Belgian Grand Prix - Spa-Francorchamps

[René]

Summer break is over and we’re getting ready for a super exctiting ‘triple header’; Spa - Zandvoort - Monza. How good does that sound!?

So this weekend the race at Spa and the battle between Hamilton and Verstappen will surely continue. Spa and Zandvoort are both home races for Max so expect a lot of support for him. Spa is a power track that will suite the Mercedes but the Honda is not far off or even equal. It could be a difficult track for the Ferrari and Renault powered cars but there’s always a chance of rain that could throw everything upside down.

I am going to Spa this sunday, my first track visit for two years! Unbelievable but I’m really looking forward to it. Crowd capacity is limited to 70.000 and there are still quite strict covid regulations in Belgium so it should be safe. Yeah cool, seeing F1 cars in action again! Forza Ferrari!

[charleselan]

Stay safe and have a great time René, should be an amazing experience after all this time, well it seems like a long time . I have just had an aberration and have chosen Carlos Sainz as my winner, not because I do not rate him (pretty obvious) but due to the Ferrari not being that competitive on a power circuit currently.

Off on a tangent but there is a lot of talk in the USA about Michael Andretti buying an existing F1 Team, and it isn't the one most would expect e.g. Haas. Very intriguing indeed. Could be the very motive to bring Colton Herta into F1.

[robmarsh]

Enjoy Rene. Are you doing a double header with Zandvoort next weekend? Rooting for Leclerc...I have a feeling..

[chrisb]

oh Rene, have a wonderful and safe time, Spa, what a circuit, surely the 'best' in Europe? enjoy and have a great time,

I have gone for Norris, but I have a sneaky feeling about Teflonso, who has apparently re-signed for next year?

[René]

Thanks guys, I’m really looking forward to it. Getting up early tomorrow morning, an hour drive to Spa and then trying to find a good spot. You know the drill.
It could rain or drizzle all day. Not comfortable but it will make for a more level playing field which is good for my team! If it stays dry I don’t believe Ferrari has a chance to win. Max and Lewis must be the favourites again. But with rain anything can happen.

Rob, I’m not going to Zandvoort. When ticket sales was opened two and a half years ago, it was sold out in half an hour. I hope the race stays on the calendar so I can go in a few years time. I do think however that Ferrari could have a chance here given the more twisty nature of the track. Yeah, this could suit them well.

JC, interesting note you made about Andretti buying into F1. Is he thinking about AlphaTauri maybe?

And did any of you see the crash in the W-Series? That was a nasty one and shows again how tricky this part of the track is. Ayla Ågren and Beitske Visser are still in hospital but I believe they are okay.

[mikael]

I envy you, René - quite a bit!

Have a good and safe trip (even though it's not that far for you) - and enjoy the race!

[mikael]

Aug 28, 2021 10:00:51 GMT René said:

And did any of you see the crash in the W-Series? That was a nasty one and shows again how tricky this part of the track is.

My goodness, how much evidence do the authorities there need to realize that an asphalt runoff area is not the best answer for that ultra-fast part of the track? They ought to plough it up and reinstall the "sandbox" as soon as possible.

[chrisb]

what an amazing qualifying, well done George, terrible for Ferrari,

[chrisb]

thank you Mikael, that is a wonderful photo,

[mikael]

Addendum (to my previous post): Suzuka have kept their sand/gravel traps at many critical spots, such as around turns 1 and 2 (the first compound corner after the home straight), and turns 4 and 5, which are parts of "the esses". I think these traps work very well - they certainly slow down the cars very efficiently in places where there isn't much space.

I do think this is also what is needed through Eau Rouge/Raidillon: to rapidly slow down/stop the cars, once they're off the track. That they can go off and then bounce back, right into the racing line, at almost unabated speed is just crazy ...

The Suzuka Circuit with its many remaining sand/gravel traps (shown in "sand colour")

[René]

Aug 28, 2021 16:59:15 GMT chrisb said:

what an amazing qualifying, well done George, terrible for Ferrari,

Yes it was very eventful. Best thing was that Lando is okay, that was a big shunt. And what a result for George Russell! Give that boy a car that works and he’ll do the job, class act. 

The Ferrari obviously didn’t work! Very disappointing but who knows, miracles do happen.  Forza Ferrari!

Max is on a roll and clearly the favourite but Lewis isn’t far behind. The first lap could be very interesting if George gets a good sling up the Eau Rouge…

[René]

And to add to the above, that could have been Lando’s first pole position. He was flying in Q1 and 2 and looked very confident. Maybe too confident? He could still be a factor tomorrow. 

And Seb has regained his confidence again and is becoming more an elderly statesman the way he was concerned about Lando. Nice to see Seb back on form again.

[charleselan]

Firstly that was another mighty accident yesterday in the "W" Formula and something must be altered to make that part of the circuit safer. I agree with Mikael that Gravel traps would be a better idea but the reason they are not used is the possibility that they might promote cars to flip and at those kind of speed that could be a serious problem. When it was discussed today during the S*YF1 broadcast Martin Brundle was of the opinion that "motor racing is dangerous and therefore have inherent risks". He might change his opinion should someone get seriously injured or worse, as they already have in 2019, not the most mature reasoning in my view.

Lando Norris was sensational throughout qualifying and looked a dead cert for pole position, however he made a slight error and paid a heavy price probably as a result of over confidence and terrible track conditions. I remain unconvinced about Masi as surely a switched on guy in charge would have heeded the words minutes earlier of Seb Vettel that it was too dangerous, the chap is a four time champion with years of experience for goodness sake. Also a quality act by Sebastian stopping to check to see if Lando was OK, pure class.

What can I say about George Russell's performance, just outstanding. Ok Tonto is unsure about having him in the MB team as it might disrupt Hamilton, but for goodness sake if that were Colin Chapman or Ken Tyrrell he'd have already been put in the car, Hamilton or no. The thing is that Russell is too good and we cannot have that can we.

Carlos looked a bit peeved with Ferrari after qualifying, and rightly so, as he knows how good he is in wet conditions and the car has been earlier in the year at Imola. Charles was a little more pragmatic, but I expected more from him as it was a golden opportunity for his talent to come to the fore, but maybe the car was so bad he could do nothing more.

[René]

Carlos sees his friend Lando crash live.



The old Spa in 1962.

[Carl]

Aug 28, 2021 10:00:51 GMT René said:

Thanks guys, I’m really looking forward to it. Getting up early tomorrow morning, an hour drive to Spa and then trying to find a good spot. You know the drill.

Rob, I’m not going to Zandvoort. When ticket sales was opened two and a half years ago, it was sold out in half an hour. I hope the race stays on the calendar so I can go in a few years time. I do think however that Ferrari could have a chance here given the more twisty nature of the track. Yeah, this could suit them well.
 

René,

           Without question it's not right that you will have to wait several years to see your home Grand Prix, especially considering your love of the sport and the superb motorsport website you've created! 

           The other stark certainty is the amazing duplicity of Formula One during runt ecclestone's reign in using Zandvoort's brief period of reorganization and reconstruction to banish one of the finest road courses in Europe.  The amazing speed with which the reinstituted race has sold out reveal's ecclestone's disdain of motorsport in favor of his portfolio.

           To honor Ferrari fans in Holland, I have changed my choice of winner at Spa to Charles Leclerc from Lando Norris, whose new starting position has nothing to do with it.  I hope the track is just wet enough to favor Scuderia Ferrari.

Cheers, Carl