Kimi Raikkonen led from start to finish to record his third consecutive Belgian Grand Prix victory at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday. The 26-year-old Finn started on pole position and took quick command of the race, establishing a comfortable cushion between himself and his Brazilian team-mate Felipe Massa before going on to complete a Ferrari one-two.
Ferrari's third one-two of the season means they have secured the constructors' championship. Fernando Alonso finished third ahead of his McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who now leads the drivers' championship by just two points. Considering the off-track distractions, third and fourth place was a strong performance from the British team still reeling from their 100 million dollars fine and exclusion from the constructors' championship after Thursday's FIA 'spygate' hearing.
Germans Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg finished fifth and sixth for BMW and Williams respectively. Australian Red Bull driver Mark Webber and Renault's Finn Heikki Kovalainen were the others to score points. Now that McLaren are out of the constructors' title race Hamilton and Alonso are free to fight amongst themselves for the drivers' title, and that fight began in earnest at the start of the 14th race of the 17-race season.
Hamilton, starting from fourth, made the quicker start, forcing third-placed Alonso to dart across the track and block his team-mate. This, however, did not discourage the 22-year-old rookie who saw a chance to sneak past Alonso on the outside. Though he was able to rejoin the fray without losing a place Hamilton was forced to settle in behind the double world champion and is unlikely to be overly impressed with his aggressive defending.
Up ahead Raikkonen and Massa had made a clean getaway and the Ferrari pair set about establishing a cushion between them and the chasing pack.
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