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The 2005 Belgian Grand Prix, otherwise known as the 2005 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, was the sixteenth round of the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa, Belgium, on 11 September 2005.[1] The race would see Kimi Räikkönen claim victory to keep his title hopes alive, although Fernando Alonso finished second to leave Spa just six points away from the crown.[1]

Qualifying had seen Räikkönen get beaten to pole position by McLaren-Mercedes teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, losing out by half a tenth.[1] Giancarlo Fisichella and Jarno Trulli made it an all Italian second row, only for the #6 Renault to get a grid penalty, with Alonso inheriting fourth ahead Ralf Schumacher.[1] The Spaniard could win the Championship if he out-scored Räikkönen by four points in Spa.[1]

It would rain on race morning, although by the time the field began to line-up on the grid a large part of the circuit was drying.[1] Almost everyone would opt to start on intermediate or slick tyres, although the two Minardi-Cosworth opted to start from the pitlane having changed their setups to compensate for the conditions.[1]

The start itself would be incredibly clean given the conditions, with Montoya easing into an early lead, while Räikkönen had to fend off the attentions of Trulli.[1] Further down, Takuma Sato streak up the field to claim seventh behind Michael Schumacher, with a lot of twitching on the brakes behind.[1]

The rest of the opening lap passed without issue, with Montoya and Räikkönen checking out at the front of the field.[1] Trulli, meanwhile, would fend off the attentions of Alonso, while a mistake from Ralf Schumacher at the Bus-stop dumped him back to eighth and allowed Jenson Button to attack teammate Sato.[1]

Fisichella proved to be the man to watch during the early stages of the race, charging up the order to eighth with a series of clean moves.[1] However, having passed Button the Italian racer would put too much faith in the kerbs at Eau Rouge, and duly went skating into the barriers at Radillion at high speed.[1]

The Italian racer emerged from his wrecked Renault without injury, with the Safety Car appearing to allow the debris to be removed.[1] At that point several drivers would dive into the pits, with Räikkönen backing up the field to avoid getting stuck behind teammate Montoya, for McLaren called in both their drivers at the same time.[1]

Only Jacques Villeneuve would remain out, and would restart the race in second behind Montoya and ahead of Ralf Schumacher, who had stopped a lap before the SC.[1] Montoya duly checked out at the head of the field as Räikkönen and Alonso tried to move back past the Toyota and the Sauber-Petronas.[1] At the back, meanwhile, Sato would mess up his braking point into La Source, and duly removed Michael Schumacher from the race.[1]

Villeneuve would soon slip back down the order, although neither Ralf Schumacher, Räikkönen nor Alonso could challenge Montoya.[1] Indeed, the second round of stops would only result in Ralf Schumacher slipping out of the lead group, with the leaders all sticking with intermediates.[1]

Into the closing stages and Rubens Barrichello, Mark Webber and Antônio Pizzonia all switched to drys, and immediately began lapping quickly.[1] As a result, Webber led Barrichello on towards the leaders, with Button in fourth challenging Alonso for third, albeit with time running out.[1]

However, there would be one late twist as Montoya's McLaren was suddenly spotted buried in the tyre wall at Fagnes.[1] The cause was a clash between the Colombian ace and a lapped but faster Pizzonia, resulting in both cars receiving terminal damage.[1]

With that the race was run, with Räikkönen easing through the final laps to claim victory to keep his slim title hopes alive.[1] Alonso, meanwhile, secured second to all but secure the crown, with Button completing the podium well clear of Webber.[1] Barrichello, Villeneuve, Ralf Schumacher and Tiago Monteiro claimed the remaining points.[1]

Background[]

With four races to go the World Championship battle seemed to be over, for Fernando Alonso had managed to extend his lead to 27 points over Kimi Räikkönen. That meant that the Spanish ace could secure the title in Belgium if he out-scored the Finn by four points in Spa. Räikkönen, meanwhile, would have to beat Alonso in each of the four remaining races just to stand a hope of taking the crown, with those two the only drivers mathematically in the fight.

In the Constructors Championship it had been a fairly even day for the main protagonists, with McLaren-Mercedes only able to nudge a point closer to Renault's 144 point tally. Indeed, the Anglo-German squad were sat eight off the French manufacturer with four rounds to go, and were the only constructor feasibly capable of overhauling the French squad in 2005. Indeed, Ferrari were still mathematically in the hunt, but with a huge 58 point deficit to the leaders.

Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 2005 Belgian Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2005 Ferrari 055 3.0 V10 B
2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2005 Ferrari 055 3.0 V10 B
3 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom Lucky Strike BAR Honda BAR 007 Honda RA005E 3.0 V10 M
4 Japan Takuma Sato United Kingdom Lucky Strike BAR Honda BAR 007 Honda RA005E 3.0 V10 M
5 Spain Fernando Alonso France Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R25 Renault RS25 3.0 V10 M
6 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R25 Renault RS25 3.0 V10 M
7 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom BMW Williams F1 Team Williams FW27 BMW P84-5 3.0 V10 M
8 Brazil Antônio Pizzonia United Kingdom BMW Williams F1 Team Williams FW27 BMW P84-5 3.0 V10 M
9 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom Team McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-20 Mercedes FO 110R 3.0 V10 M
10 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom Team McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-20 Mercedes FO 110R 3.0 V10 M
11 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Switzerland Sauber Petronas Sauber C24 Petronas 05A 3.0 V10 M
12 Brazil Felipe Massa Switzerland Sauber Petronas Sauber C24 Petronas 05A 3.0 V10 M
14 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB1 Cosworth TJ2005 3.0 V10 M
15 Austria Christian Klien United Kingdom Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB1 Cosworth TJ2005 3.0 V10 M
16 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF105 Toyota RVX-05 3.0 V10 M
17 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF105 Toyota RVX-05 3.0 V10 M
18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Ireland Jordan Grand Prix Jordan EJ15B Toyota RVX-05 3.0 V10 B
19 India Narain Karthikeyan Ireland Jordan Grand Prix Jordan EJ15B Toyota RVX-05 3.0 V10 B
20 Monaco Robert Doornbos Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi PS05 Cosworth TJ2005 3.0 V10 B
21 Netherlands Christijan Albers Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi PS05 Cosworth TJ2005 3.0 V10 B
Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only
35 Austria Alexander Wurz United Kingdom Team McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-20 Mercedes FO 110R 3.0 V10 M
37 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi United Kingdom Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB1 Cosworth TJ2005 3.0 V10 M
38 Brazil Ricardo Zonta Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF105 Toyota RVX-05 3.0 V10 M
39 Denmark Nicolas Kiesa Ireland Jordan Grand Prix Jordan EJ15 Toyota RVX-05 3.0 V10 B
40 Italy Enrico Toccacelo Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi PS05 Cosworth TJ2005 3.0 V10 B
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Q1 Report[]

Q2 Report[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 2005 Belgian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap Ave. Speed
1 10 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:46.391 236.050 km/h
2 9 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:46.440 +0.049s 235.941 km/h
3* 6 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 1:46.497 +0.106s 235.815 km/h
4 16 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 1:46.596 +0.205s 235.596 km/h
5 5 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 1:46.760 +0.369s 235.234 km/h
6 17 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 1:47.401 +1.010s 233.830 km/h
7 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 1:47.476 +1.085s 233.667 km/h
8 12 Brazil Felipe Massa Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:47.867 +1.476s 232.820 km/h
9 3 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom BAR-Honda 1:47.978 +1.587s 232.581 km/h
10 7 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Williams-BMW 1:48.071 +1.680s 232.381 km/h
11 4 Japan Takuma Sato United Kingdom BAR-Honda 1:48.353 +1.962s 231.776 km/h
12 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Red Bull-Cosworth 1:48.508 +2.117s 231.445 km/h
13 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Italy Ferrari 1:48.550 +2.159s 231.355 km/h
14 11 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:48.889 +2.498s 230.635 km/h
15 8 Brazil Antônio Pizzonia United Kingdom Williams-BMW 1:48.898 +2.507s 230.616 km/h
16 15 Austria Christian Klien United Kingdom Red Bull-Cosworth 1:48.994 +2.603s 230.413 km/h
17 Monaco Robert Doornbos Italy Minardi-Cosworth 1:49.779 +3.388s 228.765 km/h
18 21 Netherlands Christijan Albers Italy Minardi-Cosworth 1:49.842 +3.451s 228.634 km/h
19 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Ireland Jordan-Toyota 1:51.498 +5.107s 225.238 km/h
20 19 India Narain Karthikeyan Ireland Jordan-Toyota 1:51.675 +5.284s 224.881 km/h
Source:[3][4]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
  • * Fisichella awarded a ten place grid penalty for changing his engine.[4]

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Juan Pablo Montoya
Kimi Räikkönen ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Jarno Trulli
Fernando Alonso ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Ralf Schumacher
Michael Schumacher ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Felipe Massa
Jenson Button ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Mark Webber
Takuma Sato ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 David Coulthard
Rubens Barrichello ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Giancarlo Fisichella
Jacques Villeneuve ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Antônio Pizzonia
Christian Klien ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Robert Doornbos*
Christijan Albers* ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Tiago Monteiro
Narain Karthikeyan ______________
  • * Doornbos and Albers started the race from the pitlane.[4]

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 2005 Belgian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 9 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 44 1:30:01.295 2 10
2 5 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 44 +28.394s 4 8
3 3 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom BAR-Honda 44 +32.077s 8 6
4 7 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Williams-BMW 44 +1:09.167 9 5
5 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Italy Ferrari 44 +1:18.136 12 4
6 11 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 44 +1:27.435 14 3
7 17 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 44 +1:27.574 5 2
8 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Ireland Jordan-Toyota 43 +1 Lap 19 1
9 15 Austria Christian Klien United Kingdom Red Bull-Cosworth 43 +1 Lap 16
10 12 Brazil Felipe Massa Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 43 +1 Lap 7
11 19 India Narain Karthikeyan Ireland Jordan-Toyota 43 +1 Lap 20
12 21 Netherlands Christijan Albers Italy Minardi-Cosworth 42 +2 Laps PL
13 20 Monaco Robert Doornbos Italy Minardi-Cosworth 41 +3 Laps PL
14* 10 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 40 Collision 1
15* 8 Brazil Antônio Pizzonia United Kingdom Williams-BMW 39 Collision 15
Ret 16 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 34 Accident 3
Ret 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Red Bull-Cosworth 18 Engine 11
Ret 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 13 Collision 6
Ret 4 Japan Takuma Sato United Kingdom BAR-Honda 13 Collision 10
Ret 6 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 10 Accident 13
Source:[5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Montoya and Pizzonia were both classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance.[5]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Victory for Kimi Räikkönen ensured that the title fight would go on for at least one more race, although the Finn was facing a very one-sided battle. Indeed, second place in Spa for Fernando Alonso ensured that the Spaniard had to score just six points across the final three rounds to claim the crown, leaving Belgium with 25 points in hand. Behind, Michael Schumacher was set to fight with Juan Pablo Montoya to finish third, while Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella were to battle for fifth.

In the Constructors Championship McLaren-Mercedes had once again inched closer to leaders Renault, leaving Belgium with a six point deficit. Those two would hence battle it out over the final three races, with a huge 56 point gap back to Ferrari in third, now mathematically out of the fight. Toyota were the Scuderia's biggest threat, ten behind the Italian manufacturer, with Williams-BMW set to round out the top five.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Spain Fernando Alonso 111
2 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 86
3 Germany Michael Schumacher 55
4 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya 50
5 Italy Jarno Trulli 43
6 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 41
7 Germany Ralf Schumacher 37
8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 35
9 United Kingdom Jenson Button 30 ▲1
10 Australia Mark Webber 29 ▲1
11 Germany Nick Heidfeld 28 ▼2
12 United Kingdom David Coulthard 21
13 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 9 ▲3
14 Brazil Felipe Massa 8 ▼1
15 Portugal Tiago Monteiro 7 ▼1
16 Austria Alexander Wurz 6 ▼1
17 India Narain Karthikeyan 5
18 Austria Christian Klien 5
19 Netherlands Christijan Albers 4
20 Spain Pedro de la Rosa 4
21 Austria Patrick Friesacher 3
22 Brazil Antônio Pizzonia 2
23 Japan Takuma Sato 1
24 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi 1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 France Renault 152
2 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 146
3 Italy Ferrari 90
4 Japan Toyota 80
5 United Kingdom Williams-BMW 59
6 United Kingdom BAR-Honda 31 ▲1
7 United Kingdom Red Bull-Cosworth 27 ▼1
8 Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 17
9 Ireland Jordan-Toyota 12
10 Italy Minardi-Cosworth 7

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 'Belgium 2005: Raikkonen wins, Alonso consolidates.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 11/09/2005), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/53684/1/belgium-2005-raikkonen-wins-alonso-consolidates, (Accessed 26/01/2020)
  2. 'Belgium 2005: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2005/belgique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 27/01/2020)
  3. '2005 FORMULA 1™ Belgian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2005/races/786/belgium/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 27/01/2020)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 'Belgium 2005: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2005/belgique/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 27/01/2020)
  5. 5.0 5.1 'Belgium 2005: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2005/belgique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 27/01/2020)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Archived, '2005 Belgian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190410002522/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2005&gp=Belgian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 27/01/2020) - Original
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 '16. Belgium 2005', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2005/belgique.aspx, (Accessed 27/01/2020)
V T E 2005 Formula One Season
Teams Ferrari • BAR • Renault • Williams • McLaren • Sauber • Red Bull • Toyota • Jordan • Minardi
Engines BMW • Cosworth • Ferrari • Honda • Mercedes • Petronas • Renault • Toyota
Drivers M. Schumacher • 2 Barrichello • 3 Button • 4 Sato • 4 Davidson • 5 Alonso • 6 Fisichella • 7 Webber • 8 Heidfeld • 8 Pizzonia • 9 Räikkönen • 10 Montoya • 10 De la Rosa • 10 Wurz • 11 Villeneuve • 12 Massa • 14 Coulthard • 15 Klien • 15 Liuzzi • 16 Trulli • 17 R. Schumacher • 17 Zonta • 18 Monteiro • 19 Karthikeyan • 20 Friesacher • 20 Doornbos • 21 Albers
Other Drivers Badoer • Bernoldi • Gené • Kiesa • Kovalainen • Montagny • Panis • Rosberg • Speed • Yamamoto
Cars Ferrari F2004M • Ferrari F2005 • BAR 007 • Renault R25 • Williams FW27 • McLaren MP4-20 • Sauber C24 • Red Bull RB1 • Toyota TF105 • Toyota TF105B • Jordan EJ15 • Jordan EJ15B • Minardi PS04B • Minardi PS05
Tyres Bridgestone • Michelin
Races Australia • Malaysia • Bahrain • San Marino • Spain • Monaco • Europe • Canada • United States • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Turkey • Italy • Belgium • Brazil • Japan • China
See also 2004 Formula One Season • 2006 Formula One Season • Category
V T E Belgium Belgian Grand Prix
Circuits Spa-Francorchamps (1950 - 1970, 1983, 1985 - Present), Nivelles (1972, 1974), Zolder (1973, 1975 - 1982, 1984)
Track map of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium
Races 19501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Pre-1950 races 1925193019311933193419351937193919471949
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