F1: Hamilton Wins Belgian Grand Prix to Lead World Championship

Lewis Hamilton started the race on P2 with Red-Bull's Mark Webber on pole position. But he drove beautifully to win in the end, though there were anxious moments when the rain came down. In the end Hamilton won by 1½ second, to take the lead in the driver's championship. This was possible as three title contenders, Alonso, Vettel and Button all failed to score a single point from this race. Mark Webber came in second with Renault's Robert Kubica taking the last podium place. The 2010 F1 season got off to a flier after the summer break.

Race Classification

1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) 25 pts
2. Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) 18 pts
3. Robert Kubica (Renault) 15 pts
4. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 12 pts
5. Adrian Sutil (Force India-Mercedes) 10 pts
6. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP) 8 pts
7. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP) 6 pts
8. Kamui Kobayashi (BMW Sauber-Ferrari) 4 pts
9. Vitaly Petrov (Renault) 2 pts
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India-Mercedes) 1 pt

Driver Standings

Position	Driver	Team	Points
1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	182
2	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	179
3	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	151
4	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	147
5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	141
6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	109
7	Robert Kubica	Renault	104
8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes Benz GP Ltd	102
9	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	45
10	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes Benz GP Ltd	44
11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	30
12	Kamui Kobayashi	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	21
13	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	19
14	Vitantonio Luizzi	Force India-Mercedes	13
15	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	10
16	Sabastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	7
17	Pedro de la Rosa	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	6
18	Jaime Alguersuari	STR-Ferrari	3

Constructor Standings

Position	Team	Points
1	Red Bull-Renault	330
2	McLaren-Mercedes	329
3	Ferrari	250
4	Mercedes Benz GP Ltd	146
5	Renault	123
6	Force India-Mercedes	58
7	Williams-Cosworth	40
8	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	27
9	STR-Ferrari	10
10	Lotus-Cosworth	0
11	HRT-Cosworth	0
12	Virgin-Cosworth	0

This race was incidentally Massa's 300th one. Red Bull and McLaren are having a neck to neck fight for the constructor's championship, with the other good teams of Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault not quite up there as far as the pace is concerned. With 6 races left in this F1 calendar year, 5 drivers still have a realistic shot at the title. So we'll see you in a couple of weeks' time for the Italian Grand Prix, and see how things unfold further.