After a one-year break caused by the ban on tobacco advertising in Belgium, auto races in the Formula 1 class returned to one of the oldest racetracks, located near the Belgian town of Spa. The return turned out to be extremely spectacular and exciting. From the first turn, the track offered struggle and intrigue. Before the drivers had even completed the first lap, 4 cars dropped out of the race after crashing in the starting crush. The drivers of the "Ferrari" team did far from the best job at the start. Rubens Barrichello was forced to drive to the pits for repairs, and Michael Schumacher dropped from second starting position to sixth. As the race progressed, experienced drivers left the race one after another: T. Sato, M. Webber, F. Alonso, J-P. Montoya. Time and again the race was stopped to allow debris from the cars and dirt thrown from the shoulders to be cleared from the track. Barely half of the drivers who started were able to make it to the finish of the race. Fans of royal racing could see what Formula 1 had so lacked this season – spectacle and struggle from the first lap to the last. And the winner of this stage was the Finnish driver Kimi Räikkönen, who drove a very steady and confident race. Michael Schumacher crossed the finish line second, and Rubens Barrichello third. Schumacher's second place did not upset him in the least, because it allowed him to clinch his seventh championship title early. In terms of points scored, the German became unreachable for his competitors, primarily for his teammate R. Barrichello, who occupies the second step in the overall standings. In two weeks, on September 12, the last European stage of the Formula 1 auto races this season will take place – the Italian Grand Prix, which is a home race for the "Ferrari" team.