F1: Lewis Hamilton Regains the Drivers Championship Lead

As the saying goes, “one man’s loss, is another man’s gain.” This is no further from the truth in the high-stakes sports of Formula One racing where one single event could determine the outcome of a race.

This was shown at Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix where McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton benefited from a troublesome start of rival Mark Webber of Red Bull who was on pole position at Spa.

GrandPrix.com quotes the Australian about the terrible start:

The car bogged down badly on the formation lap .I made a small adjustment to the clutch but then I had the problem even worse at the start proper. I was surprised and I was on the back foot through Eau Rouge. I lost a place to Adrian Sutil but got it back and then passed Felipe again, so it wasn’t too disastrous.

This gave Lewis Hamilton the perfect opportunity to grab the lead at the opening lap and never looked back. The 44-lap race held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit was marked by inclement weather, the rain making for a difficult and exciting race. It is the 13th in a 19-race season which has seen a lively fight for the Drivers’ Championship between Mark Webber of Red Bull-Renault, 2008 Champion Lewis Hamilton and defending title holder Jenson Button both from McLaren-Mercedes.

At the moment the standings are: Hamilton, 182; Webber, 179; Vettel, 151, Button, 147 and Alonso 141. In the constructors championship: Red Bull still leads McLaren by just a single point – 330 to 329.

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