A specially marked front wing commemorating the 300th Grand Prix start for Michael Schumacher, Mercedes AMG. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Mercedes
Michael Schumacher celebrated his 300th Grand Prix in Spa but Mercedes struggled for pace, especially in the twisty middle sector. Michael could manage only 13th, while Nico Rosberg had a disastrous time. A gearbox problem early in FP3 gave him no dry preparation before qualifying. He earned 18th and his gearbox penalty made that 23rd. Both drivers gained from the first lap chaos, with Michael emerging in fifth, and Rosberg 13th. Michael attempted to go for one stop but his tires went off and then he lost sixth gear, leaving him in seventh place. Although he tried to make it on one Rosberg also needed a second tire stop on his way to 11th.

Lotus
Friday’s rain meant that Lotus chose not to run its new double DRS for the rest of the weekend. Running relatively high downforce Kimi Raikkonen qualified fourth, gaining third after Maldonado was penalized. After a difficult session Romain Grosjean moved up from eighth to seventh thanks to Webber’s penalty. The Frenchman triggered a crash at Turn One when he hit Hamilton, and received a one-race suspension for the Italian GP. Meanwhile Raikkonen emerged in second place. He lost it to Hulkenberg but regained it after the first stops only to slip to third behind Vettel after the Red Bull driver successfully made it home on one stop.

Force India
Force India got a car into Q3 again as Paul Di Resta earned 10th, while Nico Hulkenberg had a bad middle sector on his lap in Q2 and had to settle for 12th. Both drivers then gained a place courtesy of Webber’s gearbox penalty. The team discovered a KERS problem on Di Resta’s car before the start and knew he would be in for a tough afternoon. However, both drivers benefited from the Turn One chaos, Nico emerging in third and Paul in fourth. The German passed Raikkonen for second but lost out at the first stops. He then lost a place to one-stopper Vettel and finished fourth. After a difficult afternoon Di Resta finished 10th.

Kamui Kobayashi of Japan and Sauber drives during the Belgian Grand Prix at the Circuit of Spa Francorchamps on September 2, 2012 in Spa Francorchamps, Belgium. (Photo: Getty Images)

Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi was fastest in the wet FP1 session but nobody expected him to be as quick as he was come qualifying, the Japanese driver securing an excellent second place. Disappointed with his final lap Sergio Perez took a solid fifth, and gained a place from Maldonado’s penalty. Sunday proved disastrous for the team as both drivers were innocent victims of the first corner crash. Perez was out immediately while Kobayashi pitted under the safety car for repairs. Any chance of a recovery was ended by a slow puncture which caused an extra stop on lap seven. He finished a frustrated 13th.