Raikkonen Rules at Spa

Kimi Raikkonen cruised to an easy victory at Spa on Sunday, keeping his title hopes alive as the 2007 season winds to a close. The race was unfortunately dry; rain at Spa makes for some memorable races. Schumacher cemented his rep here with some stirring drives in the rain.

Raokkonen easily led home his teammate, Felip Massa, who seems to have hit a rough patch lately. They were followed home by the McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Lewid Hamilton. Mclaren was clearly off the pace, and it could easily be said that the recent SpyGate media frenzy has taken their eyes off the ball. $100MM will do that to you...

Finishing out the points were Nick Heidfeld's BMW, the ever-impressive Nico Rosberg in the Williams -Toyota, followed by Mark Webber's Red Bull and Heikki Kovalainen's Renault.

Of all the rest, the most impressive drive had to be Vitantonio Liuzzi's surprise 12th in the Toro Rosso, ahead of the factory Hondas, Spykers, and Super Aguris. He drove a great race, and it's a shame he's being dropped just as he hits his stride.

This was another boring race, except for the first corner, always a treat at Spa. The field runs down to a hairpin turn, then makes the downhill run to Eau Rouge. It's always packed at the first corner, and this race was no exception. Hamilton tried an end-run around Alonso, who was having none of it. He pushed Lewis to the outside; Hamilton rejoined side-by-side as they ran down to Eau Rouge. Alonso had the inside, and Hamilton wisely backed off. Lewis later complained about Alonso's tactics, but they appeared to me to be perfectly acceptable, if a bit rough. This is not karting, the World Championship is at stake. No one should ever doubt Alonso's determination to win at all costs. Hamilton would be best advised to keep his head down, his eyes open, and his mouth shut. He's showing rookie nerves, and whinging about your teammate is never good form.