Track Preview: Belgian Grand Prix- Spa- Francorchamps

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Lewis Hamilton wins in Hungary, Kimi Raikkonen drives to second place and Sebastian Vettel claims the final place on the podium after a good drive. McLaren yet again have made small improvements to their car in order to gain their way back to the front and gain some points. And Mercedes and Willians also picked up some much needed points for their teams. And people are still wishing that the Mercedes or Vettel still do not have the pace in qualifying…

The Belgium Grand Prix is a circuit that most drivers and teams look forward to visiting every year. The circuit offers a very interesting engineering point of view. The circuit offers very challenging high speed corners and you need to get the set up absolutely right to maintain good rhythm to get a good position on the grid. However, the track is easy on brakes and cooling but ride heights need to be set up carefully.

And here we go guys with eleventh race of the Formula One season, the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps…

Facts and Figures

• Belgium has hosted the Grand Prix since 1950.
• Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver at the track with six wins.
• Kimi Raikkonen is the most successful driver currently to win the Grand Prix with four wins.
• Ferrari is the most successful constructor to win the Grand Prix with sixteen wins.
• Race distance: 308.05km (191.41miles)
• Number of turns:19
• Top speed: 329kph
• Lap record: Sebastian Vettel- Red Bull (2009)- 1.47.263
• Winners from pole 15/45 (33%)
• Winners from last 5 Belgium Grand Prix: 2008-Felipe Massa, 2009- Kimi Raikkonen, 2010-Lewis Hamilton 2011-Sebastian Vettel, 2012-Jenson Button

My top 5 Belgian Grand Prix

Here are my top five Belgian Grand Prix races and in no particular order:-

1. 2004 Belgium Grand Prix- Kimi Raikkonen wins ahead of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Brilliant drive from Kimi. [No video was avaliable]
2. 1998 Belgium Grand Prix- Damon Hill wins the race ahead of Ralf Schunacher and Jean Alesi.  This race is famous for the worst and scariest start to a Grand Prix I have ever seen. David Coulthard lost control of his McLaren which caused a massive collusion taking out 13 drivers. This then delayed the race by an hour in order to clear the damage. A brilliant drive from Damon to achieve the first double finish for the Jordan team. 
3. 2010 Belgium Grand Prix- Lewis Hamilton wins the race for McLaren ahead of Mark Webber and Robert Kubica. Just a brilliant drive from Lewis to take the Grand Prix victory. It was also the last ever podium finish in Formula One for Kubica. [No video was available]
4. 2012 Belgium Grand Prix- Jenson Button wins the race ahead of Vettel and Raikkonen. What a race. The start was hampered with Grosjean taking out Alonso, Hamilton and Kobayashi which led to Grosjean receiving a ban. Just a brilliant driver from JB! 
5. 2000 Belgium Grand Prix- Mika Hakkinen wins the race ahead of Michael and Ralf Schumacher. Brilliant drive from Mika. This was the race that Mika made the stunning move on Michael at Eau Rouge using backmarker Ricardo Zonta. Was so happy when Mika won! One of his best victories! Got a video of the Hakkinen/ Schumacher battle 

If the Belgian Grand Prix from last year is anything to go by from last year, we look set to witness a great race next weekend. Will Fernando be able to challenge Red Bull and Lotus to win again and gain the championship lead? Will Red Bull be able to achieve pole position and try to win the race Will Rosberg, Raikkonen, Massa, Button, Perez, Hamilton or be able to challenge them?

Sky Sports F1 are showing uninterrupted coverage of every practice session, the qualifying and race for the Grand Prix (and every race of the season) and the BBC are also showing coverage, details for both are below:-

• Sky Sports F1:- Friday (Practice 1 and 2) 8.45pm and 12.45pm [Replays throughout Friday], Saturday (Practice 3 and Qualifying) 9.45pm and 12.00pm [Replays throughout Saturday], Sunday (Race) 11.30pm
• BBC- Friday (Practice 1 and 2 on BBC 2) 8.55am and 12.50pm [Replays throughout Saturday], Saturday (Practice 3 and Qualifying) 9.55am and 12.10, Sunday (Race) 12.10pm

My next blog post will be a full Race Report on the Belgian Grand Prix when I get back from my holiday! (Sob, won’t be able to watch the race!). Loving the start of the weekend of Formula One, Hope you will be enjoying every single moment of the weekend as much as me!