2014 Belgium Grand Prix

There's nothing quite like the thrill of attending a motor race, and the F1 is no exception.

Regarded by many as the pinnacle of motorsport, tens of thousands of spectators descend to each circuit on the calendar to support their favourite team and drivers. Race 12 took place at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the longest circuit in the current F1 programme and marked the end of the three week F1 summer break, where the drivers and teams got a chance to relax away from the track. Already proving to be an exciting season following the biggest set of rule changes in 5 years, the Belgium Gran Prix promised yet more wheel to wheel action to get the fans excited.

With the season well and truly under way it is becoming clear that, in contrast to last year, the fight for the title will go on until the very last race - where incidentally double points are awarded to the winner. Favourites to clinch the title are either one of the two Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, with the team already dominating the constructor's championship having proved the overall pace of the Silver Arrow branded engine to be the most efficient and powerful of the 3 engine manufacturers this year.

 Going into the weekend Rosberg leads Hamilton by just 11 points in the championship despite the Brit having had 2 retirements in the season already. Both drivers were hoping for a good qualifying and a smooth start to the race. Other drivers to look out for include Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull Racing. Taken on as a rookie this is his first season in the one of the big teams and he has subsequently shown his skills by finishing ahead of 4 time world champion teammate Sebastien Vettel numerous times throughout the season and also winning the Canadian and Hungarian GPs, he will be hungry for another win. Then of course there are the two Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas who have proved beyond doubt that the team has really turned things around for the better this season. Bottas' first points finish scoring the team more points than in the entire 2013 season!

First and second practice sessions on the Friday gave the drivers a chance to get their eye in on the track conditions which were dry and warm. What was also immediately apparent is the sound of the cars which has been heavily criticised this season for being too quiet. It does sound very muted on the TV screen but in real life as the cars fly past at nearly 200 MPH the sound is very different. With the exhaust note producing a deep note which is amplified by the whoosh of the turbo spooling up and chattering on the downshifts, the cars offer a very unique sound that is anything but quiet.

On Saturday, a sudden hail storm during qualifying added some spice to the racing. With the Mercedes drivers fighting to get pole position during the critical 12 minute Q3 window, it was Rosberg who in the end managed to pip Hamilton to the first position on the grid. The gap between the two driver's times amounting to just over 0.1 of a second considering the weather conditions. This was shaping up to be a fantastic weekend! Other mentions during the qualifying include young McLaren star Kevin Magnussen qualifying in 7th ahead of teammate Jenson Button in 10th and both Williams drivers also among the top 10.

As the fans began to gather in the early hours of Sunday morning they were greeted by a rather cold and foggy race track. While the late summer sun would take a while to warm the track through, the spectators would get a chance to enjoy the GP3, GP2 and Porsche World Cup racing before the grand finale. By mid afternoon and in time for the parade lap of the F1 drivers the day was turning into a scorcher, further adding to the electric atmosphere.

And the race certainly didn't disappoint. With a slow start from Rosberg, Hamilton took the lead on the first lap only to be bumped into by his teammate and cause him a puncture on lap two, much to the annoyance of the British fans. Unfortunately the Brit later retired his car as the mishap had caused him to lose too much time and so he struggled to get anywhere near the top 10. Meanwhile Red Bull's Ricciardo managed to get ahead of Rosberg after a clever pit stop strategy and was setting a blistering pace in front, managing to extend his lead lap after lap, later going on to win his 3rd race of the season.

A grand effort also by the young Finnish driver Bottas who managed to make his way up the grid and overtake some very experienced guys like Alonso, Vettel and Raikkonen and went on to finish 3rd on the podium, completing another great result for the Williams team. And while on the topic of young rookie drivers, Kevin Magnussen enjoyed a fantastic 4 way battle with Alonso, Button and Vettel after managing to expertly fend off the much more experienced Ferrari driver for about 5 laps towards the end of the race.

Overall, the outcome was a slight disappointment to the Hamilton fans. However once they looked past that the race offered exactly what they paid for: unpredictability. What was also pleasing to see is the less experienced drivers from all teams holding their ground and keeping their cool in the heat of the battle and in some cases finishing ahead of much more expert drivers. Spa GP had it all and was certainly a continuation of a fantastic season. With 7 races left and still no clear champion leader, the outcome in Abu Dhabi is anyone's guess. Once thing is for certain though, each driver will be fighting hard until the chequered flag drops on the 23rd of November.