Podium puts Kubica on verge of top 10
Robert Kubica's brilliant podium finish at the Belgian Grand Prix brought him to the fringes of the Castrol Rankings top 10.
The Renault driver showed top five pace all weekend and ran a strong second in the race before dropping to third behind Mark Webber when he overshot his pit box and hit a mechanic when coming in to change from slick to wet tyres.
His third spot moved the Polish driver ahead of Rubens Barrichello, Ryan Briscoe and Jeff Gordon and into 13th place in the Castrol Rankings.
Lewis Hamilton's victory at Spa-Francorchamps in challenging weather conditions kept him fourth overall, just behind runner-up Webber (3).
Sebastian Vettel retained the top spot in the Castrol Rankings for a 23rd consecutive week, despite taking out Jenson Button, receiving a drive-through penalty and later on suffering a puncture after contact with another car.
There were non-moves for world champions Button and Fernando Alonso as well. Button's elimination at the hands of Vettel (below) kept him seventh while Alonso's crash during the worst of the rain ensured that he stayed eighth.
Both were helped by a disaster for IndyCar driver Will Power the previous night. The Penske driver had to make a late stop at Chicagoland after his car was underfuelled earlier on.
He finished 16th, a result that kept him ninth in the Castrol Rankings. Had he finished second, as looked likely, he would have moved into the top six at the expense of the former world champions.
The biggest faller in the top 50 was Rubens Barrichello, who marked his 300th grand prix start by crashing into Alonso on the opening lap and taking himself out of the race. He dropped six places to 19th, leaving him just ahead of rally star Mikko Hirvonen.
Moving the other way was Felipe Massa, who finished fourth in his Ferrari and gained seven places to move up to 34th. His former team-mate Michael Schumacher finished seventh and gained 16 places to move to 64th.
A superb fifth place for Force India driver Adrian Sutil did not alter his 32nd spot in the Castrol Rankings, but Lotus drivers Jarno Trulli (76) and Heikki Kovalainen (62) lost ground, falling 11 and 15 places respectively.
