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SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium: Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen claimed his first victory in 25 races on Sunday when he held off a challenge from Force India's veteran Italian Giancarlo Fisichella to triumph in the Belgian Grand Prix.
Raikkonen's win was Ferrari's first this year, his first since the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix, and the 18th of his career.
It came on a day when the drivers' championship battle was given a shake, if not tipped upside down, thanks to a multiple collision on the opening lap.
That accident, which took out four cars, removed drivers world championship leader Jenson Button of Brawn GP and fellow-Briton and defending champion Lewis Hamilton of McLaren Mercedes.
Button said: "I got a very good start. I got past Lewis, I made up four places. As we were going down the straight through turn five, Grosjean out-braked himself. It is so frustrating to be taken out like that."
Hamilton shrugged off his fate, commenting: "It's just one of those days.
"I got off to a really bad start, the anti-stall kicked in. I tried to recover but I got hit at the first corner and lost a bit of my front wing. Then I saw Jenson and backed off to avoid it all, but got hit from behind."
For Button the damage to his car and his title hopes was limited as his main rivals failed to capitalise with big-scoring results.
His lead ahead of Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello was cut by only two points from 18 to 16 while German Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull jumped back to third, by finishing third.
Vettel now has 53 points behind Barrichello on 56 and Button on 72 with five races remaining.
Raikkonen, champion in 2007, whose place in the team is under threat amid unconfirmed reports that Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Renault has signed to replace him next year, was delighted at ending Ferrari's barren run of 11 races without a win after a barren first-half of the season.
He said: "It hasn't been an easy year for us. We made a big step in Barcelona, but it wasn't enough. Getting the win now. Well, it's quite a long time since I last won!
"My aim has been to win at least one race and for us to stay third in the championship. We weren't the fastest in the lap times, but overall we managed to keep everybody behind. Hopefully we can get some good results after this race."
Fisichella, who had claimed the Force India team's maiden pole position and his career fourth in Saturday's extraordinary qualifying session, was happy at delivering the team their first points, in their 31st outing, with a podium finish.
He said: "I was quicker than Kimi and I'm a little bit sad for that. We had exactly the same strategy. It's great because I finished second, just one second behind the leader - but actually, we could have won the race."
Fisichella lost the lead he had established at the original start - the Safety Car was sent out during the first lap due to the accidents - when he was cautious at the re-start and Raikkonen surged into the lead.
But he finished up coming home only nine-tenths of a second behind the Ferrari, proving that the Force India's Mercedes-Benz engine was the most effective on the circuit and certain to be a threat at the Italian Grand Prix next month.
Curiously, according to unconfirmed reports in Italy, Fisichella may by then have joined Ferrari as Raikkonen's team-mate and as replacement for hapless 38-year-old Italian Luca Badoer, the team's test driver, who himself was racing as a deputy for injured Brazilian Felipe Massa.
Behind the leading duo, who battled for victory, came Vettel ahead of Pole Robert Kubica, fourth for BMW Sauber, team-mate German Nick Heidfeld, with Finn Heikki Kovalainen sixth for McLaren Mercedes.
Barrichello was seventh, nursing his car stricken by an oil leak over the closing laps, and German Nico Rosberg was eighth for Williams. - AFP/so/de
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