Red Bull at spa

Realistically, it became clear after Qualifying that third was going to be the most likely best finish for a Red Bull Racing car in the Belgian Grand Prix.

However, the manner in which we achieved that, courtesy of Sebastian Vettel didn’t actually follow the expected script. A second corner bingle on the opening lap played into our hands by wiping out Jenson Button, along with Lewis Hamilton, Jaime Alguersuari and Romain Grosjean, the Renault driver tangling with the championship leader.

In the ensuing chaos and Safety Car period, it was Mark Webber who was our best placed car, running fifth, with Sebastian in his grid position, eighth. With some of the fancied runners out of the way, it was looking good for a big points haul, but unfortunately, Mark got hit with a drive-through penalty after he came very close to colliding with Nick Heidfeld, as both men left pit lane together after refuelling.

Sebastian had one of the heaviest fuel loads of those who were two-stopping and this allowed him to slot in third behind Raikkonen, who had charged through from sixth on the grid to lie second on the opening lap behind unexpected pole man, Giancarlo Fisichella, before dispensing with the Force India once the Safety Car came in.

“A Force India?” we hear you cry in disbelief. Yes indeed, because after getting over the shock of seeing the Italian driver on pole, the so called experts reckoned he would have a tough time staying at the pointy end of the field.
Far from it, he ran like a train, pushing the Ferrari throughout the 44 laps. Maybe rumours that he will replace Massa-replacement Luca Badoer in Monza in a fortnight’s time might actually come true. This would lead to former Toro Rosso driver, Tonio Liuzzi slipping into the empty Force India cockpit. With Ferrari back on form after this first win of the season, it could be a very Italian Italian Grand Prix indeed.

Behind the top three, it was a good day for BMW, with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld coming home fourth and fifth ahead of Kovalainen’s McLaren. The last two points positions were filled by the Brawn of Rubens Barrichello and the Williams of Nico Rosberg.

With only five races to go, the championship situation leaves Brawn and Red Bull Racing supporters with hardly any fingernails left to chew on. We’ve taken four points out of the leaders in the Constructors, Barrichello has closed up to Button, as has Sebastian, who leapfrogs his team-mate to lie third once again.

Now it’s the slipstreaming, eye-popping, super-fast fest that is Monza, the Temple of Speed, Da da daaaaa!