The first in our new series of interviews with F1 experts, The Racing Line puts the important questions in Formula 1 to those in the know.

And so the Belgian Grand Prix has come and gone for another year, and now we surely know what we have known for for some time but refused to admit – Sebastian Vettel will be crowned World Champion for a second year running.

With the dust settling on another magnificent race at Spa, formula1fancast has managed to get hold of the right man, F1 Fanatic’s Keith Collantine, to give the final word on the action.

Hi Keith, with so much over-taking, where did Belgian Grand Prix rank in terms of the best of the year? Was DRS even needed at Spa?

I don’t think DRS was needed at Spa and that for me was why the race wasn’t the best this year in terms of wheel-to-wheel racing. A lot of the passes we saw looked rather inevitable.

Red Bull looked to be under pressure with their tyres before the race before recording their first one-two since Turkey, after Vettel was accused of being nothing more than a front runner, was Belgium a flexing of the muscles from Red Bull?

I think it’s significant that they did so well on one of the most high-speed venues on the calendar. It shows that they’re shoring up their performance in areas where they’ve not been strongest.

 Is Jenson Button at the peak of his powers?

I think he’s driving as well as he ever has, yes.

There appears to be a sense of doom and gloom around Lewis Hamilton after Spa, why is he and McLaren making so many mistakes lately?

I don’t think there’s anything new about that! Even in his championship year Hamilton made quite a lot of mistakes – Montreal, Magny-Cours and Fuji, for example. He usually more than makes up for it the rest of the time.

Did Belgium mark a resurgence from Mercedes and Schumacher in particular? They looked incredibly quick at times.

Mercedes were at the same kind of level they’ve been all year – not great on tyre wear, very quick in a straight line. Rosberg’s opening  stint was fabulous. But he was hurt by the safety car in much the same way Schumacher was flattered by it.

Schumacher’s drive was very good and he’s clearly improved over last year but you have to be realistic and note that the safety car period and tyre strategy really played into his hands.

Again, thanks to Keith for his time, keep checking back to formula1fancast where we’ll be bringing the views of some of the best  F1 blogs and websites together  for the inside line on all things Formula 1!

For our race coverage and analysis of the Belgian Grand Prix, click here, while you can also  join in the fun on Twitter and Facebook.

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