page_title: 2010 Belgian Grand Prix
section_title: Race
hierarchical_section_title: 2010 Belgian Grand Prix / Report / Race
caption_attribution_description: English: Lewis Hamilton McLaren MP4-25 2010 Belgian GP winner Русский: Льюис Хэмилтон, победитель Гран-при Бельгии 2010, за рулём McLaren MP4-25
context_page_description: The 2010 Belgian Grand Prix was the 66th Belgian Grand Prix and the thirteenth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa, Belgium on 29 August 2010. Williams driver Rubens Barrichello celebrated his 300th Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton claimed victory, to take the championship lead from pole-sitter Mark Webber, who finished second. Robert Kubica finished in third position, taking his last Formula One podium finish to date.
context_section_description: The race started with Mark Webber allowing the engine revs to drop too low, causing his RB6 to default to the anti-stall setting and resulting in a poor getaway that demoted him to sixth. At the same time Felipe Massa started slightly ahead of his grid slot, with his error going unpunished. Lewis Hamilton took the lead with Robert Kubica second, but Kubica's grip on the position relaxed quickly as Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel passed him. Although the early stages of the lap were clean, the end was considerably less so, with almost every driver in the top ten overshooting the braking zone for the Bus Stop chicane. Fernando Alonso was the only driver to hold on long enough to make the corner, but found himself on the receiving end of an out-of-control Rubens Barrichello, the Brazilian's 300th Grand Prix start ending there and then. Alonso was lucky enough to escape with minor damage, and quickly pitted to change onto wet tyres in anticipation of heavy rain.
  The forecast weather, however, never eventuated save for a few minor spots around the circuit in the early laps. Perhaps learning from the early stages in China, the majority of the field stayed out, predicting that the rain would end almost immediately. Those who were on intermediate or wet tyres were forced to pit again; Alonso was the big loser as he stayed out the longest and his subsequent pit stop shuffled him back down the order. This foreshadowed the rest of his afternoon as he would struggle to find his way through the field.
  Bruno Senna was the second retirement of the afternoon, his Hispania F110 returning to the pits and staying there with a mechanical fault. His retirement was overshadowed by that of Jenson Button at the hands of Sebastian Vettel; on the approach to the Bus Stop, the Red Bull driver was spotted weaving aggressively behind the 2009 World Champion. He ran too deep into the corner and lost control, effectively throwing himself into a spin whilst still travelling in a straight line. In a collision similar to his collision with Webber in Istanbul, Vettel's inevitable trajectory saw him make contact with Button. Vettel was able to pit almost immediately, but the damage to Button's McLaren was catastrophic, destroying his sidepod, and with it his radiator. Vettel was subsequently handed a drive-through penalty – his second in as many races – for causing an avoidable accident. Button's retirement and Vettel's double pit stop promoted Robert Kubica back to second and a recovering Mark Webber up to third.
  Whatever hopes Kubica might have had of reeling in Hamilton at the restart were quashed as the McLaren driver opened up a sizeable gap within minutes of the restart, and the race order quickly established itself. Further down the field, Ferrari's hopes rested on Felipe Massa as he battled with the Force India of Adrian Sutil. However, the biggest winners of the race were the Mercedes drivers and Vitaly Petrov. Despite their penalties and qualifying accidents respectively, Schumacher, Rosberg and Petrov spent the entire race from the restart running in the points. Others were not so lucky; Nico Hülkenberg made an unscheduled stop with a clutch problem, whilst several drivers explored the gravel traps around the circuit. Meanwhile, Vettel undid his dash through the field when he made contact with Vitantonio Liuzzi – again at the Bus Stop chicane – and developed a slow puncture. Where Liuzzi was able to pit straight away, Vettel was forced to limp around the circuit for the majority of a lap before having his delaminated tyre replaced.
  The unpredictable Belgian weather reared its head once more towards the end of the race, with teams trying to balance the need to pit against the predicted rain; if they pitted too early, they risked wasting a pit stop, but if they stayed out on the circuit for too long, their tyres would eventually lose all grip. This strategy played into the hands of the Mercedes drivers, who elected to stay out as long as possible and thus preserve sixth and seventh place when the expected downpour arrived in spectacular fashion
caption: Lewis Hamilton won the race to take the drivers' championship lead from Mark Webber.
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