Round 13: Belgian Grand Prix

frostie500

The summer break is over! Seems a long time since Hungary but this weekend's race should be a thriller with rain expected to play a part during the race on Sunday.

My pre race preview is available here with updates throughout the week from my site

lord lucan

Great preview as ever Frostie,thanks.:)

Myrddin

frostie500 wrote: »

The summer break is over!

THANK GOD! Great info as always man, I was living for the now obligatory Frostie500 GP preview

Oblomov

CIRCUIT DATA

Length of lap:7.004km
Lap record:1:45.108
(Kimi Räikkönen, 2004, McLaren-Mercedes)


Start line/finish line offset:0.124km
Total number of race laps:44
Total race distance:308.052km
Pitlane speed limits:60km/h during practice sessions;
100km/h during qualifying and race


Courtesy of FIA website

amacachi

How great would it be if Mercedes did a Force India this weekend and got Schumi a win? :pac:

amacachi

Loadsa rain. ^_^

lord lucan

Last years race on the red button as a classic GP.

Myrddin

amacachi wrote: »

How great would it be if Mercedes did a Force India this weekend and got Schumi a win? :pac:

I can only dream...:p

lord lucan wrote: »

Last years race on the red button as a classic GP.

Yeah I spent yesterday evening watching the entire classic run. I missed some amazing moments in F1 history I only got into F1 midway through the '08 season, probably explains why I'm a big Hamilton fan Watching highlights of Hakkinen, Senna, Schumacher, Mansell....bliss. Man I love this sport :cool:

amacachi

EnterNow wrote: »

Yeah I spent yesterday evening watching the entire classic run. I missed some amazing moments in F1 history I only got into F1 midway through the '08 season, probably explains why I'm a big Hamilton fan Watching highlights of Hakkinen, Senna, Schumacher, Mansell....bliss. Man I love this sport :cool:

TBH the BBC's choice of "classics" this year has been pretty poor for the most part, think for the most part they've been avoiding what they showed last year.

Myrddin

amacachi wrote: »

TBH the BBC's choice of "classics" this year has been pretty poor for the most part, think for the most part they've been avoiding what they showed last year.

That may be, but with my roughly 2 and a half years F1 viewing experience...I certainly can't complain

Oblomov

Brawn's fight for survival affected the design process of the 2010 Mercedes car, according to Michael Schumacher.

Despite aiming for the world championship with the W01, Mercedes GP is a distant fourth in the constructors' standings, a year after the same Brackley based team won the 2009 titles before being sold to the German marque.

"Ross (Brawn) was busy last year with quite a few other things, like securing the future of the team. So he could not fully concentrate on the development of the (2010) car," Schumacher is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

"I can live with the situation even if I am not happy about it," added the seven time world champion. "We have to recognise the reasons."

Myrddin

Damn kids :mad: The last minutes of FP2 turned into the Craggy Island GP, then the pit lane lights...:(

EvilMonkey

Red Bull and McLaren pass new flexi-wing test

Red Bull Racing has passed the latest tougher front wing deflection tests introduced for the Belgian Grand Prix.

In the wake of intense scrutiny about possible flexing of the teams' front wings, the Red Bull RB6 was - along with the McLaren MP4-25 - subject to the new tests during post-practice inspection by the FIA at Spa-Francorchamps on Friday.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/86162

amacachi

They were LOLing on BBC about the new test today, stupid having rules if they're not going to at least try to enforce them.

Ghost Train

Will be more technical tests for the teams to pass in Monza, so mightn't be the end of it yet
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/86109

amacachi

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Outstanding! I am going to do my told you so dance right here in work (not directed at anybody btw).

No number of poor quality gifs was going to convince me, cant wait to hear the other teams reactions.

Have you read the posts since the one you quoted? :P Also BBC summed it up pretty well this morning about how ridiculously low the weights they're using even now are.

EvilMonkey

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Outstanding! I am going to do my told you so dance right here in work (not directed at anybody btw).

No number of poor quality gifs was going to convince me, cant wait to hear the other teams reactions.

Still have Ferrari to be tested, and probably wont be sure until the scrutineering after the race on Sunday.

It was never going to happen but i was hoping McLaren, Merc or one of the others complaining would fail the new tests

More new tests of the floor and some reg changes regarding the "plank" for Monza. I hope they pass them too.

frostie500

According to BBC 5 live there's a 95% probability of rain during the quali session, anyone think Ferrari and McLaren will gamble on the weather conditions today like the did in Malaysia!

Myrddin

frostie500 wrote: »

According to BBC 5 live there's a 95% probability of rain during the quali session, anyone think Ferrari and McLaren will gamble on the weather conditions today like the did in Malaysia!

Heard that too, any forecast for tomorrows conditions?

Vettels engine tomoorow could also play a part. He's the only one of the title contenders without a new engine for the race, choosing to save one for later on. Makes sense I suppose with 7 more races, but Spa is a power track. Wet conditions tomorrow could make an epic race.

amacachi

Usual Spa conditions so.

Glico Man

Lol at DC saying that EJ has "turned orange over the years" after them seeing an old photo of EJ in Rubens Barrichello's 300th GP booklet

Ghost Train

Renault saying rain half way through the session sounds good,

nice drying track at the moment to start the q1

amacachi

****sake Petrov, ruining it for everyone. Ah, Red Flag.

Ghost Train

red flag, pity

amacachi

Hope it goes green before any rain.

Ghost Train

amacachi wrote: »

Hope it goes green before any rain.

going to be a mad dash to get a lap in, interesting to see how it plays out

half wet half dry

bit of traffic too :pac:

amacachi

Brilliant stuff.

amacachi

Very messy, some people flying past the spun car.

Vettel needs it to stop raining.
EDIT: 17th, very, very lucky.

Ghost Train

too wet now for faster times

Q2 should be good

great from schumacher

nice to see a new team get up there

glock looking good

looks like more time to be found by a few of them

Ghost Train

Prov. fastest time for schumacher before Vettel got it

Massa very luck to keep going

amacachi

Schumi and Rosberg 11 and 12 in Q2. Big issues with the Mercedes, even in Q1 Schumacher could find no straight-line advantage following Eau Rouge behind I think a Virgin. There's turbulent air and all that but he was right on the tail out of Eau Rouge and seemed to be unable to pass even with a draft.

Ghost Train

I'm surprised none of teams saw the rain coming sooner

Would like to see hamilton get ahead

frostie500

That was a great session, arguably one of the best in years. Really sets the race up nicely for tomorrow

supremenovice

For anyone who enjoys a bet on F1, Barrichello is 100/1 in Paddy Power to win tomorrow, despite starting 7th.
Each way bet gives you 20/1 to finish on the podium. It his 300th race and him and Williams are due a bit of luck.

frostie500

supremenovice wrote: »

For anyone who enjoys a bet on F1, Barrichello is 100/1 in Paddy Power to win tomorrow, despite starting 7th.
Each way bet gives you 20/1 to finish on the podium. It his 300th race and him and Williams are due a bit of luck.

I was looking up some stats to give people hope for Alonso tomorrow but the same applies to Rubens since 1950 only three drivers have won at Spa having started from outside the front three rows of the grid. Anyone care to guess who's managed to do it?

amacachi

frostie500 wrote: »

I was looking up some stats to give people hope for Alonso tomorrow but the same applies to Rubens since 1950 only three drivers have won at Spa having started from outside the front three rows of the grid. Anyone care to guess who's managed to do it?

Schumacher from 16th anyway. Was Hill in the top 6 on the grid when he won for Jordan? After that I'd just be guessing the usual legends.

frostie500

amacachi wrote: »

Schumacher from 16th anyway. Was Hill in the top 6 on the grid when he won for Jordan? After that I'd just be guessing the usual legends.

Hill started third in 98, Schumacher's drive in 95 was fantastic though from 16th!

amacachi

Just checked the other two there, the most recent I was going to guess because he's stupidly good around Spa, the other one I can't find for sure as Wikipedia and F1.com are incomplete, but was it

Prost

?

frostie500

amacachi wrote: »

Just checked the other two there, the most recent I was going to guess because he's stupidly good around Spa, the other one I can't find for sure as Wikipedia and F1.com are incomplete, but was it

Prost

?

Raikkonen in 2004 is spot pm. So that has Schumacher and Raikkonen as two of them...... and the third was

not Alain Prost!

frostie500

The third was Jim Clark in '62 from 12th on the grid

lord lucan

Great qualifying session today,makes for a potentially great race today. Battle into the first corner between Hamilton & Webber should be a cracker and i'm expecting carnage behind them. Lob in some rain and it has the potential to be race of the season.:)

G-Money

Good session, although I was wishing I had a kangaroo tv to follow everything. It was mad, during practice I think it was, Hamilton and Schumacher were side by side heading towards Eau Rouge and finally Lewis sort of chopped in front of him, putting some manners on Schumacher too. Schu got a great cheer when he had provisional pole

Ghost Train

forecast doesn't look too bad for the race, could still get showers I guess

amacca

watching the build up...dont remember looking forward to an f1 race as much as this in a while.

Brundle: sebastian, whats your car like today?

Vettel: Blue with four black wheels

I cant decide which of them is the bigger jackass....fantastic stuff


The better Webber is doing the glummer Christian Horner looks these days...he actually looked clinically depressed when ej and co were questioning him about webber earlier


cant wait...its a great championship this year.....long may it continue

amacachi

Just awake, did I miss any mad pre-race news? Also the weather looks disappointingly good.

lord lucan

That sky looks ready to dump a great big downpour on Spa!:)

IvySlayer

amacachi wrote: »

Just awake, did I miss any mad pre-race news? Also the weather looks disappointingly good.

Most exciting pre-race news that there could be some clouds on the horizon.

lord lucan

Woohoo,rain due!!:D

amacachi

The crowd look surprisingly still, I'd be doing a raindance if I were there. :pac:

Ghost Train

looks like it should be a good race, but I'm kind of worried it won't be, but then renault just said heavy rain so maybe I shouldn't worry

fingers crossed there will be plenty of good stuff to talk about after the race

IvySlayer

Hamilton, great start.