Belgium Grand Prix: Spectacular until the end.

The rain appeared during the final two laps of the race and gave the fans the most exciting finish of the season today at the Belgium Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton had a lot of ground to make up on Kimi Raikkonen after his second and final pit stop. Raikkonen was in control and looked like he was untouchable. But the British driver worked hard and managed to close the gap with the Ferrari driver with only a handful of laps to go.

The rain appeared during the last couple of laps and complicated the task for the drivers on the track. The conditions deteriorated quickly and the cars who were still on slick tires at that point were slipping all over the place.

The battle between Raikkonen and Hamilton during the final laps was epic. Both cars exchanged the lead twice due to the slippery conditions as both of them slipped and spun virtually at every corner. Kimi Raikkonen finally made a fatal mistake and spun his Ferrari into the wall during the final lap of the race, handing out the victory to Hamilton. This is the fifth victory for Hamilton this season. Felipe Massa also kept his slick tires and finished in second place.

The situation was identical for the rest of the field as many position changes occurred during this portion of the race. Nick Heidfeld went into the pits to change to rain tires as soon as the rain broke out. The decision was very good for him as he passed many cars during the final lap to take the third position at the finish line. This is the first podium for Heidfeld since the British Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso also chose the rain tires for his Renault and took the fourth place. The story was different for Sebastien Bourdais who was running in third place just before the finish. His Toro Rosso slipped all over the circuit as he lost four positions to finish in seventh place.

The second place of Massa is important as it allows him to keep Lewis Hamilton at a reasonnable distance ahead. Hamilton's lead over Massa has increased to eight points.

Belgium Grand Prix top ten finish:

Winner: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2-Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +14.3 seconds
3-Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) +23.8 seconds
4-Fernando Alonso (Renault) +28.9 seconds
5-Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) +29.0 seconds
6-Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber) +29.4 seconds
7-Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) +31.1 seconds
8-Timo Glock (Toyota) +56.5 seconds
9-Mark Webber (Red Bull) +57.2 seconds
10-Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) +1 lap

**UPDATE** The FIA has penalized Lewis Hamilton of 25 seconds for cutting thru a turn while battling with Kimi Raikkonen. This penalty sends Hamilton to the 3rd place and his lead over Felipe Massa has been cutted to 2 points.

Drivers championship after 13/18 races:

1-Lewis Hamilton 76 points
2-Felipe Massa 74 points
3-Robert Kubica 58 points
4-Kimi Raikkonen 57 points
5-Nick Heidfeld 49 points
6-Heikki Kovalainen 43 points
7-Jarno Trulli 26 points
8-Fernando Alonso 23 points
9-Mark Webber 18 points
10-Timo Glock 16 points
11-Nelson Piquet Jr 13 points
12-Sebastian Vettel 13 points
13-Rubens Barrichello 11 points
14-Nico Rosberg 9 points
15-Kazuki Nakajima 8 points
16-David Coulthard 6 points
17-Sebastien Bourdais 4 points
18-Jenson Button 3 points

Constructors championship:

1-Ferrari 131 points
2-McLaren 119 points
3-BMW-Sauber 105 points
4-Toyota 42 points
5-Renault 36 points
6-Red Bull 24 points
7-Williams 17 points
8-Toro Rosso 17 points
9-Honda 14 points

(Picture: Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, Getty Images.)