Finn Raikkonen rode his luck to claim Ferrari’s first win this year when he held off a strong challenge from Force India’s veteran Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, who began on pole.
It was the 2007 world champion’s 18th career win but his first since the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix – a welcome tonic for the Ferrari team after a torrid year. Telegraph.co.uk
Raikkonen, after his 18th career win, said: “We haven’t brought new parts for the last few races as we are looking at next year.
“But my aim was always still to win a race because we are aiming for third in the (constructors’) championship. We probably weren’t the fastest in terms of lap time, but we were able to keep everybody behind us. Hopefully we can now win more.”
Fisichella was delighted and disappointed in equal measure as he said: “It’s a great result for us.
“It’s a great day but I was quicker than Kimi and I’m a little bit sad because maybe I could have won the race as I was keeping pace with his car.” The Press Association
POS DRIVER ENTRANT 1 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 4 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 5 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 6 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 7 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 8 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 9 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 10 Timo Glock Toyota 11 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 12 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 13 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 14 Luca Badoer Ferrari R Fernando Alonso Renault R Jarno Trulli Toyota R Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes R Romain Grosjean Renault R Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes R Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari
UPDATE: August 30, 2009 06:46 am
Kimi Raikkonen claimed his fourth Belgian Grand Prix victory in five years to end an astonishing run of 26 races without a win for the 2007 world champion.
It was a chaos-filled event, though, with British duo Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton crashing out on the opening lap in an accident that also accounted for the Toro Rosso of Jaime Alguersuari and Renault’s Romain Grosjean.
Raikkonen was hounded all the way in his Ferrari for the majority of the race by pole-sitter Giancarlo Fisichella, who gave Force India their first points in F1 after 30 races with a second-place finish. The Press Association
It was the 2007 world champion’s 18th career win but his first since the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix - a welcome fillip for the Ferrari team after a torrid year.
German Sebastian Vettel came home third for Red Bull to go third in the title race with 53 points behind Button on 72 and his Brawn GP team-mate Brazilian Rubens Barrichello on 56 with five races remaining.
Pole Robert Kubica was fourth for BMW Sauber ahead of his team-mate German Nick Heidfeld with Finn Heikki Kovalainen sixth for McLaren Mercedes.
Barrichello was seventh, nursing his car stricken by an oil leak over the closing laps, and German Nico Rosberg eighth for Williams. AFP
Formula 1: Belgian Grand Prix - Race Results
Ferrari ace Raikkonen said: “It hasn’t been an easy year for us. We made a big step in Barcelona but it wasn’t enough.
“My aim has been to win at least one race and for us to stay third in the championship. The Sun
“We were probably not the fastest in lap times but we managed to keep everybody behind,” said 2007 world champion Raikkonen. “And that’s enough.”
Fisichella admitted it was a “great result” for a Force India team which caused an enormous shock on Saturday by qualifying on pole, but that he felt a tinge of regret at how the race panned out.
“Actually, I was quicker than Kimi,” he added. “He only took me because of Kers at the beginning and I’m a little bit sad for that.” BBC Sport
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