Sebastian Vettel scores routine win as weather stays dry

Sebastian Vettel took a routine victory for Red Bull in a totally dry Belgian Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso was able to tiger through from ninth on the grid to second ahead of polesitter Lewis Hamilton, but fellow title contender Kimi Raikkonen's long finishing streak ended with a brake problem.

It took less than half a lap for Vettel to claim control of the race.

Hamilton's Mercedes had stayed ahead through an uneventful start, but Vettel attacked immediately and overtook on the run to Les Combes.

That was the last Vettel's rivals saw of him, as the world champion alternated between cruising to protect his machinery and chucking in crushing fastest laps to prove how much he had in hand.

Alonso's confidence in Ferrari's race pace proved well-founded as a muscular first lap took him straight up to fifth place.

Jenson Button's McLaren and Nico Rosberg's Mercedes were overtaken soon afterwards.

A later first pitstop brought Alonso right up behind Hamilton, who he then passed as the Mercedes slipped a touch wide at La Source.

Hamilton retaliated with DRS on the Kemmel Straight, yet Alonso was able to fend him off despite a vicious twitch under braking.

Button looked like he might have a say in the podium fight as he ran long and hinted at a one-stop strategy.

In the end he had to follow the two-stop trend, dropping him behind Hamilton, Rosberg and the slow-starting Mark Webber.

The Australian's Red Bull showed great late pace having used hard tyres in the middle stint and softs at the end, the opposite strategy to most rivals, but ran out of steam when he came up behind the Mercedes.

Raikkonen looked set to finish adrift of this group even before a front brake issue forced him to retire his Lotus.

Felipe Massa resisted Romain Grosjean, the only successful one-stopper in the points, for seventh place.

Grosjean had an early brush with Sergio Perez in which the stewards judged that the Lotus had been forced off the road at Les Combes.

That earned Perez a drive-through penalty, and that plus late tyre wear on a one-stop left him 11th at the flag.

Qualifying sensation Paul di Resta faded from the start and was in a four-car battle outside the points when he was taken out at the Bus Stop by Pastor Maldonado.

Force India still scored thanks to Adrian Sutil's ninth place.

Daniel Ricciardo overcame Toro Rosso's qualifying miscue to come from 17th to 10th.

RACE RESULTS

The Belgian Grand Prix
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium;
44 laps; 308.052km;
Weather: Dry.

Classified:

Pos  Driver               Team                          Time/Gap
 1.  Sebastian Vettel     Red Bull-Renault          1h23m42.196s
 2.  Fernando Alonso      Ferrari                       +16.869s
 3.  Lewis Hamilton       Mercedes                      +27.734s
 4.  Nico Rosberg         Mercedes                      +29.872s
 5.  Mark Webber          Red Bull-Renault              +33.845s
 6.  Jenson Button        McLaren-Mercedes              +40.794s
 7.  Felipe Massa         Ferrari                       +53.922s
 8.  Romain Grosjean      Lotus-Renault                 +55.846s
 9.  Adrian Sutil         Force India-Mercedes        +1m09.547s
10.  Daniel Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari          +1m13.470s
11.  Sergio Perez         McLaren-Mercedes            +1m21.936s
12.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Toro Rosso-Ferrari          +1m26.740s
13.  Nico Hulkenberg      Sauber-Ferrari              +1m28.258s
14.  Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari              +1m40.436s
15.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Renault            +1m47.456s
16.  Giedo van der Garde  Caterham-Renault                +1 lap
17.  Pastor Maldonado     Williams-Renault                +1 lap
18.  Jules Bianchi        Marussia-Cosworth               +1 lap
19.  Max Chilton          Marussia-Cosworth              +2 laps

Fastest lap: Vettel, 1m50.756

Not classified/retirements:

Driver           Team                         On lap
Paul di Resta    Force India-Mercedes            26
Kimi  Raikkonen  Lotus-Renault                   25
Charles Pic      Caterham-Renault                 8


World Championship standings, round 11:

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Vettel        197        1.  Red Bull-Renault          312
 2.  Alonso        151        2.  Mercedes                  235
 3.  Hamilton      139        3.  Ferrari                   218
 4.  Raikkonen     134        4.  Lotus-Renault             187
 5.  Webber        115        5.  McLaren-Mercedes           65
 6.  Rosberg        96        6.  Force India-Mercedes       61
 7.  Massa          67        7.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         25
 8.  Grosjean       53        8.  Sauber-Ferrari              7
 9.  Button         47        9.  Williams-Renault            1
10.  Di Resta       36
11.  Sutil          25
12.  Perez          18
13.  Vergne         13
14.  Ricciardo      12
15.  Hulkenberg      7
16.  Maldonado       1

All timing unofficial

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