The Pre-GP Statistical Analysis: Belgium

The Fabulous Four

The leading drivers of the Championship - Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa - have won at least three races each this season, with Alonso winning the fourth in Monza.

To find the only season where at least four drivers were able to win at least three races, we must go back to 1977, when Mario Andretti won four and Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter and James Hunt won three races each.

Another Fabulous Four

Four teams are scoring points in every race since the start of the 2007 Championship: McLaren (although they were stripped of their constructors points in the Hungarian Grand Prix, pending appeal), Ferrari, Renault and BMW Sauber.

For the first three of these, the sequence extends beyond the current season, towards record heights: Ferrari have been scoring points since the 2006 San Marino Grand Prix (28 races, third sequence of all times), McLaren since the 2006 French Grand Prix (21 race, fifth sequence of all times), and Renault since the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix (18 races, 10th sequence of all times).

Quick notes on the last race (Monza)

Felipe Massa retired for the first time at the Italian Grand Prix since China in 2006 (where he collided with David Coulthard), and in fact the Brazilian had his first retirement due to a mechanical failure since the 2005 Turkish Grand Prix, where his engine expired.

Scuderia Toro Rosso achieved their first back-to-back double finish of their short history. Up to Turkey and Monza, the squad were never been able to bring home the two cars for two races in a row.

This season, Toro Rosso have the second worst finish record of the 2000s, with 15 retirements out of 26 starts (57.6%). The only team that managed to fare worse were Arrows, who retired in 2002 alone 14 times out of 22 starts (63.6%). Arrows folded in the same season after the German GP.

Fernando Alonso recorded his 17th pole position, equalling Jackie Stewart at the 13th place on the all-time pole records.

McLaren recorded in Monza their 13th podium finish in a row, equalling their best performance since they appeared on the F1 scene, back in 1966.

The only other time that McLaren recorded 13 straight podiums was in 1990, from the US Grand Prix to Portugal, with Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger at the wheel.

The all-time sequence, however, still belongs to Ferrari, who were on the podium for 53 straight races, from Malaysia 1999 to Japan 2002.

The shape of 2007

These are the main facts and figures that identify this season so far:

• 10 times out of 13 the driver in the lead at the end of the first lap was the eventual winner. Excluding Europe, run in changing weather conditions, only in France and Great Britain the driver that won wasn't in the lead after the start, and this driver is Kimi Raikkonen.

• 9 times out of 13 has the pole-sitter won the race.

• An initial trend has been reversed during the season: in the first seven races, the driver that stopped first in the pits (among Ferrari and McLaren, mechanical troubles excluded) won the race five times (that becomes five out of six, if we exclude Massa's erratic race in Malaysia). In the last five races, however, the driver to pit first has not won the race.

• You have at the front of the grid in order to win. In 2007 the win came out of a pole position spot nine times; from the second spot three times; and only once from the third spot. To find a win from a lower position of the grid we have to go back to Japan 2006, where Alonso won from the fifth spot.

• 12 times out of 13 have McLaren and Ferrari monopolised the front row of the grid. The only driver with a different car that was able to qualify on the front row is BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, with a second place in Hungary. This means only one non-Ferrari/McLaren front row spot out of 26;

• 13 times out of 13 have either McLaren or Ferrari won a Grand Prix, set pole position, and record the fastest lap. Moreover, both teams combined have been in the lead for 98.0% of the total distance of the races run so far. The last time that the world championship saw only two makes winning races is back in 2000, when Ferrari won ten races and McLaren seven.

• 5 out of 13 hat-tricks were recorded in 2007 (that is, one driver scoring pole position, win and fastest lap in the same Grand Prix.)

Up to this season, the hat-tricks were recorded 133 times out of 768 races, for a percentage of 17.3%. This year, however, the percentage is 38.4%. This value could have been even higher if Kimi Raikkonen didn't pull two fastest laps in Hungary and Turkey, when the race positions were already settled.

Memorable moments in the last ten Belgian GP

1995 - A Hard Fight

Michael Schumacher (Benetton), the championship leader, is only 16th on the grid after a troublesome qualifying session, but recovers quickly and after a handful of laps is already fifth.

Out in front, the two Williamses of Coulthard and Damon Hill are pulling away on their own. After Coulthard's gearbox failure and after Schumacher passes Berger (Ferrari), everything is set for a Hill-Schumacher showdown.

A sudden downpour makes the stage hot: Schumacher is in front with slick tyres and Hill comes from behind on wets. They bang wheels several times, but at the end Hill is able to pass the German, only to see his lead diminish quickly as the track dries up, and Schumacher goes past.

Another change in weather conditions, with heavy rain falling on the track, forces the deployment of the safety car and, with a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for Hill, the race comes to a virtual end with the win for Schumacher and Hill second.

1996 - It's All About Pitstops

The battle for the win is between Jacques Villeneuve (Williams) and Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), and the two are very close in the first part of the race, with Villeneuve in front.

A nasty accident involving Jos Verstappen brings out the safety car, and there is miscommunication between the Williams pitwall and Villeneuve, which means the Canadian does not pit at the right moment and Schumacher is able to go in front.

Towards the second stop, Villeneuve is able to close in and it seems he is able to pass, but he comes out of the pitlane just as Schumacher soars past him, with a sufficient advantage to win the race.

1997 - The Right Choice

A sudden downpour before the start of the race leaves the drivers wondering about which tyres to use, and Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) is the only one to go for intermediates instead of full wets, despite the flooded track.

But the sun is coming out, and after a rolling start behind the safety car, Schumacher quickly goes in front and pulls a huge advantage over anyone else. This helps him when the track dries up as he has a slow car - he will record only the 11th fastest lap! - but he is able to control the race and win.

1998 - Ambush in the Ardennes

Heavy rain at the start, as the pack is going down towards the Eau Rouge, sees Coulthard lose control of his McLaren, becoming the first pin of a crazy bowling game of F1 cars going one into the other in one of the biggest pile-ups in history.

The race is stopped, and at the restart pole-sitter and championship leader Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) spins going out of La Source and retires after getting hit by Johnny Herbert (Sauber). In these conditions, Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) is the absolute master and pulls a huge advantage over anyone else.

Halfway through the race, he is approaching Coulthard to lap him, but the Scot does not give way and the German is trapped behind him for a couple of laps. When Coulthard finally decides to give way, he does it at the wrong place and in the wrong fashion: going out of Pouhon, he lifts the throttle.

Covered by spray and following closely, Schumacher is caught by surprise and rams into the McLaren, ripping off his right front wheel. Coulthard will admit several years later that it was a mistake lifting the throttle that way. The race is won by Damon Hill, who records the first win for Jordan.

1999 - No Team Orders

Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) is duelling for the lead of the championship with Eddie Irvine (Ferrari), and with the McLarens clearly on a class of their own, a win from the Finn is expected even if Coulthard is in front. That is not the case, though, as Coulthard wins the race ahead of his teammate.

2000 - Super-Mika

A damp track at the start favours Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), who takes advantage of a spin from championship rival Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) and goes into the lead. As the track dries up, however, Hakkinen closes in on Schumacher.

The Finn tries to pass the German several times on the Kemmel straight going into Les Combes, and several times the Ferrari driver responds by chopping his McLaren rival off.

The right moment for Mika comes when the pair approaches BAR's Ricard Zonta, who is about to be lapped. Going into Les Combes, Zonta is in the middle of the track, while leader Schumacher goes for the outside. At the same time, however, Hakkinen goes for the inside, passing both the BAR and the Ferrari in a spectacular move, driving on to a win.

2001 - Devastation No. 1

After an interruption caused by a nasty accident involving Luciano Burti (Prost), the two Williamses of Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher are supposed to occupy the front row of the grid, but first Montoya stalls his engine and is sent to the back of the grid, and then Ralf is left up on his jacks at the second formation lap.

With his two main rivals at the back, Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) has an easy job in dominating the race.

2002 - Devastation No. 2

The Ferrari duo of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello approach the weekend with tension, as Barrichello complains about his treatment inside the team. Schumacher doesn't talk much, simply outqualifying his teammate by 0.6 seconds and then dominating the race from start to finish. In fact, before Michael starts to slow down after his last pitstop, he has half a minute advantage over Barrichello in second.

2004 - Michelin Fiasco

The race is characterised by several punctures of the rear-right tyre of the Michelin-shod drivers, causing three safety car periods. The race is won by Kimi Raikkonen, who controls Michael Schumacher - who is in turn concentrating on scoring points to secure his seventh title.

2005 - McLaren domination

The scenario is typical for the second part of 2005: the two McLarens are untouchable, with Fernando Alonso (Renault) behind them, holding on to his championship points advantage that was built at the beginning of the season.

He cruises to a third place, while Kimi Raikkonen wins. Second would have been Juan Pablo Montoya, but he is rammed by Antonio Pizzonia (Williams) when he is slowly lapping towards the end of the race.

Spa-Francorchamps Personal Scoreboard

• Fernando Alonso finished only one race out of three starts. He was second in 2005 and retired for mechanical failures both in 2001 and 2004.

• Giancarlo Fisichella recorded one podium in 1997 (2nd) and another one in 2001 (3rd), but retired 4 times out of 8 races.

• Kimi Raikkonen won at Spa both in 2004 and in 2005.

• Jenson Button recorded one podium finish (3rd) in 2005 at his 5th attempt.

• Rubens Barrichello recorded his first podium in Belgium in 2002 at his 10th attempt. The Brazilian retired 6 times in his first 8 races in Spa and then, from 2001 onwards, he was always able to score points. Barrichello also recorded his first career pole in Spa in 1994.

• Nick Heidfeld never scored points in Spa in the four races he ran there.

• Ralf Schumacher was last on the Spa podium in 2000 (3rd).

• Jarno Trulli had his best finish at Spa on his second start there, when he finished sixth in 1998. He recorded pole position in 2004, however. And the italian counts 4 retirements out of his last 5 appearances in Spa.

What to look for in Spa-Francorchamps

• Kimi Raikkonen set his 24th fastest lap in Turkey, equalling Niki Lauda as sixth on the all-time list. With one more fastest lap, the Finn can tie compatriot Mika Hakkinen for 5th.

• Honda are running the worst season in their history. Their best 2007 result was in Italy last weekend, with Jenson button finishing eighth.

If we exclude 1964 - when the Honda team ran three races with one car and racked up only 13th place in Germany with Ronnie Bucknum - Honda were always able to do better than an eighth place.

In 1965 there was one win (Richie Ginther, Mexico); in 1966 a fourth (Ginther, Mexico); in 1967 one win (Surtees, Monza); in 1968 a second place (Surtees, France); then the long break to 2006, where Button won in Hungary.

• Fernando Alonso could tie Mika Hakkinen as the 11th driver with most Formula One wins (20 Grands Prix).

More importantly, Alonso is scheduled to start his 100th GP. The below table shows the performances of the drivers that won at least two world championships at their 100th GP:

(*) Jackie Stewart's figures are related to 99 races only. Stewart qualified fifth for his 100th GP (the 1973 US GP), but his Tyrrell team withdrew from the event after teammate Francois Cevert was killed in qualifying.

Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari and Jim Clark are not included in the above table because they started less than a hundred Grands Prix each, despite winning at least two championships titles.

• Mark Webber will celebrate his 100th GP start at Spa.

How long since...

Last Williams win: 50 races ago.

The last win from Williams was at the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix (Juan Pablo Montoya). Williams are also 44 races since their last pole position (Europe 2005, Nick Heidfeld) 31 races since the last time they posted the fastest race lap (Bahrain 2006, Nico Rosberg).

Last mechanical failure for Renault: 16 races ago.

The last retirement for a mechanical trouble was Fernando Alonso's, when his engine failed at Monza last year.

Last mechanical failure for McLaren: 15 races ago.

Kimi Raikkonen was the last McLaren driver to retire due to mechanical failure - in his case a throttle problem in China 2006.

It's interesting to compare the last three seasons of McLaren: in 2005 there were six retirements for mechanical failures and two due to a driver's accident/off. In 2006, these values were respectively 5 and 8; and this year they are both zero.

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