2013 Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix
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Lap 6: Di Resta in seventh is now two seconds behind Webber, with Hulkenberg close to him in eighth, Raikkonen ninth and Grosjean 10th.
Lap 6: Button is mugged again on DRS as Webber blasts by into Les Combes to take over fifth fastest. The Red Bulls are fast down there today.
Lap 6: Vettel's lead is now up to 4.2 seconds over Hamilton as he unleashes a major turn of pace from his Red Bull.
Lap 6: Replays of the start show that they were three and even four-wide briefly in the midfield into La Source. Grosjean then got a poor exit out of the first corner and Massa was too close and gently nudged into the Frenchman.
Massa has already been advised on the radio that he may have some front wing damage.
Massa has already been advised on the radio that he may have some front wing damage.
Lap 5: Replays of the start show Hamilton lost speed over the crest after Eau Rouge and Vettel was quickly alongside and past the Mercedes.
Lap 4: Raikkonen is into ninth place now, ahead of team-mate Grosjean as Lotus works out the best plan to attack the race.
Lap 4: This time it is Alonso vs Button and no problem for the Spaniard as he breezes up to fourth on the road.
Lap 4: Bottas is 19th and it's a poor opening to the race for Marussia - Bianchi is 20th with Pic 21st and Chilton bringing up the rear.
Lap 4: Vettel is told to save tyres, with the message "we don't need any more than this" as he storms off into the lead.
Lap 3: Maldonado has passed van der Garde and is up to 14th position in the Williams.
Lap 3: Alonso has dropped away from the gearbox of Button over the last lap and now has Webber on his case in the battle over fifth.
Lap 3: One or two drops of moisture already being picked up by the on-board cameras, but no noticeable rain as yet.
Lap 3: DRS is now available as Vettel pulls to a sizable 2.8 second lead over Hamilton.
Lap 2: Webber is sixth, chased by di Resta and Hulkenberg.
Lap 2: Alonso is all over the gearbox of Button and looks ready to make to make further progress once DRS becomes available.
Lap 2: The field is tightly packed with Sutil 13th, van der Garde 14th, Maldonado up to 15th, Vergne 16th, Ricciardo 17th and Gutierrez 18th.
Lap 2: That's not what they wanted in the Mercedes camp as Vettel takes a 1.4 second lead into the second lap.
Lap 2: Di Resta is seventh in the Force India with Hulkenberg eighth, Grosjean ninth, Raikkonen 10th, Perez 11th and Massa 12th.
Lap 2: Rosberg is third on the road ahead of a fast-starting Button and Alonso.
Lap 1: Great speed on the straight there from Vettel and it's now Into the middle part of the lap it is Vettel from Hamilton.
Lap 1: Webber has dropped down to sixth with another poor start and it's a clean opening to the race this year.
Lap 1: Vettel gets a strong drive down the straight and takes the lead into Les Combes!
Lap 1: Hamilton gets a great start and leads into La Source ahead of Vettel, Rosberg and Button.
Lap 1: The five red lights go out and we are racing at Spa!
So here we go. The front few rows are in position and the pack is forming up nicely. Are you ready? We await the lights...
The Briton makes the turn for home and checks his clutch bite point on the way to pole position.
The run towards home now and Hamilton takes them through Blanchimont and up to the final chicane.
Dropping downhill now towards the fearsome Pouhon double-left and Hamilton begins to slow down to get the field a little closer together.
Up the Kemmel hill and towards Les Combes comes the pack, as the mechanics quickly make their way back into the pitlane.
The formation lap begins at Spa. Hamilton answers the call to arms and leads the field of 22 drivers away from the grid.
Medium tyres are a widespread choice for the start, with Bianchi, Chilton, Ricciardo and Gutierrez the only men on hard rubber.
The notorious blast into La Source awaits, with drivers all hoping to avoid the scene of carnage caused by Grosjean here last year.
Drivers getting comfortable in their cars now as the long summer break finally comes to an end.
Just five minutes to go until the formation lap begins at Spa-Francorchamps. We are set for 44 racing laps this afternoon.
Polesitter Hamilton attaches his HANS device to his helmet and then climbs into the Mercedes. He is strapped in by one of the mechanics.
Two DRS zones at this classic circuit, the first down the short pit straight followed by a far more useful blast on the run to Les Combes.
Rain remains in the forecast for this afternoon's race. The nearest showers are around 40 miles from the circuit and closing in slowly.
Tyres
Pirelli's medium and hard compounds are the rubber on offer this weekend, with the inclement weather always keeping the intermediate and full wet tyres on standby in the garages.
With a wet end to qualifying, teams have a free choice of starting rubber, so strategy could be split depending on how each outfit finds the race characteristics of the compounds.
Should the rain arrive, as ever it requires a fast response from the teams given the long lap where being on the wrong rubber can be extremely costly.
Nico Rosberg puts on his balaclava, as he gets ready to start today's race from fourth on the grid.
A packed crowd around Spa rises in unison to respect the Belgian national anthem, as it is played out over the public address system.
By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton
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