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There was a shock opening to The Belgian Grand Prix this past weekend, which has got everybody talking.

The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa, in the province of Liège, is considered among the toughest tracks on the circuit. This Sunday’s meet was marred by a massive collision at the opening, at the first corner. It saw a number of drivers being eliminated from the race, almost as soon as they set off.

It started with the Frenchman Romain Grosjean, driving with Lotus, cutting across Lewis Hamilton. This was before colliding with Fernando Alonso’s car. It resulted in a pile up, which saw Sergio Perez, with Sauber, being forced out of the race. His team mate Kamui Kobayashi ended up completing the race in 13th place, thanks to the collision.

This is the seventh time Grosjean has been at the centre of a crash in the opening lap of a race, within a dozen meets this season. This latest incident, however, sees him being fined 50,000 Euros, the equivalent of £40,000. He has also received a one race ban for his part in the crash. No driver has been excluded from a Grand Prix in such a manner in almost 20 years. Not since Michael Schumacher was banned following the British Grand Prix, back in 1994. It is somewhat ironic that this incident with Grosjean should occur, just as retirement rumours are circling Schumacher. Although he has said he is yet to make a decision as to whether or not he will quit at the end of the year.

The veteran with Mercedes ended up finishing the Belgian Grand Prix in seventh spot. It was quite a way to mark the milestone of his three hundredth Grand Prix. The German is only the second driver to take part in as many races, alongside Rubens Barrichello from Brazil.

Jenson Button also celebrated a landmark at the Belgian Grand Prix. The race in Spa saw him reach his half century, his fiftieth Grand Prix with the McLaren team. He seemed to have the race in the palm of his hand since setting off from pole. This is before romping to victory, practically unchallenged.

Sebastian Vettel rose from tenth spot to finish in second place, ironically making him Number Two in the standings. Lotus-Renault’s Kimi Räikkönen was in third place, while Nico Hulkenberg with Force India-Mercedes, was fourth. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was fifth and Mark Webber with Red Bull was sixth.