Despite starting from what was by far their worst grid positions of the year – 14th and 21st – the Mercedes duo scored 14 points.
| Michael Schumacher | Nico Rosberg | |
| Qualifying position | 21 | 14 |
| Qualifying time comparison (Q2) | 1’47.874 (-0.011) | 1’47.885 |
| Race position | 7 | 6 |
| Average race lap | 2’01.814 (+0.072) | 2’01.742 |
| Laps | 44/44 | 44/44 |
| Pit stops | 1 | 1 |
Open lap times interactive chart in new window
Michael Schumacher
Felt he could have got into the top ten in qualifying but caught traffic in Q2. His ten-place grid penalty from Hungary dropped him to 21st.
He was up to 12th after the safety car came in and, having started on hard tyres, stayed out while other drivers pitted or ran into trouble. Schumacher pounced on his team mate while Rosberg was battling Vitaly Petrov, sweeping by to take tenth place.
He got up to fourth at one point before being passed by Adrian Sutil – Schumacher defending his position rather less firmly than he did at the Hungaroring.
On lap 34 he made his sole pit stop, switching to intermediate tyres as the worst of the rain arrived. Rosberg returned the favour at Les Combes after the final restart, edging Schumacher onto the grass
I ‘met’ Nico twice out on the track today. The first time, I had the better go in a nice racing duel and the second time was right after the re-start where I had to lift a little up into Eau Rouge due to the car in front which Nico used to fly past me. All in all, Spa turned out to be nearly as enjoyable as I had hoped for.
Compare Michael Schumacher’s form against his team mate in 2010
Nico Rosberg
Had to change his gearbox after final practice meaning he got a five-place grid penalty. But, due to other drivers collecting grid penalties, he only dropped from 12th to 14th.
Rosberg ran a set-up geared towards wet conditions on his car and he made good use of it at the final restart, passing Kamui Kobayashi and his team mate to finish sixth. Like Schumacher, he only made a single stop, switching from hard to intermediate tyres.
Compare Nico Rosberg’s form against his team mate in 2010
2010 Belgian Grand Prix
chris sz
30th August 2010, 16:38
finally good race/pit strategy for mercedes!it worked out pretty good for them this weekend.
Ed
30th August 2010, 17:00
Realistically, even if they didn’t have penalties, this was probably their maximum result they could have achieved – so I’m sure they will be reasonably satisfied with their result.
The Schumacher/Rosberg duels were good fun, but I’m sure there were some nerves in the Mercedes pits when Schumacher and Rosberg clipped each other.
Patrickl
30th August 2010, 19:54
Indeed. Besides, if Vettel, Alonso and Barrichello hadn’t messed up so much they might have just ended up with a single point.
Ed
31st August 2010, 11:29
Actually, having said that, they were actually very lucky, because they still hadn’t pitted before the late shower.
So they wouldn’t have finished there if the race played out normally.
sumedh
30th August 2010, 17:30
Keith, the last paragraph of the Michael Schumacher part must be in quotes, isn’t it?
macca77
30th August 2010, 17:52
Good performance from the Merc boys on spa. Let’s hope they are able to maintain this kind of position on the next races, it’s gonna be difficult IMO because: 1. Some of the big boys didn’t finished, 2. The rain mixed up things and 3. Mercedes is now more worried about developing next year car than improving this dog.
My only hope for Schumi’s year is that point-wise he can beat Sutil and to finish closer to Rosberg
Dianna
30th August 2010, 19:44
Well done to both drivers considering the extremely difficult positions they started from.
Michael is starting to show the “old flare and magic”.
Even Eddie Jordan commented that as he watched Schumacher’s start (on purpose)he was amazed to see him slice through the pack from virtually the back row to a reasonable 9th,in no time at all.Just magic.
Once the new car is ready, I think there will be a big difference……..Mercedes GP with Rosberg on board,will be the team to watch next year.
US_Peter
30th August 2010, 20:03
Schumacher has really had some fantastic starts this year. Montreal was another where he just rocketed through half the field in no time at all.
MinusTwo
30th August 2010, 21:52
For real. I am not a massive Schumi fan, but I would love to see him in a competitive car battling it out with the best on the grid.
dragon
31st August 2010, 1:57
With Hungary behind all of us except for the most passionate Schumi haters, I think we enjoyed seeing the man drive more like his old self, and it took a classic race like Spa to bring it out. Any race where he matches Nico is a personal victory in itself.
Eric
31st August 2010, 16:17
i like your thinking dragon, im with you, i never loved Schumi but always give credit were it is due.
he did drive well and stayed on track considering the conditions.
if they can make a good car for him next year, i would think just maybe he might make it to the podium. now that would get everyone talking.
BasCB
31st August 2010, 7:43
Schumacher looked pretty satisfied with himself after the race, rightly so i think.
No bad strategy desicions, a cheeky pass on Rosberg, no overly harsh defending. Now get a car that works better and he might still get a podium this year.
Rosberg drove very well again, nice move to pass Kobayashi and Schumi after the restart.
bosyber
31st August 2010, 15:40
It seems that by now both drivers manage to get about the same pace out of the car both on Saturday and on Sunday, so if they can get the team to have a non-crazy strategy, and keep the two away from each other during qualifying, they can at least try to stay ahead of Renault (unless Petrov also manags better Saturdays) and also FI.
David B
31st August 2010, 9:08
I’m curious to see it the next year car will be designed to match Schumi or Nico’s driving style. They appear to be quite different each other.
This year’s car is not competitive, and it seems to be even worse for Schumi style.
DGR-F1
31st August 2010, 13:22
Its interesting that after all the talk of how Vettel is still learning how to overtake, that when Old Schuey does it, he makes a very similar error, clipping the front wing of Rosbergs car, in a move that could have sent both of them back to the Pits, at the very least.
And then, unsurprisingly, Rosberg, with a damaged car, won the place back again.
Why are Mercedes continuing with Old Schuey? Hes better off flying a desk or running their test department!
Alexi
31st August 2010, 17:46
Unlike Button, Rosberg car hasn’t been damaged at all. Troll atempt failed.
David-A (@david-a)
2nd September 2010, 17:02
Why can’t there be one article involving Schumacher without people talking rubbish?
Petrov passed Rosberg, and in a very good piece of opportunism, Schumacher also went up the inside of Rosberg. Nico might not have been expecting this, so turned in a little too much, but only made minimal contact, which didn’t affect the performance of either car. Nothing at all like Vettel swerving around like a moron.
Johann
2nd September 2010, 15:13
Nice to see the Master in form again. We hope it would happen more often.