Kimi, a Spa “specialist” and Riccardo Adami talk about an old-skool circuit
Maranello, 23 August – After a one month break from racing, Formula 1 is back in action with the Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, which is so popular with drivers and race fans alike. Spa has undergone numerous changes from the 14 kilometre track used for the first race back in 1924, to the current 7.004 km, which has resulted in a reduction in the top speeds seen on some sections in the past. However, it still has a special attraction and, as well as being the longest circuit on the calendar, it is still today’s most technical track. Part of this is down to the uncertain nature of the weather, which can even change from one section of track to another. Therefore, the Belgian round is major test bench for cars and drivers, as Formula 1 rounds the mid-point marker and tackles this the thirteenth round of the season.
“It’s an old, traditional circuit, with up and down hills.” – says Kimi on the subject of the Belgian track. “ That’s what is different, more than other circuits, even just the place itself in the middle of nowhere. They changed lightly the last chicane in the past years, but I enjoy it. Conditions can be tricky sometimes, but it’s usually good for overtaking and that’s nice for drivers and spectators. On TV it’s hard to say, but when you’re there you can see it’s quite steep.”
“It is very challenging from a meteorological point of view” reckons Sebastian Vettel’s race engineer Riccardo Adami. “The weather is challenging: in the past, I remember having found a part of the circuit with the sun shining and the other part with rain. So, it’s important to be sharp in the strategy and tires.” Moving on to the technical side, Adami has this to say: “In this track we have the second sector with its high-speed corners, while the first and the last sectors are more for top-speed and long straights. Therefore, it’s always difficult to find the right wing level and to have the right aero efficiency in the first and last sector, not compromising too much the second sector where corners are. The braking system, even if it’s not too much stressed, is very important in this track, especially the last chicane in qualifying, because the drivers normally arrive there and it’s like without breathing and trying to take the last braking and the last few tenths, not destroying the whole qualifying lap. Spa is also very important regarding the Power Unit settings, because there’s lot of time in full throttle and also for the ERS: we need to find the right compromise for the energy through the lap. The most important corner of this track is Eau Rouge, at least it was supposed to be in the past, because it’s close to be taken flat out. It is one of the highest compression in terms of vertical load and vertical acceleration, reaching 4Gs. It’s very demanding for the driver because he finds himself through this corner which is so peculiar for the compression. So, he goes down and up without breathing.”
Spa is a special track, similar to Monza in a way, in that it’s completely different from the new circuits. It has uphills and downhills, and the atmosphere is unique. I like this place a lot, it gives you good feelings, it has always been safe and it usually brings good racing. It’s hard to know what we will be able to achieve in this weekend, from our data it seems that it’s going to be easier than in the last race, but who knows… The weather is going to be nice all weekend, let’s see how it feels from tomorrow. Hopefully our car will fit well here and we’ll be able to fight in the front and make a good result. We keep trying to improve in all the areas in which we know we are not strong enough, but of course things are not going to suddenly change, it takes time and the other teams also are keeping improving. We want to do well and win, we’ll do our best.
quoteSeb says changes for Spa are only the beginning
I think that in the previous races we took a lesson that we definitely learnt. We were able to make some small changes for here, but I think we’ll see more later in the season. Giving also the fact that there was a break – but in reality we only had one and a half week to react – you can’t expect huge changes. For the tire allocation this weekend, we hope we don’t have to use the Medium, as it’s usually quite a lot slower. We are pretty confident we chose the right tires and just able to spend more time on the quicker tires. Driving the development Pirelli tires, as I did before the break, was an interesting experience. I was able to get a few laps on the dry, before to switch to Wet tires: they’re quite different but I think there is still a lot of homework to do for Pirelli but also for the teams, because the cars will be different. I like driving so I don’t mind having another test in Barcelona in a couple of weeks, I think it is interesting being part of the process, every opportunity you get to drive the car I’m not afraid of.
About the earthquake in Italy, I think it’s dreadful. Yesterday morning, when I jumped in the car to go to the airport, I heard the message on the radio. They where speaking about six people that lost their lives and this number has just gone up so I hope it stops, I hope we can stop counting very soon. We obviously send all our condolonces and best wishes to the people and families involved. It’s horrible to see how much can happen in just one night.
Quote: jpp47 wrote in post #4Lewis penalized motor exchange on his Merc. Start maybe from last line
I´m very sure Fernando will start as last. He need to go 35 places back and will maybe start in Brussels at sunday FP1: FP1.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)
quoteKimi Raikkonen: “So far it has been a decent weekend, the car was behaving well today and we had the speed. My first run in Q3 was very good, but I went sideways and off track. The second attempt was even better, but in the last chicane I had some slight understeer and lost a few tenths compared to my Q2 sector. Today I felt we had the chance to get pole position, so I’m a bit disappointed, my laptime was not good enough. On a positive side, we are very close compared to the last couple of races. We decided to start the race with Soft tires, if you can make them work it will make a massive difference, we’ll see how the race will pan out but I think our plan will be fine. We’ll do our best, of course the hot conditions won’t be easy for the tires, but it’s the same for everybody. Hopefully we’ll be up there fighting also tomorrow.”
Quote: Bradamante wrote in post #8I am sick and tired of this Verstappen. Today he deserved the jail.
He was so dangerous today. If the FIA don´t stop him he or someone else will get hurt
So a screwed race for Kimi. What was Seb thinking in the first corner? And the accident from Kevin Magnussen Renault told he has a cut at the ankle and they send him to hospital for further checks. Lets hope he is fine. And Lewis from P 55 od 60 to 3 What a crazy race!
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Tue Aug 23, 2016 6:54 pm (Last edited: Tue Aug 23, 2016 6:55 pm)
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He was so dangerous today. If the FIA don´t stop him he or someone else will get hurt 
And the accident from Kevin Magnussen 
Renault told he has a cut at the ankle and they send him to hospital for further checks. Lets hope he is fine. 
