2016 Belgian Grand Prix - Fri 26 – Sun 28 Aug 2016

[Fulcrum]

Honestly, I'd consider starting Hamilton from the pitlane, especially if there is any hint of moisture on the surface. This first corner has been a notorious bottleneck in the past; his car is fast enough, and he is a good enough driver to make the difference without having to take the risk of a DNF.

[mikeerfol]

Who starts last tomorrow? Hamilton or Alonso? Does lack of any lap time trump a million place grid penalty?

It's hard to trump a 55 place grid penalt (what makes his starting position 75) so Hamilton.

But Alonso didn't set a laptime so I think he's the one who will start last.

[Andres125sx]

They went out on the SS at the end of Q2 ready to react to other teams who might push them out, as soon as they were safe they backed off and came into the pits. They start on softs tomorrow.

Joan Villadelprat said that could be a strategy to heat up the tires on the out lap, then enter pits again and let them cool down. That acts like some sort of cooking so the rubber gets a bit harder, wich could be a good advantage for sunday race


It makes sense, specially when you see Ricciardo didn´t bother to go out and he was behind both Ferraris.

Both Ferrari drivers improved in S1 on their SS run in Q2, Kimi improved in S2 as well after returning to pits while Vettel had set a purple S1. So I don't think they were doing what Joan Villadelprat though they were doing and it had no effect on Ricciardo qualifying behind both Ferrari. They would have to do a really slow lap like Lewis did today a 1:50 to heat up the tyre a bit to get it harder.

It´s actually the other way around, to heat up the tires you need to be fast. They (Villadelprat and the other comentators) pointed to that purple sector of Vettel in S1, it was after that when Villadelprat explained his theory.

So basically you and Villadelprat are saying the opposite, for you the purple sector proves they didn´t want to heat up the tires, while for Villadelprat that purple sector proves he was heating up the tires. Sorry if I my confidence go with someone who worked at McLaren, Tyrrel, Benetton, Ferrari and Prost and won 5 WDC and 3 WCC

[Jolle]

Who starts last tomorrow? Hamilton or Alonso? Does lack of any lap time trump a million place grid penalty?

It's hard to trump a 55 place grid penalt (what makes his starting position 75) so Hamilton.

But Alonso didn't set a laptime so I think he's the one who will start last.

The way they work, they take your staring position, for Hamilton that is 21 and for Alonso 22 and then add the penalties. For HAM that is 74 and alonso something in the 40ies or 50ies (if he doesn't make a pitlane start)

[nevill3]

Matt_b has it correct, they were simply covering the chance that the track got quicker towards the end of the Q2 session and the later runners who could have pushed them out of Q3, with the lap being so long they had to be on track and on a fast lap just in case. I do not see them using the Supersoft Tyre in the race unless either the temperature drops significantly or they get a puncture or a safety car with only a few laps to go and they are marginal on which ever tyres they are on.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

What a progress McLaren has made in 12 months !!! Last year, they were 3.781 seconds adrift of the pole time and this year, they are just 1.3 Seconds behind !!!

[nevill3]

FIA site reports that the provisional grid has Hamilton ahead of Alonso.

http://www.fia.com/file/46977/download?token=XLUe2HnY

[Sonador]

So split strategy for Red Bull, but i can not understand why.

Great laps by Verstappen, Wherlein and Raikonnen.
Spa is such a lovely track to watch a F1 car in "anger"

each driver was given a choice by the team

Maybe tommorow it wil make more sense to me.

[PlatinumZealot]

Lewis is stitting pretty with those three new softs.

[Just_a_fan]

It's hard to trump a 55 place grid penalt (what makes his starting position 75) so Hamilton.

But Alonso didn't set a laptime so I think he's the one who will start last.

The way they work, they take your staring position, for Hamilton that is 21 and for Alonso 22 and then add the penalties. For HAM that is 74 and alonso something in the 40ies or 50ies (if he doesn't make a pitlane start)

Except Alonso didn't actually qualify for the grid. He is racing tomorrow by the grace of the stewards who have allowed him to race because he has shown a suitable lap time during the weekend. Hence Hamilton is at the back of the qualifying grid and then they add Alonso behind.

[Jolle]

But Alonso didn't set a laptime so I think he's the one who will start last.

The way they work, they take your staring position, for Hamilton that is 21 and for Alonso 22 and then add the penalties. For HAM that is 74 and alonso something in the 40ies or 50ies (if he doesn't make a pitlane start)

Except Alonso didn't actually qualify for the grid. He is racing tomorrow by the grace of the stewards who have allowed him to race because he has shown a suitable lap time during the weekend. Hence Hamilton is at the back of the qualifying grid and then they add Alonso behind.

Just read that Alonso got another new engine, so he's on 60-something "bonus" points, making his staring position 22+60ish making it 80ish.

[f1316]

What a progress McLaren has made in 12 months !!! Last year, they were 3.781 seconds adrift of the pole time and this year, they are just 1.3 Seconds behind !!!

They've progressed well but we have to remember that Spa was the worst circuit for the Honda PU last year. On such a long lap it really highlighted the deployment issues.

So a big chunk of that improvement is Honda fixing an inherent deficiency.

Still, the package is coming along well and expect to see them make up a top four next year with a gap to Williams etc.

[Jolle]

I wonder what impact it had on Rosbergs qualifying that he had to do the whole setup by himself, not only no challenge from maybe one of the best qualifiers but also just half the data. Plus, with less of a thread of a fellow Mercedes, how much did Mercedes shift the focus on race pace versus ultimate one lap speed?

[dans79]

Plus, with less of a thread of a fellow Mercedes, how much did Mercedes shift the focus on race pace versus ultimate one lap speed?

It definitely seemed like Merc spent a lot more time than usual focusing on lon run pace, and on getting the balance just right for the mediums & softs.

[basti313]

I wonder what impact it had on Rosbergs qualifying that he had to do the whole setup by himself, not only no challenge from maybe one of the best qualifiers but also just half the data. Plus, with less of a thread of a fellow Mercedes, how much did Mercedes shift the focus on race pace versus ultimate one lap speed?

Both Mercs are set up the same way. Both did no Q runs and did a similar program in FP. This is clear, as the only thing Merc has to fear for Ros is a bad start. So he needs race pace and no Q pace.