Zoom A break for Massa, while Raikkonen loses out

In typical Formula One style, what you see is not always what you get. Felipe Massa won the Belgian Grand Prix after Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen crashed out of the race in the final stages whilst battling with championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

The British driver was later handed a time penalty for cutting the final chicane and then passing Raikkonen into the first turn on the penultimate lap. Raikkonen would lose control of the Ferrari on the same lap while Hamilton took the chequered flag ahead of Massa and Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber.

Massa’s win closes him to within two points of Hamilton heading to Monza next weekend, while Ferrari continues to lead the constructors’ championship from McLaren Mercedes, now by 12 points.

Felipe Massa
“This was a very strange race, with the start and finish taking place in rather difficult conditions. After the start I thought Eau Rouge might be wetter and so I was a bit cautious. Kimi attacked and managed to get by. From then on I realized it would be hard to pass the two guys ahead of me, even if the lap times were quite similar. I tried to manage the situation, especially towards the end. When it started to rain, I had a pretty good margin over my closest pursuers and I preferred not to take any risks, especially given what was going on in front of me."

"Today the car wasn’t perfectly balanced. On Saturday morning, we had slightly reduced the aerodynamic downforcc, as you usually do for the race here, but today’s track conditions definitely did not suit this choice. The hard tyres? They were definitely slower than the soft ones and lacked grip, which made the car a bit inconsistent in terms of balance.”

Kimi Raikkonen
No quote available.

Stefano Domenicali
“I have often said that the race is not over until the official results are published and that was the case today. As usual, Ferrari will not comment on the Stewards’ decision. After the race, we were called to the Stewards and we explained our position. We are very disappointed for Kimi, who had driven a great race and deserved the win, especially at this rather difficult time."

"This result is obviously very important for our Championship hopes: now we must maintain maximum concentration and prepare as well as possible for the forthcoming races, starting at Monza where we will be racing in front of our home fans. We will also need their support at such a delicate point in the season.”