Rate the race: 2012 Belgian Grand Prix

2012 Belgian Grand Prix

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What did you think of the Belgian Grand Prix? Share your verdict on today’s race.

F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought were the best and worst races during a season.

Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (5%)
  • 9 (22%)
  • 8 (32%)
  • 7 (20%)
  • 6 (10%)
  • 5 (4%)
  • 4 (3%)
  • 3 (2%)
  • 2 (0%)
  • 1 (2%)

Total Voters: 520

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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Image © Lotus F1 Team/LAT

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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164 comments on “Rate the race: 2012 Belgian Grand Prix”

  1. The most boring of them all.

    1. I wonder what you look for in a race (not criticizing, just curious)

      1. The English commentators and the crew are bias. I don’t understand why they have to focus on J Buton’girlfriend all the time?
        Who cares she has got nothing to do with the race and a nobody.
        We don’t want to see her being flashed on the screen so often.
        They should show more of Vettel and the other drivers.
        It is their show ,and some old girlfriend!

        1. The ‘English’ crew don’t control the TV images.

          1. @andrewtanner Indeed. Confirmed from the kitchen :) There’s a global TV feed you receive and just transmit through your frequencies.

            For me, it was 9, because I was in the studio of the local national TV, commenting the race as tech analyst and second host, but it would otherwise be 7 – I expected more racing. Probably Romain took out most of the show …
            Watch the Bulgarian F1 coverage, then .. We’re not biased :)

      2. Alonso winning maybe…

    2. was hoping that all the tittle contender to battle it out on track…

      1. Was very good till the first corner.

      2. He did battle

    3. Sucks to see your driver lose the race through no fault of his own, doesn’t it?

      1. It would be easier for me if Alonso made a mistake and went out or if his engine exploded. This way an idiot hit him, and almost injured him. That Lotus was in the air so close to Fernando’s head.

      2. @f1fannl
        I see where you are coming from with that message… and it´s different when it´s mechanical failure that takes out your driver and when it´s someone elses bone-headed driving that does it… I guess Hamilton and Alonso fans will agree with this…

        1. How so. Was Vettel somehow to blame for the failure?

          1. @f1fannl
            That´s just it man.. Vettel can´t blane anybody but Renault for that… Alonso, Hamilton and Perez in the other hand… have Grosjean for a very stupid start to blame…. So you see… these are 2 very different things… and it´s more frustrating to suffer this type of DNF than an engine failure…

            Example: Carlos Sainz´ engine failure 4oo meters before the finish line in what could have been a world rallye championship… who do you blame?? See where I´m getting at? It´s different.

          2. I disagree.
            In Vettel’s case it was pretty much clear he was gonna win that race. So he lost a well deserved victory and 25 points after absolutely dominating the weekend. Alonso, Hamilton and Perez however had just started. So, in a way, Vettel’s misfortune was more cruel.

            I know people say mechanical failure are part of F1 but nowadays having a car failure is just as rare if not less likely to happen than being taken out by another car.

    4. it’s normal to fell that the race is boring when someone saw his favorite driver out of the first corner because of someone else’s fault for me the race was normal except for some Vettel’s overtaking i think this is the first time i saw Sebastian driving like crazy but without taking silly risks that was a brilliant dive by Seb

      1. @tifoso1989

        it’s normal to fell that the race is boring when someone saw his favorite driver out of the first corner because of someone else’s fault

        I agree on that! And I also agree that we at least saw some very good overtake moves by a lot of different pilots but… it sort of loses something when the leader is not in the race…

    5. I was at the track and inclined to agree. Not one of the best – Grosjean has a lot to answer for! As does the video feed director – everyone saw Kimi on Schumi at Eau Rouge but Kovy passing a Marussia there on lap 26 was completely missed! Hat’s off to Kimi and Seb for keeping it interesting

      1. Three-time world champion Niki Lauda: “I have never seen such a stupid accident from Grosjean. I would stop him for two races to start thinking, it was the second time he has done something like this.”

        1. I could not agree more with Mr. Lauda…

    6. The worst of this race people on the podium laughing off about the accident, too bad Jenson.

    7. You must have switched it off after the SC came out then @valentino

  2. Great race. Wished end had been a little more exciting.

  3. Sadly no fight for the lead, but plenty of action all round with some stunning drives. Really good race I think. Gave it 8.

    1. Normally only fight for lead rewards a 10 in my book, but Kimi’s battle through eau rouge and the fact that it’s Spa we’re talking about made it a 10!

    2. 9, my highest-ever mark round here. Belgian GP has and had everything running good for it, just missed a fight for the lead. What a GP!

  4. Great but not at the level of the past ones.

  5. 7 for me. Grosjean should be taken out of racing for the rest of the season.

    1. agreed, he effectively ruined the race. Took out so many people. It looked like Maldonado jumped the start as well.

      1. Maldonado and grosjen should be out of f1

        1. Karthikeyan as well

          1. Schumacher as well

          2. @Sorin Schumacher as well??? ok i join this all the F1 drivers as well

    2. Well, that’s a bit much. Maldonado has had more crashes than Grosjean, and jumped the start, and crashed today as well.

      1. Except that Maldonado hasn’t caused a multiple pile up. You can’t just sweep diagonally across the track from the grid at Spa and hope it will work out. Alonso was lucky to escape serious injury.

        1. Yet but im sure it wont be long

          1. i agree maldonado is just dangerous, and its lucky that one of his crashes has ended up like grosjean, i think grosjean is unlucky to get all this abuse when there are worse drivers out there, but the race ban is fair, anymore and your just being silly,

        2. I can only assume Romain didn’t know Lewis was alongside. He had nothing to gain by swiping across like that & must have known it could only result in a crash. That’s why it’s bizarre. No-one would take that risk unless they didn’t know…

          1. So Lewis is in the wrong for not lifting off the throttle whilst being squeezed immensely? Honestly, they were something both drivers could’ve done to prevent the whole incident. Racing incident for me If Grosjean didn’t know that Lewis was in his blindspot whilst looking in the mirrors (If he did) but If any fault, then Grosjean’s the one that should have it.

            8 for me quite frankly, +1 for the start, +1 for some great action & +1 for overtaking not being as easy as people anticipated due to different gear ratios used by teams, which might have been caused by limited dry running in Friday Practice.

          2. Lewis did nothing wrong. Could have probably avoided it, but it’s the start & there’s a lot going on. Looks to me like an unfortunate accident.

      2. Replays show the lights went out before he visibly moved. It will be up to the stewards and Timing & Scoring to determine, but I say he did not jump early.

        1. I understood that they factor in trying to anticipate the start: if the reactions are faster than humanly possible, it doesn’t matter if the lights went out a few fractions before. It’s a jump start.

          1. LOL. What?!?

            If the lights are off before the car moves it’s NEVER a jump start. It’s ridiculous you would even suggest that. As soon as the lights are off the race is officially underway. It doesn’t matter if someone starts 0.5 seconds or 0.5 milliseconds after the red lights go off.

          2. That’s the way it works in F1: You are only allowed to push your foot on the throttle once the lights have gone out. That’s different from the rules in, say, WRC, where it’s the car that must not accelerate before the lights go out.

            I think it’s much better the way f1 does it – it should be about reaction to the lights going out, not about who can get the best timing. And to further discourage that, they even randomise the amount of time between the 5th light turning on and all lights turning off, so that if someone presses the gas before the lights go off, they have no excuse.

          3. thats correct, if you react quicker than its humanly possible then its a false start

    3. It’s not the first time he has not been paying attention at a start: of course the Monaco GP, but also the European GP was very reckless. But taking him out of racing is very harsh: I would rather recommend this to Maldonado…

    4. That’s a bit harsh. Many other drivers have made similar mistakes early in their careers.

      I do think a one race suspension might be in order though. Interlocking wheels like that is potentially very dangerous, and a grid penalty would not send a strong enough message.

      1. I agree, FA also did stupid accident and red-flag in Brazil 2003..and I still learn to forgive him.

        1. Forgive him for what? Because of him was red-flaged the race. For that you want to forgive him? Grosjean just tried to kill him today. This is uncomparable…

    5. @suka
      Not at all. Yeah sure he made a mistake, but it wasn’t a stupid or exstremely dangerous move as such. It was simply a misjudgement of the distance between him and Hamilton. The result was very unfortunate, but that wasn’t in his hands, that was simply just bad luck.

      1. I know it’s a bit harsh I only said so to emphasize him REPEATING over and over the same mistake. He did almost the same thing in Monaco.
        He is not learning.

        1. @suka
          Ah okay, well I can understand that. But Maldonardo is also a repeated offender, and he hasn’t been punished with a race ban so far, and I don’t think Grosjean is more deserving of one.

          1. Maldonado seems to strike with intent out of anger. Grosjean doesn’t seem malicious, but dangerously unaware of those around him. That said, my impression was that he was squeezing Hamilton deliberately in this case. Just checked the video: Grosjean sweeps across track towards Hamilton, PAUSES, then edges even further to the right. Definite atempt to shut the door, aware Hamilton was there.

    6. A little harsh!
      But I expect a 10-place penalty at the very least.

    7. He did take out your favourite driver didn’t he?

      1. Actually, two of them, Lewis and Alonso; my third favourite (Scumacher) was okay. But, in Australia, Monaco and where else, I forgot, had taken others’s favourite drivers, too. It doesn’t matter whom he takes out, he is just dangerous and I’ve wanted to be patient as he is practically a rookie but 4 times it’s too much now.

  6. Lots of good overtaking. Bit boring for 1st, dramatic 1st corner. Without corner 1 the race would have been better with much closer racing at the top 3

  7. Good entertainment, right to the Marussias !

  8. Brilliant race, only fault with it was the lack of a challenge for the lead; to be honest though I don’t really care!

  9. I loved it, plenty of wheel to wheel racing, which is the best thing about F1. Button’s dominant win wasn’t the most spectacular, but still a great performance.

    1. What was so great about it?? Running unchallenged is just plain boring!

  10. After the first lap it seemed that the whole life was taken out of the race. or maybe it was because i am an alonso fan.

    1. or maybe it was because i am an alonso fan

      That must be it.

      1. I know how you feel mate. Im a Hamilton fan and after the first corner I was less than impressed haha. Just seemed boring to me. Yes there was wheel to wheel action but still I didn’t feel very entertained.

  11. Grosjean spoiled the race in my opinion.

    1. Sviatoslav Andrushko (@)
      2nd September 2012, 15:49

      And DRS too.

    2. But saved the WDC contest

      1. Taking out the driver who actually needs the point advantage to have a chance to get the title does not really help it very much…

    3. Grosjean has been given a 1 race ban for that incident and seems rightly so.. endangering the lives of others is simply not acceptable.

  12. I’ll give it a five; average, in every sense of the word.

    There were shimmers of excitement, mostly thanks to Vettel, who’s number of overtakes at the bus stop chicane I greatly enjoyed. However, the likelyhood of a serious challenge for the lead became minimal after Grosjean’s desire to merge with Hamilton’s car resulted in the loss of the ones who would most likely mount that challenge; Alonso, Hamilton, Perez, Maldanado (providing he was able to keep it together, he certainly had the pace) etc.

    Great win for Button, happy for him. It must be said, though, it was made significantly easier, with him having a Force India as his main challenge for a large portion of the race. Still, it’s pretty likely he would have won regardless.

    1. I think we saw a lot of tight battles @goodyear92. Between Kimi, Schumacher, Hulkenberg, Vettel, Webber and at times Bruno Senna, then DiResta, Rosberg, Vergne, Ricciardo and Massa were fighting all the way through the race. And even quite a lot of action between the Caterhams, with Kobayashi in there, and Pic and De la Rosa at times as well.
      If that is average, then let the whole season be as average!

      1. Well said @bascb, but isn’t that about average for this season so far? I would have liked to see a battle for the lead, but as you say @goodyear92, Button looks like he would have won it anyway.

  13. Really enjoyable but I can’t help but feel it should have been better had the accident not taken out so many drivers/ruined races.

    1. Agreed, I would like to have seen what the two Saubers could have achieved.

  14. Could have been better if some of the best drivers hadn’t crashed out in the first corner.

    Could have been worse if Raikkonen hadn’t been there.

    All in all 8.

  15. Lot of great overtake good race

  16. Would have been just a 7, even though I am a Button booster, because the first corner shenanigans robbed us of a potential classic and it was too strung out by the end. But Jacky Ickx made it an 8 by telling Kimi that he was “finishing turd”. Awesome.

    1. “Kimi, you Finnish turd” xD

      1. Exactly! I almost called shenanigans on Mr Ickx – it was all too perfect. :o)

      2. lol. … very funny…

  17. I was really looking forward to racing challenges from the lesser names like Kobayashi and Perez. A shame that Grosjean’s moment of madness deprived us of two championship contenders as well.
    Overall, not bad and good entertainment to see the Marussias trying to beat each other up! JB could not have done anything more to enliven the race apart from crossing trhe line backwards. 6 overall, I think.

  18. I’d say it’s worth an 8, 8.5. Quite entertaining all in all. Sure, not as great as other races here in the past. Most of them actually. But…still a good way to get back into business after the summer break.

    That battle for 3rd and onwards between Schumacher, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg and Webber is not something you see everyday. Plus, it might have been just produced one of this year’s best overtakes – Raikkonen on Schumacher just into Eau Rouge.

    Vergne’s campaign through the field – nice to watch as well. Those onboards might have convinced me he’s not such a bad driver afterall. Also, I could watch those onboards from Vettel all day as well.
    Good to see Massa having another decent weekend.

    Too bad Raikkonen didn’t find the pace to challenge for the lead, too bad the Saubers and Alonso got taken out of contention at the start, too bad Button looked like the only driver who managed to get 100% out of his car. All these things have definitely dialed down the quality of the race and the rating as well.

    Still, we had more racing than technicalities this time. That can only be a good thing. 8.

  19. 9 for me: first corner took away a lot of the fun, but it did mix up the field. I loved to see Vettel fighting his way to second place, and the Raikkonen-Schumacher fight was pure brilliance. I mean: first time around, Raikkonenn doesn’t get past Schumacher despite DRS, second time around he passes him at the Bus stop, but gets passed again on Kemmel straight. This means he needs to think of something different, so he passes him at Eau Rouge, Webber-style. I don’t know if this is what he was thinking, but anyway you slice it, that was a brilliant move. Battles for every position except first, Jenson was just dominant this weekend so congrats to him!

  20. This race could have been really interesting but this sort of events happen when 1-2 crazy youngsters try to overtake all the field in 1 corner.
    Great job,Grosjean….1 fault-4 cars out!
    Keep it up with the great job you do !

    1. Grosjean was definitely driver of the day. Almost as good as Liuzzi at Monza last year.

      1. he should be starting from the pit lane….i guess its his fourth first lap crash

        1. It’s his third actually, the other ones being the 2012 monaco GP and the 2009 Belgium GP.

  21. A generous 8/10. I enjoyed the battle for 3rd and 4th, and a good battle between the Marussias. Bloody hell though, the crash at the start was scary.

    I must also say how sad I was to see both Saubers involved in the aeroplane crash at the start, which retired Perez and ruined Kobayashi’s race.

  22. Funny, but if Vettel or Hamilton had driven like Button today, this race would be getting 10 from most people.

    Thankfully it was very boring, hoping for a boring Monza also.
    :)

    1. if Vettel or Hamilton had driven like Button today, this race would be getting 10 from most people.

      Wait — that’s a joke, right?

    2. LOL, you must be new here. Vettel is the only driver who is not voted Driver of the Weekend when he dominates a race.

    3. Hamilton yes! Vettel, Nope!

    4. You can stop joking.

  23. Best driver: Vettel

    Well done to Button. Grosjean again causes the crash, i would say it is his fault. That noob will never learn.

    Very disrespectful reaction from Raikkonen on Schumacher. MSC did quite good with a crap car. Nothing more to be said.

    1. What reaction?

      1. I am not sure if they showed that footage where you are, but after the race (just before they got up on the stage), Kimi was asked a question by Vettel on overtaking Schumacher. And Kimi rather unprofessionally expressed a puff, following with a comment on how Schumacher was slow, giving indication that he was more of a nuisance than a challenge. I rather disagree with that. I think MSC gave Kimi a good challenge and they had a good battle all the way through. Just seemed like zero respect by kimi there.

        1. I saw the footage yeah but didn’t get the same impression. I don’t remember the exact wording Kimi used though but Kimi has never seemed to be the person to disrespect other drivers …that’s the way I see it anyway

          Schumi gave up a bit easily in Eau Rouge IMO but I guess his tires were pretty much dead at that point

          1. I thought Kimi was referring to the car @maksutov & @tmekt, and they agreed Schumacher (Vettel said it?) is hard to pass anyway even if his car isn’t up to speed. Didn’t hear it fully though so might be wrong.

  24. 7 for me. Lots of action removed by Grosjean and Maldanado. Glad Fernando is well! Vettel driver of day for me.

  25. petebaldwin (@)
    2nd September 2012, 15:08

    Great race but would have been better had Hamilton and Alonso not gone out…

  26. I quite enjoyed the race. What made it enjoyable was the fact that even with Hamilton and Alonso being taken out at the first corner, the racing quality and thrill was quite the same. Bruno Senna’s defence early on was quite fun to watch. True Button basically romped away to a win and that took out a bit of the fun, yet the fight between Kimi and Schumi and Nico and Webber was quite tense and thrilling. And what would F1 be without Pastor doing something or the other wrong every race. For a second I actually thought that 23 cars had stalled on the grid with only Pastor who had drive.

  27. Well, Hamilton and Alonso were both on the side of the road after turn 1 and Seb put on a clinic for the entire race. 10 from me.

  28. Kimi, you finished turd …. Jacky is the BEST

    1. Kimi, you finished turd

      rofl. I read that as: Kimi, you Finnish turd.

      1. That’s the way he said it. Finnish turd, that is.

  29. And Maldonado going like a pro at the start

  30. Magnificant race. Lots of good overtakes outside the DRS zone and battles from 2nd to 12th for most of the race.
    I would have given it a 10 if Button was in the action as well but this deserved a 9.

  31. 8/10. Not on the edge of my seat the entire race, but never a dull lap either.

  32. I was at the track and inclined to agree. Not one of the best – Grosjean has a lot to answer for! As does the video feed director – everyone saw Kimi on Schumi at Eau Rouge but Kovy passing a Marussia there halfway through the race was completely missed! Hat’s off to Kimi and Vettel for keeping it interesting though.

    1. “As does the video feed director – everyone saw Kimi on Schumi at Eau Rouge but Kovy passing a Marussia there halfway through the race was completely missed!”
      What about Button i only saw him on the last lap…i guess so far ahead of the field that video feed director doesnt care to show him

      1. @smokinjoe
        That is how it is all the time. If the leader is out in front, we don’t see him. And why should we? With a big lead they will just cruise it home, so they wont drive particularily fast, nor will they fight anyone. Pretty boring to look at I think, at least if there is something else going on.

        1. Well said @mads, I recall a lot of people (including me) being unhappy early last year when the director was too prone to show Vettel going it alone up front while we missed interesting fights behind him. I am thus quite glad we only saw Button occasionally, going smoothly and fast, driving without fault, and focussed more on fights behind him. It could have been even better if more attention went to cars further back than 12th, they too seemed to have good fights but we saw little of it.

  33. 7 – good race, but too many contenders were taken out at the start.

    Without that crash it might just have been epic, with one of the Saubers challenging Button for the lead…

  34. I love seeing Jenson Button win but it was only a 6 for me.
    It’s been a while that I have managed to see a full live race, due to holidays or SKY having shown the live race. So why a 6? Well the incident at turn 1, although added an initial buzz, caused a detrement to the race quality later on. No Alonso or Hamilton to really push Button for the win. No Saubers up front after a real promising Saturday. The crash muddled the field too, furthering Buttons advantage as Vettel had more work to do.
    So that left a race dominated by who could DRS pass (Schumacher) and who could not (Red Bull and Raikonen). I loved Raikonens pass into Eau Rouge and Vettels tenacity to push forward.
    However, one of my other rules I go by is if I can stay awake after lunch for the whole race and unfortunatley I nodded off with 6 laps to go (I think) and saw Button crossing the line.
    Between a 7 and a 6 it was. Due to so many missing after the first turn I went for a 6.

  35. 9 for awesome, -1 for insane Grosjean, so an 8 for me.

  36. I think what Domenicali said a few days ago was right, that lack of in-season testing is preventing us from finding new talents like the waft of newbies in the early 2000s(Button, Alonso, Raikkonen and Montoya). Apart from Montoya, the guys then were younger and made less errors. Maldonado-well I’ve got nothing more to say. He’s probably costing Williams more than the amount of money he is bringing into the team. Grosjean’s move deserves at least, a ten-place grid penalty and a fine on top of that, if not a one-race ban. It was a dangerous and totally unnecessary move on Hamilton, and he spoiled the races for some other drivers too-Perez, Kobayashi, Alonso. And this is not the first time he is having a first lap incident(Australia, Malaysia, Spain, Monaco as well).

  37. I give it a 5. DRS ruined it for me. I wudn’t call that overtaking

    1. Totally agree! I can’t for the life of me understand why everybody are clapping their hands just because positions change more often. You are exactly right; it is not overtaking and it is not racing. Schumacher taking back the position from a clearly faster Räikkonen is just another perfect example of how artificial DRS really is.

  38. Again i will say, If they started the race on the other pit straight, none of this would have happened

    1. You mean the WTCC one?? The run down the hill to the Eau Rouge stream?

  39. Good race, deserves a 6 i think. Could’ve easily been a 7 or even 8 without Grosjean going Igor.

  40. 7/10. At times there was simply nothing happening.
    + T1 mayhem
    + Kimi’s pass on Michael at Eau Rouge. Surely this makes him God of Spa now? One of the greatest tactical moves I’ve ever seen (deploy KERS out of T1 instead of waiting till DRS zone where Kimi’s top speed just wasn’t enough).
    + Plenty of passing, some different strategies

    – DRS. Okay, there were some times when it worked perfectly (cars being alongside each other under breaking), but for most part it either didn’t work (RBR’s couldn’t pass anyone) or worked way too well (MSC driving past Kimi) or it was pointless (6 car train with everyone having DRS open).

    1. @kaiie

      – DRS.

      The problem is that there is no way to make sure that every DRS overtake works properly.
      The reason Schumachers worked like a dunk slam, and Vettel’s didn’t work at all was because they ran different gearings. With the DRS it will always be a game of trying to find the right balance. Some will be too much, some wont work, but some will be just right.
      The only way to get around that is if the FIA desides the gearing, or at least the length of the last gear in order to control the speed difference more accurately, but that will have a lot of other problems, and mean that teams can’t take different approaches to gearing and downforce depending on the track and what they expect to be doing (overtaking, or just pulling away).
      But I also think that DRS was a minus, but thats just because I don’t like the concept all together, so I have stopped letting it effect my rating unless it is way too powerful.

    2. Kimi’s pass on Michael at Eau Rouge. Surely this makes him God of Spa now?

      That move was largely possible because MSC was kind enough to leave room. I didn’t think anything special about that move.

      1. Schumi kind? He hit civilian on the street and then got angry with it.

    3. Schumi was missing 6th gear by then.

  41. The main point is that no driver got injured…Alonso could have been killed if he was about 1 foot further on.

    1. Alonso could have been killed if he was about 1 foot further on.

      Sadly, that is very true. I don’t understand why that incident isn’t being heavily investigated. Someone needs to get a good slap in the face for that one.

  42. 7 from me.
    Best drives of the day: Vettel and Button.
    Retard driver of the day: Grosjean

  43. I feel like I should be rating this race highly, but it just doesn’t feel right. There was overtaking everywhere you looked (some of it without DRS!), it was very difficult to predict the finishing order until there were only half a dozen laps remaining, and it has made the championship more interesting again. Yet it all felt a bit hollow without Alonso and Hamilton, in particular, on the track. The Saubers got very unlucky as well. Button, superbly as he drove, never really came under any serious challenge. All things considered, I can only give it a 7.

  44. 9. It was a very good race, lots of overtakings, lots of action. Yeah, it’s a shame that we lost Kobayashi and Perez after the first corner: they would have been very interesting to watch.
    But the accident allowed the Force Indias and the Toro Rossos in the top 10. It was amazing to see Hulkenberg fighting for the podium and great racing by both Vergne and Ricciardo.

  45. So much whining about DRS these days. I like it as it allows for more passing. Better than those woeful days of the 2 hour F1 parades with no passing.

  46. That was definitely an avoidable accident. Seems like Grosjean just closed his eyes, and said ‘the entire track is mine!’
    :D

  47. Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
    2nd September 2012, 16:20

    In the good old days there would have been red flag and a restart in the spare cars. Much better for everyone in every way except of course for Bernies TV scheduling. Money ruins sport once again.

    1. Let’s just do not prevent teams from spending too much money and they will have spare cars like in the old times ….

    2. That wasn’t a red flag though. The debris were mostly off the racing line (amazingly), so the safety car would have been deployed even 10 years ago.

      1. Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
        2nd September 2012, 19:02

        Possibly not a red flag although I was thinking pre-safety car days. If they could use spare cars at restarts we would have still had the pleasure of Hamilton and Alonso’s participation. I can’t help thinking we (and they) missed out because of the need to keep to the TV schedule.

        By the way I’m not one of those guys who always say the good old days were better just for the sake of it. Modern safety standards and some of the 1970’s sporting ethic would be an ideal blend.

        I give the race a 7/10 bit I think with Hamilton and Alonso running back to the pits for their spare cars (maybe setup for their team mate) and the prospect of another start would make it a 9/10. Just my opinion.

  48. Imperial Jenson & McLaren !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lovely !!!!!!!!!!!!

    On the other handf grosjean should be life-banned from F1 for madaness !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  49. 9; I thought it was incredibly exciting to watch

  50. About Grosjean, didn’t he do the same with Michael at the start at Monaco

  51. 8. Some good racing in the midfield, with a good amount of racing. DRS was okay, if a bit easy for my taste, I would personally put it on the exit of Blanchemont towards the Bus Stop. Vettel had a great drive to 2nd, Hulkenburg did well to get 4th, and Torro Rosso did well.

    The shunt removed many of the drivers who might have challenged Button for the win, and I am gutted for Sauber. To have a change of an amazing result only for both cars to be wiped out in a crash where they were the innocent victims must be galling. Hope they do it again, because Kobayashi up front can only be an exciting thing!

  52. Give Button his due he was untouchable in qualifying and held the same margin in the race. Ifs buts and maybes are all very well but where were the guys who were eliminated going to find the speed to challenge Button? He drove away from the field as anticipated by his qualifying gap. As far as the race is concerned it was a 9 – loads of wheel to wheel action- definitely not one of those races where you could fast forward to the last 10 laps.

    1. Yes, as always Button is absolutely amazing – or at least when he has a diffuser or new rear wing that makes his a car a couple of seconds faster than the rest of the field, or the mains of it :-P

      It could have a been a 7 but with the same leader from pole to finish and no title battle it can only be a 6.

  53. 9 for me, great race. Sauber: “Best Unlucky Team” of the year.

  54. 6 – Great racing throughout the field, but the TV director missed alot of the action which has lowered the rating from me

  55. Not a classic race by any means but it was fun to see the different strategies at work and to see a dominating performance from Jenson Button. Mostof the drama was at the first corner and we were robbed of some great fights through the field but on the whole there was some good overtaking moves. 7

  56. i wanted to vote 7.5, but i didn’t feel like it justified rounding up to 8 still, good action, strong performances and a hell of a crash that will live in highlights for decades

    i’m stingy with my 8’s and 9’s, 10 better blow my jaded mind. i wish i had some list of criteria for judging. for example, spa 2012 earns maximum crash points, and the uncontested victory scores high for performance but low in competition. whatever :D

  57. A big old fashioned pile up at the start is just what this season was missing! it mixed things up nicely, and no one was hurt. All that was missing was a fight for the lead. Great race!

  58. I might be a little biased as I watched it live but, overall, it was a very good race. Despite the crash which eliminate 4 favourite drivers, the race had a lot of battles and plenty of overtaking action. Behind Button, every driver made an overtake, which must be a kind of record. Also, I had the luck to see Raikkonen overtake Schumacher in front of me in Eau Rouge and I was ecstatic!

  59. I gave it 7/10 but I think it might be too much.
    The DRS zone was crazy – in a negative way – apart from the Red Bulls, everyone cruised past the others. Some defended well and some attacked on the outside, but every lap there was a move – which made it look simple. Kimi passed Schumacher very well then with the DRS the German got past again. Then the opposite, then vice-versa, etc.
    The start crash was scary but at least it took some contenders out of the race, which helped others like Hulkenberg, Massa and Vettel to score good results, which was nice to see although I hoped the Saubers would have finished on the podium.

  60. 7 from me, I though towards the end of the race the two stopper will have a good fight with the one stopper but it never happened,seems like the tyres brought were too conservative for this race.I still Perelli should still follow to bring Supersoft & Medium or Soft & Hard tyre combination to all circuits but the street circuits can be exception.

  61. Good race. There was close fighting throughout which I don’t think we’ve seen so much this year since Monaco. Vettel was really entertaining and was definitely my driver of the weekend. The initial drama really opened up the championship fight even more and while I’m glad no one was hurt, it did help shake things up.

  62. 9. Second best race of the year.

    There’s more to a race than first place. Vettel’s overtakes and Schumacher’s defenses were exceptional. We had a good number of battles across the entire grid. What’s more, Grosjean’s brain fade saved the championship.

  63. worst race in memory. a disgrace to sport and all open wheeler racing. grosjean and maldonado deserve to lose their seats and if i were in the paddock i would beat them both severely. 0/10.

    1. Ham or Alo fan?

  64. A good race I gave it an 8. Although not much happened at the front there were plenty of battles further down the field to provide entertainment.

  65. I gave it a 4 for the race. Bit boring without anyone being able to challenge the leader. But gave an extra 4 for being able to see more of Jenson’s girlfriend on TV…. Jessica Michibata – you are one hellava hot chick!

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