Post-GP Statistical Analysis: Belgium

Leading at the end of the race without winning

In Belgium, the driver leading at the end of the last lap didn't win the race.

These are the previous cases in Formula One's history.

Great Britain 1976

James Hunt took the chequered flag in first place, but was then disqualified because he used the spare car on a restarted race.

The protest against Hunt was lodged by Ferrari, Tyrrell and Fittipaldi. The appeal was initially rejected and Tyrrell and Fittipaldi ended all their legal actions, but Ferrari took the matter at the International Cour of Appeal and won. They also won the race, as the first driver behind Hunt was Niki Lauda.

This is the second episode that saw Hunt involved against Ferrari in 1976. In Spain his McLaren was found 1.8 cm too wide and James was disqualified. McLaren appealed and the decision was reversed. This upset Enzo Ferrari, who threatened to withdraw his cars from the world championship.

After these two episodes, a tense struggle ensued and the Ferraris didn't take part in the Austrian Grand Prix, even if the official reason was Niki Lauda's convalescence after the Nurburgring accident.

Things returned to relative normality after Hunt's disqualification for the use of the spare car in the British Grand Prix.

Italy 1978

It's the race in which Ronnie Peterson lost his life. Gilles Villeneuve and Mario Andretti were first and second at the flag, but they were penalised by one minute for jumping the start, and the win went to Lauda, who did not spend a single lap in the lead.

Canada 1980

In the final stages, Didier Pironi approached race leader Alan Jones, but was awarded a one-minute time penalty for having jumped the start. Jones subsequently let the penalised Frenchman past in order to take comfortably the points he needed to win the world championship.

Brazil 1982

After the race, Ferrari lodged an appeal against the first two drivers at the chequered flag, Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg, because their cars (a Brabham and a Williams) used a water circuit to cool the brakes.

The system practically discharged all the water during the first laps, the cars were then able to run underweight and the water was refilled after the end of the race to comply with the minimum weight limit.

Piquet and Rosberg were then disqualified from the event and the win went to Prost.

That year the sporting authority (FISA) and the teams' association (FOCA) were frequently involved in political battles over the rules. A couple of other episodes of the saga are the drivers' strike in South Africa related to superlicences and the boycott of the San Marino Grand Prix by the FOCA. teams, related to the aforementioned disqualification of Piquet and Rosberg in Brazil.

San Marino 1985

The Imola track in the years when Formula One cars had to run with a limited amount of fuel was one of the most demanding. The final laps of the 1985 edition were a real race to the last litre. The first one left with a dry tank was race leader Ayrton Senna, Stefan Johansson inherited the lead, but soon afterwards coasted, leaving Alain Prost in front.

The Frenchman finished the race in slow motion, completely without fuel. His McLaren was found to be two kilogrammes underweight, he was disqualified and then the win went to Elio de Angelis.

Japan 1989

It's the race of the infamous incident between Prost and Senna.

Senna had to win the race in order to keep his championship hopes alive and attacked Prost at the chicane on the 47th lap. The Frenchman closed the door and the two cars collided, ending their run on the escape road.

Prost climbed out of the car and went straight to the race director, while Senna asked the marshals to push his McLaren back on track. He was able to continue, rejoining the track after the escape road. He substituted his front wing and stormed to win in front of Alessandro Nannini, but the stewards disqualified the Brazilian for cutting the chicane.

Belgium 1994

Michael Schumacher dominated the race, leading from start to finish, pitstops included. But after the race, his wooden plank was found too thin - perhaps due to running over a kerb during the race - and the German was disqualified. The win went to Damon Hill.

That year Schumacher faced difficult times against the FIA, as he was also banned for two races after he didn't pull in the pits to serve a penalty at the British Grand Prix.

Also, Schumacher's team, Benetton, were several times at the centre of controversy: after a fire surrounded Jos Verstappen's car during a pit-stop in Germany, it was found that Benetton had modified the fuel rigs to obtain a faster flow. There were also insistent voices of an illegal launch control that could be activated by the drivers with a special combination of buttons before the start of the race.

While Benetton were found guilty for the fuel rig affair, the checks carried out to find an illegal launch control system were inconclusive, but FIA's technical delegate Charlie Whiting wrote on the matter: "I am not convinced (...) that car number 5 (...) was conformable to the Regulation at all times during the San Marino Grand Prix (...)".

Qualifying notes

• For the first time in their history, Toro Rosso record back-to-back races with both cars inside the top-10 in qualifying.

• Worst qualifying performance for Button in his seven races run in Spa with a 17th place. Up to now his worst showing was a 15th recorded in 2001.

• Worst showing for Trulli in Spa since 2001 when he was 16th.

• Mark Webber confirms his speed on the Belgian circuit. In all the five qualifying sessions he competed in, he always outscored his teammate. The other drivers that confirmed their advantage over their teammates in Spa are Alonso, who took his score to 4-1 (he lost only to Trulli in 2004) and Trulli, who now is 9-1 - he lost only to Alesi in 2001.

• Sebastien Bourdais recorded his best result in qualifying with a ninth place, improving from the tenth he scored in Valencia.

• Nick Heidfeld equalled his best result of the season, a fifth place he obtained also in Australia, Malaysia and Great Britain.

• The eighth spot recorded by Kubica is his worst result of the season excluded the British Grand Prix when he was 10th but suffered mechanical problems in the final qualifying session.

• Kazuki Nakajima equalled his worst qualifying performance, a 19th he recorded in his debut race in Brazil last year. This year in Malaysia he started 22nd and last after an engine penalty; he originally qualified 19th.

• Second straight race without entering Q2 for Honda, the fourth of the year after France, Great Britain and Europe

Race notes

• Felipe Massa is the 28th driver in Formula 1 history to boast at least ten wins, reaching James Hunt, Ronnie Peterson, Jody Scheckter and Gerhard Berger.

• 20th career podium for Lewis Hamilton, who reaches the 41st all-time spot alongside Nino Farina and John Watson.

• Nick Heidfeld reached at the third all-time spot Derek Warwick for races run without a win. Nick and Derek count 146 starts each and are behind Brundle (158) and de Cesaris (208). It's the first podium for the German in Spa.

• Kimi Raikkonen led for 37 laps in the Belgian Grand Prix and becomes the 15th driver to boast at least 1000 laps in the lead, stopping at 1022. At the top of the chart Michael Schumacher with 5108 laps in the lead.

Kimi passed also the 5000 kilometers in the lead (5116 after Spa). He didn't enjoy a lap in front of everyone since Magny Cours. The Finn saw his win evaporate a few laps to the end, missing his fourth straight win in Spa. He would have reached two greats of the past: Jim Clark (1962-1965) and Ayrton Senna (1988-1991).

• First retirement in Belgium for Barrichello since 2000.

• Sebastien Bourdais equalled his best result, a seventh he obtained also in his maiden race in Australia. These are the only two races in which the French scored points.

• Mark Webber is back in the points after a drought that lasted four races.

• Heikki Kovalainen put an end to a streak of five races in the points.

• A dark day for the Italian drivers. Trulli and Fisichella recorded their worst result in the Ardennes, respectively 16th and 17th, the last ones to take the chequered flag.