F1: Raikkonen Staying, Alonso To Lotus ?

Gerard Lopez has admitted Renault is involved in Lotus' push to keep Kimi Raikkonen at the team in 2014. It has been rumoured the Finn is pushing hard for a closer collaboration between Enstone based Lotus and Renault, who are reportedly looking for more exposure given world champion team Red Bull's ever-closer ties to Infiniti. Team owner Lopez on Sunday said Lotus has made "progress" regarding the talks with Raikkonen. "We understand what Kimi is waiting for," he is quoted by Russia's f1news.ru. Asked if he is talking about his unpaid salary, Lopez answered: "No, I mean the technical side. "He is interested in what our relationship will be with Renault next year, things like that. The chances that he will stay are very high. I really believe in it. "The financial side is not a problem. What we are discussing is options that will allow us to establish a closer collaboration with Renault. Nothing more, nothing less." Asked, however, if any deal between Lotus and Renault for 2014 exists already, Lopez admitted: "Not yet. "This is all part of the negotiation process. I think it will happen soon enough." Meanwhile, the latest wild rumour as the F1 paddock packed up at Spa late on Sunday was that Fernando Alonso could be poised to move his backing by the Spanish bank Santander from Ferrari to Lotus in 2014. Niki Lauda, however, urged the Spaniard to focus on the task at hand. "All his whining and complaining about the Ferrari just discourages the whole team," the triple world champion said on German television RTL on Sunday.

Formula 1 - Hamilton still believes in title tilt

Vettel extended his championship lead with a surprisingly dominant victory at Spa, as Hamilton's Mercedes team was left struggling to explain its loss of pace. Hamilton is under no illusions about how strong Vettel and his Red Bull are right now - but reckons that, with Mercedes having beaten its rival several times already this campaign, he can do it again. He now trails Vettel by 58 points with eight races left. When asked by AUTOSPORT if he felt it was now Vettel's title unless he hit trouble, Hamilton said: "It is going to be very, very tough undoubtedly. "He has had a phenomenal car for such a long time, and it is still phenomenally quick. He does the job, so it is the perfect package. "We have had some really strong races and been there or thereabouts competing, and finished ahead of him in the past. "So that doesn't mean we can't do that going forwards, although it is getting closer and closer to the point where we need to finish ahead of him each and every time." Hamilton's lack of pace in the Belgian GP was not down to the tyre issues that Mercedes had suffered from earlier in the campaign, but simply because the team's low downforce package had not worked. "We are trying to understand where we missed out," he said. "The guys will work out where we were slower, but Eau Rouge was particularly slow for us – as it was down the straight. "Maybe we will be able to unlock something before the next race, but if not I am hoping Singapore will be much stronger." Hamilton reiterated that he expected another tough time at the Italian GP, but was predicting stronger things at the end of season flyways. "They [from Singapore] are more windy circuits, more high downforce," he said. "Coming to these two circuits [Spa and Monza], you have the downforce package and you are kind of stuck with it. It either has or hasn't worked. "We may improve in the next race or be in the same position, but we won't be any worse. "After that we will have the high downforce package we had in previous races or improved again. Hopefully it will be improved again."

Belgian Grand Prix: Alonso: We can still win the title

Fernando Alonso says he feels Ferrari can still challenge for the 2014 title despite losing ground to Sebastian Vettel in Belgium Fernando Alonso insists that he can still challenge for the F1 title, despite losing ground to Sebastian Vettel again in Belgium. While the Ferrari man took second place at Spa, victory for Vettel allowed the German to extend his lead in the title race to 46 points. Issues for Kimi Raikkonen mean Alonso is now Vettel's closest rival in the race for the 2013 crown and the Spaniard said he wasn't giving up hope of beating him to the crown with the way in which last season panned out being an indication that anything that could still happen. However, the double champion also admitted that Ferrari still had to improve to keep pace with its rivals. “I'm happy with the feeling that I had this weekend,” he said. “I'm happy with the parts that we brought here, seems that they are working fine. We need to take things very carefully because, as you say, this is a very specific circuit and we are not first and second in any practice or any qualifying or any race. We are ninth and tenth in quali and now we are second and seventh in the race. At the moment it is still work to do. “We cannot forget that in the first five races we were a very competitive team. We won two of the five races and we were in a position to fight for the podium all the time. At that point, we were a very few points behind the leader. Then there were some races in the championship where we went backwards in terms of a step in the car and we lost direction a little bit. We understood the problem, we analysed everything and all the things that we are now bringing to the races are delivering what we expected, finally, so this gives us the possibility to get our good form back. “We still have to recover some of the gap, to fight for pole positions but the championship is very long, and as I said before, the example is what happened to us last year. If you have a competitive car and you win four or five consecutive races like Sebastian did last year, you recover very quickly. I was leading with 41 points ahead of Sebastian after the Monza race [last year] and I arrived in Texas 15 points behind, so things can change very quickly. Our hopes are to keep developing, to keep improving performance and try to repeat what happened last year the other way around.”

Boullier: Kimi loves Lotus

Eric Boullier is confident Lotus will retain Kimi Raikkonen for next season as the Finn "loves" the team. Although Raikkonen has been linked to a move away to Red Bull Racing, his manager Steve Robertson says that is definitely out as negotiations were "not successful and ended some time ago." However, Red Bull aren't the only team reportedly interested in the 2007 World Champion as there is some speculation that Ferrari are also chasing his signature. Boullier, though, believes that when all is said and done, Raikkonen will once again be racing for Lotus. "Yes I am," Boullier told Sky Sports when asked if he was confident of retaining Raikkonen for 2014. "He loves the team, he likes to be here, he likes the environment we have created for him. "Kimi is clearly an exceptional racer - his race pace is amazing and he can deliver from whatever position he is on the grid and work his way forward. "So this is mainly due to him, but also the strong ability of the car."

2013 Belgium GP: Ferrari Formula One F1 Race Recap

Fernando Alonso: "Today’s result shows that the outcome of qualifying bears little relation to the result on Sunday, although I think that even if I’d started from pole I would still have finished second, because Vettel was quicker. At the start we immediately made up some places and all in a rush, first passing Button, then Rosberg and Hamilton, so I found myself six seconds behind Vettel, but if one looks at the final gap of 16 seconds, we can but congratulate him and his team. The car worked well in all conditions, with a full fuel load at first and then with a lighter one at the end and, on top of that, the extra speed we had on the straight meant I could overtake without taking too many laps to do so. We know we have made a step forward and that we have recovered some of the competitiveness we had lost in recent races. In Monza and Singapore we will see the next steps in this process. The updates used in this race worked well and, even if they were aimed at this particular circuit, they are the results of work that goes on twenty four hours a day, at home and at the track. That makes us optimistic for the coming races, because our goal still remains the same, namely to fight for the title right to the end". Felipe Massa: "That was a difficult race for me right from the early stages, because after managing a good passing move at the start, I then had to slow and drop back four or five places, to avoid a collision with Grosjean at the exit of the first corner. From then on, things got complicated because for a few laps I had a problem on the steering wheel linked to the KERS operation and I wasn’t able to communicate well with the team. When everything was back to normal again, it wasn’t easy to catch up, because even if the decision to bring forward the first pit stop allowed me to get past several cars, the pace wasn’t good. In the final stint on the Hard tyres, the car was very competitive and I managed to gain some important places, with a nice passing move on Grosjean. I definitely can’t be pleased with seventh place, because today, our car deserved better, but the fact we’re more competitive than at the last few races makes me think we are working in the right direction and so we can hope to make progress throughout the second half of the season".

Greenpeace protest Shell at Belgian GP

A group scaled the main grandstand before the start, with some hanging off the roof on ropes to unfurl a 20 metre banner declaring "Arctic Oil? Shell no!" as teams readied their cars on the grid. Images of the protest, opposite the main VIP Paddock Club, were not shown on the live television feed which is provided by Formula One Management and watched by an audience of many millions around the world. Photographs were widely shared on social media, however, with two paragliders also seen flying over the circuit trailing banners. Greenpeace said in a statement to Formula One media that 35 activists had accessed different parts of the track with two arrested by police after climbing a large Shell billboard at the Raidillon corner. One of them had climbed the London Shard, Europe's tallest building, in a similar protest last month. The race, dominated by Red Bull's world champion Sebastian Vettel, started on time but there was more disruption afterwards when the top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies. Two remote-controlled banners, which Greenpeace said had been secretly installed several weeks ago in the floor of the podium, were unfurled before Vettel was handed his trophy. The environmental campaigners said two climbers also attempted to abseil down from a small roof above the podium, with one stopped by security while the other unveiled a banner to boos from the crowd. "We are a bit confused here because the crowd are booing and cheering and I'm not sure why," Vettel said in a podium interview. Shell cancelled its 2013 Arctic offshore drill season after numerous troubles there last year but plans to send ships to study sites around oil prospects in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, according to permit applications. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic may hold 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its gas. "This Grand Prix is Shell's biggest day of the year. They've spent millions of euros plastering their logo everywhere and entertaining scores of VIP guests, but the one thing they don't want to talk about is their plan for Arctic oil drilling," said activist Tony Martin in the Greenpeace statement. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant is also a long-standing partner of the Ferrari team.

Lewis Hamilton says after race

Lewis Hamilton I got everything that I could out of the car today but we just weren't as quick as Sebastian and Fernando. I made a nice start and it felt like the exit out of turn one was good, too. But Seb just caught me on the run out of Eau Rouge and there wasn't really much I could do to defend: I moved once, like we are allowed to, but then I just had to watch him glide by. From that point, it was very difficult to hold on to him, and the same thing happened with Fernando, too, later in the race. We have done a good job this weekend but Spa and Monza are always unique tracks because of the low-drag requirements and I expect we will be more competitive in Singapore again. It's still a great team result to finish third with Nico right behind me in fourth, so we will take the positives from this afternoon into the next races.

Red Bull boss Horner sings Sebastian Vettel's praises after Belgian GP win

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner hailed Sebastian Vettel's dominant display in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix - and said it was a vital blow in their bid for a fourth consecutive title double. The softly-spoken Englishman said the key moment was the 28-year-old German's opening lap passing move on Briton Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes. "It was a matter of getting the first corner OK and then Sebastian grabbed the opportunity at Eau Rouge," said Horner. "He had the momentum and he was able to go around Lewis and that was the decisive moment. "There's still a long way to go, but it was a dominant performance from Seb, a perfect display by the team with pit stops and strategy. "It was important for us to come back after the summer break and focus on the second half of the championship. "We've seen Lewis was pretty strong in qualifying. "This is not a track that suits us, but I'm delighted we got the win." Horner refused to be drawn again on making any comment on who will partner Vettel next year when Australian Mark Webber leaves the team to go to sportscar racing with Porsche. He said: "We are taking our time to think about this decision and we are under no pressure. It is not like the football transfer window or anything like that..." Webber earlier told Australia's Channel 10 that a decision had been made that is "good for Australia" - a clear suggestion that Red Bull had chosen fellow-Australian Daniel Ricciardo to succeed him. Vettel's win was the 31st of his career and lifted him 46 points clear of nearest rival two-time champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Ferrari in the title race. In the teams' contest, Red Bull lead with 312ahead of Mercedes on 235.

Ferrari chief relieved after Fernando Alonso's runners-up spot at Belgian GP

Ferrari team chief Stefano Domenicali was all smiles after seeing Fernando Alonso take second place behind Sebastian Vettel in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps. The Italian team boss, who had been under pressure following the team's disappointing run of July results, said he felt some relief but wanted to see a more positive reaction from the team. Alonso, without a win since his home Spanish Grand Prix in May, jumped from ninth on the grid to finish on the podium while team-mate Brazilian Felipe Massa, in danger of losing his seat next year, came home seventh. Alonso's second placing in a race he has not won despite his 32 Grand Prix wins was Ferrari's first podium finish in the race since Kimi Raikkonen won for Ferrari in 2009. The result was also a relief for Alonso as it comes after he was rebuked publicly by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo after the Spaniard had joked following the last race the Hungarian Grand Prix he would like a more competitive car for his 32nd birthday. Domenicali said: "It was a great start by Fernando, he was very close to everyone, but he managed to use his driver's skill. "We have just come from a difficult month where we did not improve the car. We had to react to the situation. "The qualifying of yesterday was not the real performance and today we saw the car improve. Last year in Monza (the Italian Grand Prix is the next race in a fortnight) we were strong so the speed is there and we need to keep the gap. "I want to see the reaction of my people... Inside all is very clear. I'm totally focused and the drivers know what they have to do. "If they don't, they know where the door is.... I will be the happiest man if we're able to win and I push my people so we can do it"

Di Resta: It was silly

Paul di Resta reckons his retirement from the Belgian GP was "quite silly" as he was taken out by Pastor Maldonado. The Williams driver had been fighting Esteban Gutierrez for position when the Sauber driver managed to edge ahead. Attempting to retake the position, Maldonado ran wide at the Bus Stop chicane and rejoined in the path of Adrian Sutil. First tagging Sutil, Maldonado went on to hit di Resta who had been behind his team-mate with the Scot taking the brunt of the collision. "The traffic was the main event," di Resta told the BBC. "We got stuck in traffic and when we stopped for the third time we were behind the same traffic. "[The incident] was quite silly and took the rear corner of the car. "Maybe a point or two was up for grabs but we have to go to Monza and end this pointless run." Di Resta has not scored since he finished ninth at Silverstone. Maldonado was hit with a ten-second stop-go penalty for the accident and later stated that he was not aware of the Scot when he rejoined. "It was my lap to the pit, I did not see Di Resta, I tried to brake and avoid the incident but it was too late," said the Venezuelan. "Overall, it was a good start but we need to keep pushing just to improve. We pitted too late."

Alonso: It was a little bit boring

Fernando Alonso was happy to walk away with second place at the Belgian GP, but he admits the race was not really worth writing home about. After a disappointing qualifying session saw him start ninth on the grid, Alonso more than made up for it on race day as he was up to fifth place after the first lap. He continued to push hard and eventually finished second behind Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and ahead of pole sitter Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes. However, despite Spa-Francorchamps being one of the best circuits in F1, the race didn't really deliver as Vettel finished nearly 17s ahead of Alonso with Hamilton another 10.8s behind the Spaniard. "We had to recover some places, we were not okay yesterday," said Alonso. "But today it was a little bit boring, we get second place but no threat to Sebastian Vettel and had no threat from behind." Having finished fifth at the Hungarian GP before the summer break, it was great comeback from Ferrari and Alonso knows they need to improve even further ahead of the Italian GP. "It is important weekend for us and the team and we arrived full motivated and in Monza we would like to give some smiles to our fans," the double World Champion said. Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali was delighted with the way the team bounced back after their struggles in Hungary. "It was a great start by Fernando, he was very close to everyone but he managed to use his driver's skill," the Italian said. "We have just come from a difficult month where we did not improve the car. We had to react to the situation. The qualifying of yesterday was not the real performance and today we saw the car improve. Last year in Monza we were strong so the speed is there and we need to keep the gap. "I want to see the reaction of my people, inside all is very clear. I'm totally focused and the drivers known what they have to do. If they don't, they know where the door is. I will be the happiest man if we're able to win and I push my people so we can do it."

Belgian GP: Sebastian Vettel scores routine win as weather stays dry

Sebastian Vettel took a routine victory for Red Bull in a totally dry Belgian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso was able to tiger through from ninth on the grid to second ahead of polesitter Lewis Hamilton, but fellow title contender Kimi Raikkonen's long finishing streak ended with a brake problem. It took less than half a lap for Vettel to claim control of the race. Hamilton's Mercedes had stayed ahead through an uneventful start, but Vettel attacked immediately and overtook on the run to Les Combes. That was the last Vettel's rivals saw of him, as the world champion alternated between cruising to protect his machinery and chucking in crushing fastest laps to prove how much he had in hand. Alonso's confidence in Ferrari's race pace proved well-founded as a muscular first lap took him straight up to fifth place. Jenson Button's McLaren and Nico Rosberg's Mercedes were overtaken soon afterwards. A later first pitstop brought Alonso right up behind Hamilton, who he then passed as the Mercedes slipped a touch wide at La Source. Hamilton retaliated with DRS on the Kemmel Straight, yet Alonso was able to fend him off despite a vicious twitch under braking. Button looked like he might have a say in the podium fight as he ran long and hinted at a one-stop strategy. In the end he had to follow the two-stop trend, dropping him behind Hamilton, Rosberg and the slow-starting Mark Webber. The Australian's Red Bull showed great late pace having used hard tyres in the middle stint and softs at the end, the opposite strategy to most rivals, but ran out of steam when he came up behind the Mercedes. Raikkonen looked set to finish adrift of this group even before a front brake issue forced him to retire his Lotus. Felipe Massa resisted Romain Grosjean, the only successful one-stopper in the points, for seventh place. Grosjean had an early brush with Sergio Perez in which the stewards judged that the Lotus had been forced off the road at Les Combes. That earned Perez a drive-through penalty, and that plus late tyre wear on a one-stop left him 11th at the flag. Qualifying sensation Paul di Resta faded from the start and was in a four-car battle outside the points when he was taken out at the Bus Stop by Pastor Maldonado. Force India still scored thanks to Adrian Sutil's ninth place. Daniel Ricciardo overcame Toro Rosso's qualifying miscue to come from 17th to 10th. PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS The Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium; 44 laps; 308.052km; Weather: Dry. Classified: Pos Driver Team 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2. Alonso Ferrari 3. Hamilton Mercedes 4. Rosberg Mercedes 5. Webber Red Bull-Renault 6. Button McLaren-Mercedes 7. Massa Ferrari 8. Grosjean Lotus-Renault 9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 10. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 11. Perez McLaren-Mercedes 12. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 13. Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 14. Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 15. Bottas Williams-Renault 16. van der Garde Caterham-Renault 17. Maldonado Williams-Renault 18. Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 19. Chilton Marussia-Cosworth Fastest lap: Not classified/retirements: Driver Team Di Resta Force India-Mercedes Raikkonen Lotus-Renault Pic Caterham-Renault World Championship standings, round 11: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Vettel 197 1. Red Bull-Renault 312 2. Alonso 151 2. Mercedes 235 3. Hamilton 139 3. Ferrari 218 4. Raikkonen 134 4. Lotus-Renault 187 5. Webber 115 5. McLaren-Mercedes 65 6. Rosberg 96 6. Force India-Mercedes 61 7. Massa 67 7. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 25 8. Grosjean 53 8. Sauber-Ferrari 7 9. Button 47 9. Williams-Renault 1 10. Di Resta 36 11. Sutil 25 12. Perez 18 13. Vergne 13 14. Ricciardo 12 15. Hulkenberg 7 16. Maldonado 1