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Belgian GP

2011 Formula 1 Belgian GP

Belgium
Aug 25, 2011 to Aug 28, 2011
Spa-Francorchamps, BE
Live text
Formula 1 Belgian GP

2011 Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix

Live Text

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Lap 4: Now released, Vettel clocks a 1m55.708s fastest lap to pull 1.6 seconds clear of Rosberg as the Ferrari pair squabble behind them.
Lap 4: Both Lotus drivers were involved in some contact at Turn 1, possibly initiated by Glock, who launched his Virgin up the inside at La Source, causing carnage.
Lap 4: Alguersuari pulled off to the side of the road before reaching the pits. The Spaniard climbs out and his best qualifying performance comes to nothing.
Lap 3: Vettel gets his DRS shot this time as the system becomes available, breezing past Rosberg and into the lead.
Lap 3: Schumacher has passed Paul di Resta and takes over 13th position in the Mercedes.
Lap 3: Up front, Rosberg is holding on to the lead with Vettel on his tail and the pair of Ferraris rapidly closing in.
Lap 3: Webber is eighth with Kobayashi ninth, Petrov 10th, Sutil 11th, Button 12th, di resta 13th and Schumacher up 10 places to 14th.
Lap 3: Hamilton's pace is very poor at this stage and he is falling back towards Buemi.
Lap 2: Alonso breezes by Hamilton heading into the DRS zone and is easily past the McLaren and up into fourth.
Lap 2: Kovalainen also pits the Lotus. Senna takes on a new front wing and rejoins the race at the rear of the field.
Lap 2: Webber remains in seventh at the end of the first lap, as Glock and Senna come into the pits.
Lap 2: Rosberg leads into lap two, chased by Vettel and Massa as Hamilton comes under pressure from Alonso.
Lap 1: Alonso is up to fifth after a good start, from Buemi, Perez and the delayed Webber.
Lap 1: Alguersuari is touring back to the pits with broken front suspension after contact at La Source.
Lap 1: Massa is up to third in his Ferrari, with Hamilton boxed out at the first corner and down to fourth.
Lap 1: Webber has dropped down to around seventh position on this opening lap after a shocking getaway.
Lap 1: A rapid starting Rosberg leads from Vettel after a great DRS move into Les Combes.
Lap 1: Webber gets a terrible start but Vettel leads with Rosberg a sensational second at La Source!
Lap 1: The five red lights go out and we are racing at Spa
The pack is formed and Rosberg's car is smoking heavily on the grid. We await the lights ...
Schumacher is just entering the Bus Stop, with the front three rows already in position.
Vettel rounds the Bus Stop and heads towards his pole position starting slot.
Through Blanchimont and Vettel begins to slow the field down, to keep them as close as possible behind him.
Button has the harder tyres on his McLaren, planning a long first stint to try and take advantage of tyre problems ahead in the field.
The pack weaves its way through Fagnes and Vettel turns for home.
Plenty of scope for collision into the tight first corner, with drivers looking for an opportunistic leap up the field around the inside.
Vettel begins the downhill plunge through Rivage and down to Pouhon.
All 24 drivers leave without problem as Vettel climbs through Eau Rouge and up the Kemmel straight towards Les Combes.
Senna is reminded to warm his brakes on the formation lap ahead of his first start of the year from a career best grid slot of seventh.
The formation lap begins at Spa and Vettel leads the field of 24 away from the dummy grid.
The engines fire with a minute to the formation lap.
Vettel puts his gloves on with just 50 seconds to go before the start of the formation lap.
Mark Webber nods the affirmative as he receives some final advice before the engines fire into life.
Tyres are now bolted on the cars, with leading teams hoping for the best with the rubber damaged in final qualifying yesterday.
Michael Schumacher is having last-minute discussions with the engineers, as he sits looking at the rest of the field in front of him.
Track temperature is 23 degrees with the sun still trying to break through for the time being.
Five minutes remain until the start of the formation lap at Spa Francorchamps.
Teams have been unable to adjust the camber settings since qualifying, with changes banned by the parc ferme rules.
Excessive camber, beyond Pirelli's advised limits, is thought to be the cause - along with the cold and dirty track conditions yesterday.
Replays of post-qualifying parc ferme show clear blistering on the inside shoulder of front tyres for the top three drivers.

By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton

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