Raikkonen Takes the Checkered Flag at the Belgian Grand Prix

The Belgian Grand Prix ended in thrilling fashion this weekend as Kimi Raikkonen barely held on and took the checkered flag by a margin of just 0.9 seconds. The result was not a real surprise for F1 fans seeing as this was the 4^th time Raikkonen won the event over the past 5 years. The World Champion from 2007 was able to battle to the front of the pack after starting in the 6^th position and passed Giancarlo Fisichella, who was the pole sitter, after a few accidents in the opening lap.

Sebastian Vettel remained in contention for the title this year with a 3^rd place finish after two straight engine failures. Points leader Jenson Button was unable to finish the race for the first time this season and Rubens Barrichello inched closer to the lead and moved within 16 points even though he could only pull out a 7^th place finish. It wasn’t an easy race for Barrichello as he finished the race with his car leaking oil and smoking oil for the final two laps. The car actually caught fire right as he finished the race and entered the pit lane.

This year has been one of the craziest and most exciting in recent memories as Button still leads with 72 points, Barrichello follows with 56 and Vettel is in a close third with 53 points.

This was the first victory for Raikkonen since the Spanish GP last year and this win has made him the 6^th different winner in the last 6 F1 races. Many people feel that the rule changes that came into place this year have made the season even more unpredictable than usual, but exciting to say the least. Keep tuned and be sure to see how this exiting F1 season concludes.