Rate the Race Result: 2012 Belgian Grand Prix

2012 Belgian Grand Prix

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Jenson Button threw himself back into title contention after winning an eventful Belgian Grand Prix. His second win of the season came from pole position as the McLaren driver was rarely challenged, leading the pack the entire journey.

The race was rated an average of 7.467 out of ten. That’s the lowest Belgian Grand Prix rating of the last five years, but that’s largely because previous Belgian Grands Prix have been rated very highly.

The result was somewhat overshadowed by a frightening opening lap collision caused by Romain Grosjean which eliminated championship contenders Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton and robbed Sauber of their best-ever qualifying performance.

Many rued the collision which took some of the intrigue out of the race:

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

Could have been better if some of the best drivers hadn’t crashed out in the first corner. All in all: eight.
Cyclops_PL

This race could have been really interesting but this sort of events happen when one or two crazy youngsters try to overtake the field in one corner.
Smokinjoe

Others felt the pile-up could have been avoided:

Again I will say, if they had started the race on the other pit straight, none of this would have happened.
Brownerboy

The damage done to Sauber’s race was particularly keenly felt after the team had shone in qualifying:

It’s a shame we lost Kobayashi and Perez after the first corner, they would have been very interesting to watch.
Yobo01

I was really looking forward to racing challenges from the lesser names like Kobayashi and Perez.
Timothy Katz

I would like to have seen what the two Sauber’s could have achieved.
BradFerrari

However, the majority were content with the fighting for position right down the field:

Good race. There was close fighting throughout which I don’t think we’ve seen so much this year since Monaco.
AndrewTanner

There’s more to a race than first place. Vettel’s overtakes and Schumacher’s defences were exceptional. We had a good number of battles across the entire grid.
Pamphlet

Salcrich felt that Button deserved applause for his flawless weekend:

Give Button his due, he was untouchable in qualifying and held the same margin in the race. Where were the guys who were eliminated going to find the speed to challenge Button?
Salcrich

It may not have been one of the greatest races Spa has ever witnessed, but as Antonio notes there have been many excellent races at the track in recent years:

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.
Antonio Nartea

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What did you think of the Belgian Grand Prix? Have your say in the comments.

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14 comments on “Rate the Race Result: 2012 Belgian Grand Prix”

  1. Others felt the pile-up could have been avoided:

    Again I will say, if they had started the race on the other pit straight, none of this would have happened.

    Surely the Hamilton part of the incident would have been no less likely to happen. It just would have meant that on a run into a fast first corner, the cars behind would struggle to take avoiding action. And Eau Rouge as a first corner would be terrifying.

    1. Michael Brown (@)
      15th September 2012, 0:36

      I don’t see it being that much different than the start at Magny-Cours, and Valencia to a lesser extent.

  2. Could it be “Hungarian Grand Prix Rate the Race results” Should be “Belgium Grand Prix Rate the Race”?

    1. I voted according to my own opinion, i didn’t vote 1 or 10 just to try to influence the score, if people had been more reasonable the result for SPA could have been better or worse, certainly more reliable.

  3. I don’t think that the crash at the 1st corner was necessarily a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that crashing in F1 should somehow be encouraged and I also believe that there is still a lot of work to do to ensure that drivers never get hurt in the crashes. For instance, the rear wheels should have been covered already long ago.

    But crashes just belong to the motorsports, they often look spectacular and they have their positive sides, too. For example, when the fastest cars get eliminated, others get a chance to fight for positions that would otherwise be unreachable for them. And I understand that one is not happy, if his favourite driver has to call it a day after the first hundred metres of the race but I don’t see how the fight between, let’s say, Hulkenberg and Raikkonen was less worthy than one betwen Hamilton and Alonso might have been.

    1. I think it was a bit of a shame (especially because we never got to see what two Saubers starting from the front could do), but as you write it gave us nice battles with other drivers instead @girts

    2. @girts Well said. If anything it helps shake up the championship battle a little and Vettel alone certainly provided enough entertainment!

  4. Funny how people’s perceptions change. This race was far more exciting than 2009, yet it’s rated much higher

    1. There was a race-long battle for the lead in 2009, whereas this year’s winner was never in doubt. I think that made a big difference.

      1. I wouldn’t call following another car for 50 laps a battle, especially after they pitted on the same lap. It was about “exciting” as Alonso following Petrov in Abu Dhabi in 2010.

        People have just gotten used to more action, that’s the reason for lower grades IMO

    2. I understand what you mean, but for some people it’s all about the thrill for the victory rather than fighting for 4th 5th and 6th.

  5. I thought the Belgian GP was a great race, we really have high expectations this year!
    So chuffed that the one GP I decided to go to has been the best of the year so far :) Especially when I was expecting the usual borefest

  6. I must have been watching a different race then! I thought it was fantastic with all the close racing, right down to the two Marussias. Not to mention Michael vs Kimi!

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