2012 Belgian Grand Prix - Spa

[siskue2005]

The spa 2009 was great, coz the way the cars were setup... Kimi had pure top speed, but was 1.5 sec slow in s2 but still had overall fastest lap than Fisi who was exact opposite
I guess for quly setup more downforce is needed, but for a great race setup you need more straight line speed

[raymondu999]

The famous 1998 race had some nice moments between there and the first corner between Trulli, Button and Schumacher - I remember Button going the wrong way around Trulli and Michael taking advantage to nip by.

button raced Schumacher and Trulli before he made F1?

[turbof1]

Just got news that 6000 persons will not receive their bought tickets for the Belgium GP. I have not found an English article about it yet, so you guys will have to throw it through google chrome or a translator:
http://www.f1journaal.be/index.php/nieuws/artikel/tickets-gp-van-belgie-6000-fans-zijn-geld-kwijt/

[Huntresa]

The famous 1998 race had some nice moments between there and the first corner between Trulli, Button and Schumacher - I remember Button going the wrong way around Trulli and Michael taking advantage to nip by.

button raced Schumacher and Trulli before he made F1?

Haha +1

[f1316]

The famous 1998 race had some nice moments between there and the first corner between Trulli, Button and Schumacher - I remember Button going the wrong way around Trulli and Michael taking advantage to nip by.

button raced Schumacher and Trulli before he made F1?

Haha +1

I'm thinking of 2000, aren't I?

edit: this one: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/8940117.stm (for those in the UK)

[n smikle]

Here's some Spa nostalgia to ease the pain of summer break.

1939


1

Cheers,
Alex

Did I just hear " Initially Muller blinds everyone with his spray, but on lap ten "Dick Semen""

after 1:20???


How did the driver make it out of high school with his pride intact?

[Nando]

The track has more than one good overtaking opportunity (into Malmedy, Pouhon, Fanges, the bus stop and La Source)

I would say Le Combes and Bus Stop are the two proper overtaking zones.

Pouhon you won´t get past anyone unless they make a mistake on the exit of T9.
Fagnes same deal Pouhon is so fast that you can´t stay tight behind someone through Pouhon.

Malmedy is definitely not an overtaking spot, possibly if the guy in front makes a huge mistake.

And La Source you DO NOT overtake, that´s just dumb with the DRS zone after Eau Rouge.
Hell even without it, it´s still not a smart thing to do.

[pob]

Here's some Spa nostalgia to ease the pain of summer break.

Did I just hear ..."Dick Semen""

Richard "Dick" Seaman was Britain's best prewar driver.

[n smikle]

He better be good with a name like that.
You know, like how Chuck Norris can wear pink and still look like a bad ass.

[Gerhard Berger]

And La Source you DO NOT overtake, that´s just dumb with the DRS zone after Eau Rouge.
Hell even without it, it´s still not a smart thing to do.

Why not?

[zyphro]

Here's some Spa nostalgia to ease the pain of summer break.

1939


1

Cheers,
Alex

Did I just hear " Initially Muller blinds everyone with his spray, but on lap ten "Dick Semen""

after 1:20???


How did the driver make it out of high school with his pride intact?

Haha, OMG !!!

[Jackles-UK]

And La Source you DO NOT overtake, that´s just dumb with the DRS zone after Eau Rouge.
Hell even without it, it´s still not a smart thing to do.

Why not?

Because unless the overtaker gets an incredible drive off the corner (almost impossible whilst side-by-side, the track effectively narrows by a cars width) the car behind will have a gigantic slipstream to aim for going through Eau Rouge, over the top of Radillion and up the long straight (DRS zone) to Les Combes.

It's not impossible to pass into La Source at all but like Turn 1 in Korea it's a slightly wasted move given the DRS zone and long straight ahead (I remember people slowing to a crawl exiting the the pits in Korea just to be behind at the DRS zone!).

[fiohaa]

Gotta expect this a bit. 5 weeks with no racing will make any F1 fan go nuts!

I'll try and shift the attention a bit. Many people will say that Spa is one of the better (if not the best) circuit on the calender. Is it the track layout? The weather? The overtaking opportunities?

Frankly I wouldn't say the circuit is the ultimate "test" and showcase of a Formula 1 car's abilities. However, at the same time, a circuit which does (such as Catalunya) tends to be a high downforce snooze-fest.

I think it's because
1) The track has history
2) The track has more than one good overtaking opportunity (into Malmedy, Pouhon, Fanges, the bus stop and La Source)
3) The track does push F1 cars to the limit in a number of ways (Eau Rouge/Radion in the wet or under full fuel loads, pouhon)
4) The weather is massively unpredictable
5) Aggressive racers always seem to come to the top here

with these tyres, with these rules, points 3 and 5 are not relevant anymore.

With those points out the way, point 2 is now redundant due to DRS.

So all you've got is points 1 and 4.

Point 4 will make the race actually interesting and put the ball back in the drivers court somewhat, so keep your fingers crossed for that.

Point 1 reminds you to watch races from the pre-pirelli era and refuelling when drivers had to push every lap to the limit to the end. Aaaah those days....
time to get the old dvd's out.

and yes, i am going to keep reminding everyone that drivers aren't doing their best job because its so tyre limited now. Im going to keep chanting this mantra, at every race, at every thread, forever.

[zyphro]

Point 1 reminds you to watch races from the pre-pirelli era and refuelling when drivers had to push every lap to the limit to the end. Aaaah those days....
time to get the old dvd's out.

and yes, i am going to keep reminding everyone that drivers aren't doing their best job because its so tyre limited now. Im going to keep chanting this mantra, at every race, at every thread, forever.

.

[Gerhard Berger]

Point 1 reminds you to watch races from the pre-pirelli era and refuelling when drivers had to push every lap to the limit to the end. Aaaah those days....
time to get the old dvd's out.

and yes, i am going to keep reminding everyone that drivers aren't doing their best job because its so tyre limited now. Im going to keep chanting this mantra, at every race, at every thread, forever.

out of interest, what was your opinion on grooved tyres?