Date September 11, 2005 | Course length 6.976 km (4.334 mi) | |
 | ||
Official name LXII Belgian Grand Prix Location Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Course Permanent racing facility Distance 44 laps, 306.944 km (190.735 mi) | ||
The 2005 Belgian Grand Prix (formally the LXII Belgian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 11 September 2005 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa, Belgium. It was the sixteenth round of the 2005 Formula One season and the sixty-second Belgian Grand Prix. The 44-lap race was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the McLaren team, from a second position start. Fernando Alonso finished second in a Renault, with Jenson Button third for the BAR team.
Contents
Background
Before the race, Renault were leading the Constructors' Championship with 144 points and McLaren were second with 136 points, with Ferrari third on 58 points. In the World Drivers' Championship, Renault driver Fernando Alonso was leading with 103 points; Kimi Räikkönen was second on 76 points, 27 points behind Alonso. Behind Alonso and Räikkönen in the Drivers' Championship, Michael Schumacher was third on 55 points in a Ferrari, with Juan Pablo Montoya and Jarno Trulli on 50 and 43 points respectively.
Practice and qualifying
Four practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—two on Friday from 11:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 15:00 local time, with the final two sessons held on Saturday morning between 09:00 to 09:45 and 10:15 to 11:00.
Saturday's afternoon qualifying session took place as a one-lap session held between 13:00 and 14:00. Drivers went out one at a time in the reverse order of their finishing positions at the previous race. The cars ran on the fuel that would be used for the Sunday race.
Giancarlo Fisichella started the race from 13th place– the result of a ten-place grid penalty given for an engine change between final practice and qualifying on the Saturday.
Race
The race took place in the afternoon from 14:00 local time. On lap 14, Takuma Sato hit Michael Schumacher's car from behind, causing both to retire. Antônio Pizzonia crashed into Juan Pablo Montoya– in second position at the time– shortly before the finish of the race. Jacques Villeneuve was able to secure a high position thanks to a one-stop pit strategy while other drivers stopped as many as five times. This race saw the final points scored by Tiago Monteiro and the Jordan team. It was also the final time that a BAR car finished on the podium. Also, Ralf Schumacher scored his last, and Toyota's first, fastest lap.
Post-race
The race stewards ruled that Sato had caused the collision with Schumacher, and he would consequently drop ten places on the grid for the next Grand Prix. They also fined Pizzonia $8,000 for his collision with Montoya.