Sebastian Vettel was a very happy man after claiming his first victory in Belgium despite some early tyre issues.
Starting the grand prix on the same tyres that he used in qualifying, the German was forced to pit on lap 5 for new tyres as his old rubber was blistering badly.
This dropped him down the order and the reigning World Champ was forced to claw his way back only to complain once again of blistering six laps later.
But with the Safety Car deployed on lap 13, Vettel was able to pit again and, four laps later, went around the outside of Fernando Alonso to take the lead.
"We obviously a lot of concerns going into the race after the damage we had to the tyres from qualifying," Vettel said.
"We had reason to be confident that it should be fine but you never really know, we didn't feel too comfortably and both of us (myself and Webber) stopped fairly early, right at the beginning of the race.
"The main target was to see how the tyres felt after a couple of laps and go from there, not really thinking too much about the outcome.
"Surprisingly, the pace was very, very good in the race, I was feeling very comfortable in the car. Without too much effort in the beginning I was able to keep up with the guys and get back into the lead.
"After the Safety Car it was crucial to get back in the lead by jumping Fernando and building a gap. After that the race needed more management than usual."
After taking the lead from the Ferrari driver, Vettel etched out a lead over the Spaniard and it soon became a lead over his team-mate Mark Webber as the Aussie, with a new contract in his pocket, worked his way up into second place, once again demonstrating Red Bull's dominant pace.
"This obviously made it more comfortable towards the end of the race, but there was more management that usual," Vettel added.
"I have to say the car worked brilliantly and compared to previous years we were very competitive.
"I am very happy with the result and happy with the race - how we managed the race and the tyres. We need to learn from that and head down for the next race."
"I had a good feeling earlier in the day my wife is here and she said it would be a good race."
With seven races remaining, Vettel leads the Drivers' Championship on 259 points, 92 ahead of Webber.
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Race Report: Vettel wins Belgian thriller
